Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World, Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian, Metropolitan Books, 2005

In this new set of interviews, America's foremost intellectual activist looks at new questions of US domestic and foreign policy.

In September 2002, the American government announced a new national security strategy. Instead of pre-emptive war, which might be covered by the UN Charter, the new strategy will be one of preventive war, which is not permitted at all under international law. In other words, America will rule the world by force, and if any challenge to that domination comes about, whether imagined, invented or perceived in the distance, America has the right to destroy that challenge before it becomes a threat.

The Bush Administration talks about going after countries that harbor terrorists. Orlando Bosch, described by the Justice Department as a threat to American security, is quietly living in Miami, recipient of a Presidential Pardon. In 1976, Bosch was involved in the shooting down of a Cuban airliner, killing 73 people, among other crimes. Emanuel Constant is responsible for the deaths of at least 4000 Haitians. He is living in Queens, New York, because America refuses to even respond to extradition requests, let alone actually say No. Such doctrines are unilateral; they grant America the right to harbor terrorists and use violence, but not anyone else.

The people around George Bush are very open about their desire to destroy the progressive achievements of the last 100 years. They have generally gotten rid of the progressive income tax. They are next going after Social Security and health care. They do not want a small government. They are interested in a huge, massively intrusive government, but one that works for them.

This is another excellent and eye-opening book from Chomsky and Barsamian. For another very interesting look at the way America and the world Really Works, this is highly recommended.

9-11

9-11, Noam Chomsky, Seven Stories Press, 2001

This short book consists of a number of interviews given by Chomsky, during September and October 2001 with media from all over the world. As usual, it contains a lot of information not found in the American news media.

The Northern Alliance is a collection of warlords whose terror and destruction, while in power, led the population to welcome the Taliban as liberators. Before the US missile strike on the Sudanese pharmaceutical plant in 1998 (which, by itself, contributed to the deaths of thousands of innocent Sudanese), Sudan was ready to give the US a vast intelligence datatbase on Osama bin Laden and over 200 members of al-Qaeda, including photos and detailed biographies, plus vital information about al-Qaeda's financial interests all over the world. The offer was refused by Washington, more than once, because of its hatred of Sudan. Would there have been a better chance of preventing September 11 if the US had this information? There's no way to know, now.

In December 1987, during a previous war on terrorism, the UN General Assembly passed a major resolution condemning terrorism as strongly as possible and calling on all countries to act forcefully to overcome it. One can only wonder why the US and Israel were the only countries to vote against this resolution. The US is the only country condemned by the World Court for international terrorism. In the mid-1980s, the Court ordered the US to stop supporting the Nicaraguan Contras and pay reparations to the Nicaraguan government. Not only did the US ignore the ruling, it escalated the war against Nicaragua (by authorizing the attacking of undefended targets like health clinics) and vetoed a Security Council resolution calling on all countries to observe international law.

For those who have never before read Noam Chomsky, this may not be the best introduction to his work. This is still an excellent, and much needed, alternative to the perception that any criticism of the Bush Administration somehow borders on treason. This, and other Chomsky books, also show just how much the American news media has become a purveyor of propaganda. It is very highly recommended.

Propaganda and the Public Mind

Propaganda and the Public Mind, Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian, South End Press, 2001

Here is another collection of interviews with Chomsky, world-renowned dissident and political analyst, that cover the usual myriad of subjects.

One of the reasons for US and British sanctions against Iraq is that Saddam Hussein gassed his own people, namely the Kurdish town of Halabja. When it happened, in 1988, there were no expressions of outrage from London or Washington. Actually, both countries continued, and accelerated, their support for Saddam Hussein.

Chomsky asserts that the 1998 US missile attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan are just the latest manifestation of the US giving up on the United Nations, and conducting foreign policy through NATO or the World Trade Organization, groups that are more easily controllable by Washington. In the early days of the UN, America was very much in favor, because it was doing what Washington wanted. After decolonization, the UN became much less pro-American. If the US couldn't control it, they would simply ignore it.

America achieved its major aims in Vietnam, which was to prevent the country from going on a course of independent development that might actually be a model for other countries. The US is still looking for an apology from Vietnam for war crimes committed during the war. Issues like a US apology for war crimes committed during the Vietnam War, or the continuing effects of land mines or Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people are never mentioned.

Chomsky's advice for those who want to find a way through the lies, manipulation and general nonsense coming from Washington starts with the words Be Skeptical.

For some people, the words "new Noam Chomsky" are enough to get them to buy this book. For everyone else, Chomsky does a wonderful job, again, at showing how America really works (of the rich, by the powerful, and for the corporations). It is very highly recommended.

Rogue States: The Role of Force in World Affairs

Rogue States: The Role of Force in World Affairs, Noam Chomsky, South End Press, 2000

Here is another chronicle of American political actions around the world. The US talks a lot about human rights, and respecting the rule of law. The reality is very different.

One of the reasons for the US embargo on Cuba for the last 40 years is the fear that the "virus" of taking matters into one's own hands might stimulate the poor and underprivileged to demand opportunities for a decent living. The new leading recipient of US military aid, Colombia, has the worst human rights
record in the western hemisphere at the same time that US military aid and training are scheduled to increase. The US instigated a military coup in Guatemala in 1954, because the government's agrarian reform program, which would aid peasants against the upper classes, had a strong appeal to its
neighbors, where similar conditions prevail. Such a thing could not be allowed to happen (the Cuban "virus").

Contempt for the rule of law is deeply rooted in US practice and intellectual culture. When Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, the UN Security Council ordered an immediate withdrawal. The US secretly increased arms shipments to Indonesia; meantime, UN Ambassador Daniel Moynihan rendered the UN "utterly ineffective in whatever measures they took", beacuse the State Department wanted things to turn out exactly the way they did.

Chomsky also looks at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Kosovo, labor rights, Nicaragua, NAFTA/GATT/WTO, the international debt crisis, and the way all of these subjects have been reported, or not reported, in the US media.

This book deserves a rating higher than Must Read. Chomsky paints a devastating picture of US actions around the world, where the boom is lowered on countries who don't do things the way the US wants. Highly recommended.

Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order

Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order, Noam Chomsky, Seven Stories Press, 1999

Neoliberalism, a much used term these days, is a set of economic principles designed by the US and imposed on the rest of the world through the various international financial agencies that the US dominates. The intention is to make it as easy as possible for the big transnational corporations, usually based in America, to maximize their profits, no matter what, and deal with any country that doesn't go along (Chile under Salvador Allende). In the US, after years of corporate PR, neoliberalism has acquired the aura of a Sacred Thing which must not be questioned.

In this latest collection, Chomsky doesn't stop there. While the media and the Clinton Administration proclaim the US as a model for the world, according to UNICEF, the US has the worst record among the major industrial countries in areas like mortality of children under 5 years old. While the Reagan Administration extolled the glories of the free market, it boasted about having given US business more import relief than all its predecessors combined; market discipline for you, but not for me.

This is another fascinating and very well done look at the way the world really works. Don't miss it.

The Common Good

The Common Good, Noam Chomsky, Odonian Press, 1998

Here is a new group of interviews with "arguably the most important intellectual alive" (New York Times) conducted by David Barsamian. The subjects run the gamut, from the aerospace industry to the Zapatistas.

According to Chomsky, America is a business-run, huckster society whose primary value is deceit. A major purpose of military procurement and production is to subsidize private corporations. In other parts of the world, politicians don't have to fight over who is tougher on crime, they just figure out what to do about it. German industry has been treating America like a Third World country, with our low wages, poor benefits and states competing against each other to bribe foreign firms to relocate. The US has publicly agreed with the position that the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel was illegal, but privately has given Israel permission to do what it wants.

For most people, the words "new Noam Chomsky" are enough to get them to buy this book. For everyone else, this book is short, easy to read, fascinating, and highly recommended.