POWER AND TERROR NOAM CHOMSKY

POWER AND TERROR

NOAM CHOMSKY
Power and Terror is a collection of a lengthy interview and a series of public talks of Noam Chomsky. It presents the recurrent theme of terrorism and its causes and the role of Powers in the escalation of terrorist activities like that of 9/11. Unlike the majority of American intelligentsia, Noam Chomsky, the voice of reason as he has been termed by New York Daily News, locates the causes of terrorism within the very framework of US domestic and foreign policies. The fateful day of September the 11th, 2001 redefined the theory of terrorism and modern warfare. More than three thousands US citizens perished in the ghastly act of lunacy and the Government of the United States, as a responsible government, if one may call it so, acted and attacked the perpetrators in retaliation. Now what was wrong with that? Was it not the prime duty of any state to defend its citizens against such ruthless barbarity? Noam Chomsky, the dissident that he is, is not willing to give his consent to such retaliation. Chomsky in the Power and Terror reiterates his well known thesis of the real reasons that contribute to the unfolding phenomenon of genocidal terror. Chomskys recipe for the ending terrorism is simple and he candidly proposes to US that if the intention is stopping terrorism then the US should stop participating in it. Power and Terror is a tirade on US foreign policy failures. It also brings into forth the open secret of the hypocrisy and double standards of Washington. The important points discussed in the book may be bulleted as:  Terrorists attacks may be traced to American foreign intervention throughout the post war decades- in Vietnam, Central America, the Middle East and elsewhere.  United States does not apply to its own actions the moral standards it demands of others.  United States has supported the terrorist states of Israel, Iraq and Turkey to leash unparallel atrocities on their respective subjects.  The support for dictatorship and disregard of human rights violations in the Middle East countries has also dismayed the moderate moneyed Muslims- the bankers, lawyers, corporate workers- and there is a hatred for the United States.  United States has no right to attack and kill populace of any country on the basis of preempting terrorist acts. The adherence to the policy of preempting can only be claimed if the United States follows a policy of noninterference.  United States support for Israel is a pestering problem and Israel is just a UN military base and its army is an extension of the US army killing and maiming the innocent Palestinians. The author has made a distinction of being a staunch opposition of US policies and throughout the talks and the interview he endeavors to defend his stand. There are historical references to the
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double standards that have been the norm of US foreign policies. A reference of the period of Eisenhower is interesting when the then president observed to his staff, in his very own words that there is a campaign of hatred against us in the Arab world not by the governments but by the people. The analysis of the National Security Council, the highest planning body, is revealing that the perception in the region that the United States is supporting harsh, brutal and corrupt regimes, and is blocking democratization and development is not only accurate but it must be so as to protect our interest in controlling the oil reserves of the region. The author lists the injustice and duality that has been followed since the world wars. The United States does not itself subscribe to the norms it forces others to follow. The Nuremberg Tribunal explicitly illustrated that the superpower considers a war crime is a crime if the Germans committed it and we didnt. This selectiveness and exclusiveness speaks volumes and provides a reason for exonerating themselves of any crime and consideration of being above law. This bent of mind explains why they naively ask Why do they hate us when we are so good? The Palestinian imbroglio is discussed at length in the book and the author considers it one of the major causes for concern. The author considers and validate his argument through various examples that how unrestrained Israeli violence is turning things complicated for the dream of a peaceful world. The voice of sanity, as Mr. Chomsky is referred to by his adherents, puts the entire responsibility on the American shoulder as he exemplifies the anecdotes from the second intifada where stone throwing kids were bombed by the American helicopters used by Israeli forces. Because everything that Israel does is done up to the limits that the United States supports and authorizes. Israeli atrocities are practically US-Israeli atrocities. There is also an interview that deals with the causes of biasness of mainstream US media. The biasness of the media is explicitly exhibited by the fact that it gives selective coverage to the news. However the interviewee is of the opinion that it is not the US government that forces the media to toe a particular line but the fact is that the media are huge corporations that share the interests of the corporate sector that dominates the government. It does not matter where the lethal weapons are used so long as these are not used against the Americans. The talks and interviewees do present a different perspective from the mainstream American thinkers. The speaker, Noam Chomsky, however, seems to be judgmental and has preconceived ideas regarding US policies and their fall outs. His thesis at times seems to be an apology for the brutal acts of terrorism. Terrorism can never be justified on any grounds whatsoever. His talks do point to the ruthlessness of September 11, nonetheless, his proposition that this has happened only because of wrong policies of the victim state, US in this case, may be an oversimplification. Chomsky critic point out to this deficiency in his thinking with vehemence. Eric Alterman and Christopher Hitchens, contributors to The Nation Magazine, a left liberal weekly that has published continuously since the Civil War, have jumped on the anti-Chomsky bandwagon with a vengeance. Alterman admits on his MSNBC.com 'blog' that Chomsky "did a lot of good work on East Timor." But when he accused the United States of "perpetrating a holocaust in Afghanistan" and compared the attack on the pharmaceutical factory in Sudan with that on the Twin Towers, he went out of bounds and became "the mirror image of the ignorant jingoism of Bennett, Krauthammer, Kelly, Will, etc."

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Christopher Hitchens has been the author of the most visible and controversial attacks against Chomsky. In flag-waving attack on the peace movement in the September 24, 2001 Nation titled "Of Sin, the Left & Islamic Fascism." Hitchens describes Chomsky as "soft on crime and soft on fascism." With such people, he adds, "No political coalition is possible." It is evident that most of the Western academics do not buy Chomskys hypothesis. During my research on the book and documentary I found out interesting bits and pieces of denigrations targeted at our venerated author, like the Top 20 Chomsky Lies complied by Paul Bogdanor. The lie that may be relevant to our book is 10 Chomsky lies about war on terror. Bogdanger refutes the claim of Chomsky that America is the only nation on earth that can be blamed of atrocities and the Arab world as the victim of that mayhem but Arab and Islamic invaders in Europe committed huge atrocities, including mass murders of tens of thousands in Spain and elsewhere; enslavement of at least 1 million people from Italy, Spain, France, England and other countries, with a huge death toll; enslavement of 500,000-1 million adolescent boys from the Balkans; and enslavement of 3 million people from Russia, Ukraine and Poland. The Nazis and the Soviets also enslaved, tortured, raped and murdered millions of innocent Europeans. Some other commentators are also of the view that far from killing millions, as Chomsky persists, the American occupation of Afghanistan saved lives. They make an effort to substantiate their views by quoting figures of UNICEF that the deaths of 112,000 children and 7,500 pregnant women will be prevented every year as a result. The book being a collection of interview and talks is gratuitously monotonous. It repeats the same ideas in almost every chapter. The Turkish butchery on Kurdish populace and the active overt and covert participation of the United States, for example, is one of the repeated themes of the book. Then again, the author mentions the flaws of US policy in every single page of the book. This makes it a bit droning. Another feature that is vividly conspicuous in any Chomsky treatise is the incessant citation of Vietnam War. It is agreed that this war can be included in the list of foreign policy failures of the America but it certainly is irrelevant to the discussion of post-9/11 world. The book lacks the conceptual framework on terrorism and is replete with case studies of the instances as and when USA has faltered. One would be better off with serious scholarship about fundamentalist ideologies like Karen Armstrong's THE BATTLE FOR GOD, or Juergenmeyer's THE MIND OF TERROR. These kinds of books address terrorism seriously, as part of the mindset of thinking, intelligent and ruthless people with sophisticated religious ideologies who are not just inconveniences for Chomsky's deterministic worldview. Nonetheless, the book does dilate upon an imperative theme of our age. The questions raised in the book are of very serious nature. Noam Chomsky puts forth his ideas on the problem of terrorism. He does not defend the terrorists of 9-11, but he does say that there is cause and effect at work here. According to his belief, he states that the United States has been one of the biggest terror states and it supports dictators and repressive regimes throughout the world. He puts forth
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the repression of the Palestinians in Israel and the farmland destruction in Columbia as other prime cases in which the U.S. in involved in terror. This is a quick read and one that is worth the few hours or so that it takes to read the entire book. The name Noam Chomsky possesses drawing power. His books present a viewpoint that is unique and a rarity among the Western thinkers. It is thus recommended that all in general and Foreign Service officers in particular read this book and more of Chomsky for a thorough understanding of his thought-provoking concepts. FURTHER READING A selection of books by Noam Chomsky
American Power and the New Mandarins, New York: Pantheon Books, 1969. At War With Asia, New York: Pantheon Books, 1970. Two Essays on Cambodia, Nottingham: Spokesman Books, 1970. Chomsky: Selected Readings (edited by J. P. B. Allen and Paul Van Buren), London: Oxford University Press, 1971. Problems of Knowledge and Freedom, New York: Pantheon Books, 1971. Counter-Revolutionary Violence: Bloodbaths in Fact and Propaganda (with Edward S. Herman), Andover: Warner Modular Publications, 1973. For Reasons of State, New York: Pantheon Books, 1973. Peace in the Middle East? Reflections on Justice and Nationhood, New York: Pantheon Books, 1974. Towards a New Cold War: Essays on the Current Crisis and How We Got There, New York: Pantheon Books, 1982. The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians, New York: South End Press, 1983. Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace, Boston: South End Press, 1985. Pirates and Emperors: International Terrorism in the Real World, New York: Claremont Research & Publications, 1986. The Chomsky Reader (edited by James Peck), New York: Pantheon Books, 1987. On Power and Ideology: The Managua Lectures, Boston: South End Press, New York: Black Rose Books, 1987. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (with Edward Herman), New York: Pantheon Books, 1988. The Culture of Terrorism, London: Pluto Press, Boston: South End Press, 1988. Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies, Boston: South End Press, 1989. Chronicles of Dissent: Interviews with David Barsamian, Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1992.

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The New Military Humanism: Lessons from Kosovo, Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1999. Middle East Illusions (including Peace in the Middle East? Reflections on Justice and Nationhood), Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003. . Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israels War Against the Palestinians (with Illan Papp), Chicago: Haymarket Books, October 2010.