Chomsky is provocative, as always.
He tells us that these attacks occur because the big, bad US supports corrupt regimes, terrorist acts & undemocractic movements.
But does this make any sense? Those opposed to the US are completely opposed to democracy, are incredibly corrupt (involved in heroin dealing and such), and brutally repressive (of women, political dissidents, and religious dissidents). So his entire premise--that these terrorists are morally offended by US actions--is absurd. If anything, they would do much worse if they were ever to get into power. In how many countries is the US preventing democracy and free speech--Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria???? These nations have their own brand of repression which is centuries old in its roots, and has nothing at all to do with the US. Many countries raise large armies, develop nuclear weapons, threaten their neighbors, and repress their own people without any help in the matter from the US. (China, Russia, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, etc.)
Like any academic who himself has never held a real job where he had to make important life-and-death strategic decisions, Chomsky offers up his usual Ivory Tower solutions. Example: Don't wage a broad military campaign, just bring the specific perpatrators to justice. Sounds good, yes? Well, let's say the only perpetrator not already dead is bin Laden. He can't be extradicted, he won't surrender, and he can't be readily captured even WITH a broad military campaign (he may never be captured at all).
But we are also surely being threatened by more than bin Laden; there is a wide range conspiracy which has murder as its ultimate goal, with cells in dozens of countries, some of which actively shelter these cell members, and finacially support them. They, also, cannot be peacefully arrested, tried and convicted.
So where does this leave us? Defenseless, and waiting to be exterminated by attack after attack....
Final query: Why do many people believe that professors who have never in their lives had to accomplish anything practical have good or rational answers to the world's problems???? Isn't it the common wisdom that the only advice worth crediting comes from those who, in the common vernacular, can say that they've "been there, done that"? |
