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Power and Terror: Post-9/11 Talks and Interviews
In this, his first new book since the international bestseller 9-11 , Noam Chomsky presents his latest thinking on terrorism and U.S. foreign policy, focusing on alternatives to the current course of armed provocation. Noam Chomsky is the author of, among many other books, Profit over People , and the international anti-war bestseller 9-11 , which has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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About the author
Noam Chomsky
977 books17.1k followersAvram Noam Chomsky is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. In addition to his work in linguistics, since the 1960s Chomsky has been an influential voice on the American left as a consistent critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, and corporate influence on political institutions and the media.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
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July 28, 2021
"If you want to end terrorism, stop participating in it". That is the central message of Power and Terror, a set of talks and interviews given by Noam Chomsky following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
2700 civilians killed; a terrible crime, indefensible. This we can all agree on. 2700 - approximately the number of civilians killed by the US military in a typical week during the Viet Nam war. Or the number of Kurd civilians killed in a week by the Turkish government with the blessing and support of the Clinton administration. Or the number of civilians killed in a typical week in East Timor with the blessing and support of the Eisenhower administration, and again by the Carter administration. Or the number of civilians killed in a couple of weeks by the CIA in Nicaragua when it attacked the democratic government there in the 1980s, with Reagan's support and blessing. Or the number of Kurds killed by Saddam Hussein with the support and blessing of the Bush I administration.
A pattern emerges: it's only terrorism if it is done by oppressed people, and only if it is done to privileged people. If it is done by us, or by Israel, or by South Africa (until 1990), or by one of our puppet states (Iraq before the attack on Kuwait, Indonesia, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala), then it is not terrorism. It is counter-terrorism, or it is proactive response to terrorism, or it is legitimate security concerns. If a bus is blown up by a Palestinian and 10 Israelis are killed, that is news, for days and weeks - and rightly so. If a village is destroyed by Israeli tanks and 50 Palestinians are killed, that is not news. It is not even reported in the US press, as often as not.
Chomsky reserves special scorn for western liberal intellectuals. In his view they simply promulgate the colonialist/neo-imperialist line, and are unable or unwilling to take a moral stance when evaluating the causes and effects of organized violence. He points out case after case of state terrorism, conducted by Israel, by the United States, or by a US puppet government, that are not reported in the mainstream media at all, or if reported is never reported as the terrorism that it is.
On a slightly different topic, Chomsky mentions a study that was done that found a near perfect correlation between US foreign aid and torture. US foreign aid is actually miniscule, compared to other wealthy countries. But such aid as there is goes predominantly to governments that torture their citizens. Chomsky notes that correlation does not imply causation, and in fact he believes that the US government is not especially interested in promoting torture (remember: this was written before the revelations of torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, extraordinary rendition and so on). He cites another more comprehensive study that sought to correlate US foreign aid with a wide variety of factors. That study found near perfect correlation between foreign aid and the ease of foreign 'investment' - i.e. the ease with which US and other international corporations can take over a country's natural resources. Chomsky's take on this is that in such countries repression is necessary because people naturally do not like to have their resources taken away by foreign corporations. So in those countries there is brutality against labor organizers, peasants, and so on.
You can like Chomsky, or not. But I would challenge you to contest his facts, and I would wonder what conclusions you would draw differently from those facts.
2700 civilians killed; a terrible crime, indefensible. This we can all agree on. 2700 - approximately the number of civilians killed by the US military in a typical week during the Viet Nam war. Or the number of Kurd civilians killed in a week by the Turkish government with the blessing and support of the Clinton administration. Or the number of civilians killed in a typical week in East Timor with the blessing and support of the Eisenhower administration, and again by the Carter administration. Or the number of civilians killed in a couple of weeks by the CIA in Nicaragua when it attacked the democratic government there in the 1980s, with Reagan's support and blessing. Or the number of Kurds killed by Saddam Hussein with the support and blessing of the Bush I administration.
A pattern emerges: it's only terrorism if it is done by oppressed people, and only if it is done to privileged people. If it is done by us, or by Israel, or by South Africa (until 1990), or by one of our puppet states (Iraq before the attack on Kuwait, Indonesia, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala), then it is not terrorism. It is counter-terrorism, or it is proactive response to terrorism, or it is legitimate security concerns. If a bus is blown up by a Palestinian and 10 Israelis are killed, that is news, for days and weeks - and rightly so. If a village is destroyed by Israeli tanks and 50 Palestinians are killed, that is not news. It is not even reported in the US press, as often as not.
Chomsky reserves special scorn for western liberal intellectuals. In his view they simply promulgate the colonialist/neo-imperialist line, and are unable or unwilling to take a moral stance when evaluating the causes and effects of organized violence. He points out case after case of state terrorism, conducted by Israel, by the United States, or by a US puppet government, that are not reported in the mainstream media at all, or if reported is never reported as the terrorism that it is.
On a slightly different topic, Chomsky mentions a study that was done that found a near perfect correlation between US foreign aid and torture. US foreign aid is actually miniscule, compared to other wealthy countries. But such aid as there is goes predominantly to governments that torture their citizens. Chomsky notes that correlation does not imply causation, and in fact he believes that the US government is not especially interested in promoting torture (remember: this was written before the revelations of torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, extraordinary rendition and so on). He cites another more comprehensive study that sought to correlate US foreign aid with a wide variety of factors. That study found near perfect correlation between foreign aid and the ease of foreign 'investment' - i.e. the ease with which US and other international corporations can take over a country's natural resources. Chomsky's take on this is that in such countries repression is necessary because people naturally do not like to have their resources taken away by foreign corporations. So in those countries there is brutality against labor organizers, peasants, and so on.
You can like Chomsky, or not. But I would challenge you to contest his facts, and I would wonder what conclusions you would draw differently from those facts.
February 13, 2025
Δεν ξέρω πως να βαθμολογήσω το συγκεκριμένο. Είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο πολιτικής σκέψης του Τσόμσκι που διαβάζω, μετά τα γλωσσολογικά του, και από τη μια μεριά είμαι εντυπωσιασμενη, από την άλλη είμαι εντελώς απογοητευμένη - όχι από τον Τσόμσκι.
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο αποτελείται από μία συνέντευξη (που από ότι θυμάμαι ήταν κομμάτι ενός ιαπωνικού ντοκιμαντέρ) για τη μετά 11ης Σεπτεμβρίου Αμερική και κάποια κομμάτια ομιλιών του ακαδημαϊκού για την Παλαιστίνη στο Πάλο Άλτο.
Δεν έχει πέσει έξω ούτε σε ένα τομέα. Έχουν περάσει είκοσι και χρόνια από τη στιγμή που το συγκεκριμένο σύγγραμμα εκδόθηκε και παρόλα αυτά η εκτίμηση του Τσόμσκι ήταν σωστή και για την πρόθεση των συντηρητικών Αμερικανών να εθνοκαθαρίσουν τους Παλαιστίνιους από τα ιστορικά χώματά τους, και για το ποιο καθεστώς θα διαδεχτεί αυτό του Σανταμ Χουσειν στο Ιρακ και για το πως θα συνεχίσει το σύστημα της τρομοκρατίας να αυτοανακυκλώνεται την ίδια στιγμή που ανίκανοι πολιτικοί θα αναρωτιούνται «Μα γιατί μας μισούν, αφού είμαστε τόσο καλοί;».
Και η απογοήτευση μου έγκειται σε αυτή ακριβώς τη συνειδητοποίηση ότι όλα αυτά ήταν μπροστά μας αλλά το κοινό συλλογικό ήταν αδύνατο να τα αντιληφθεί.
Διαβάστε το. Σίγουρα κερδισμένοι θα βγείτε.
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο αποτελείται από μία συνέντευξη (που από ότι θυμάμαι ήταν κομμάτι ενός ιαπωνικού ντοκιμαντέρ) για τη μετά 11ης Σεπτεμβρίου Αμερική και κάποια κομμάτια ομιλιών του ακαδημαϊκού για την Παλαιστίνη στο Πάλο Άλτο.
Δεν έχει πέσει έξω ούτε σε ένα τομέα. Έχουν περάσει είκοσι και χρόνια από τη στιγμή που το συγκεκριμένο σύγγραμμα εκδόθηκε και παρόλα αυτά η εκτίμηση του Τσόμσκι ήταν σωστή και για την πρόθεση των συντηρητικών Αμερικανών να εθνοκαθαρίσουν τους Παλαιστίνιους από τα ιστορικά χώματά τους, και για το ποιο καθεστώς θα διαδεχτεί αυτό του Σανταμ Χουσειν στο Ιρακ και για το πως θα συνεχίσει το σύστημα της τρομοκρατίας να αυτοανακυκλώνεται την ίδια στιγμή που ανίκανοι πολιτικοί θα αναρωτιούνται «Μα γιατί μας μισούν, αφού είμαστε τόσο καλοί;».
Και η απογοήτευση μου έγκειται σε αυτή ακριβώς τη συνειδητοποίηση ότι όλα αυτά ήταν μπροστά μας αλλά το κοινό συλλογικό ήταν αδύνατο να τα αντιληφθεί.
Διαβάστε το. Σίγουρα κερδισμένοι θα βγείτε.
April 2, 2021
i read this and got insanely woke
January 30, 2017
Noam Chomsky is a professor of linguist at MIT, but he was widely popular for his works in the political sphere. Where he along with Howard Zinn were a fierce critics of the US foreign policy. The book discussed in depth the role that the US has played in the international stage, rampaging small countries and using force to dominate the oil reserved.
Chomsky is a bit witty in his remarks, he mark Israel as thug operated by their master, the mafia don, which refers to the US. In his words “when the master speaks, the servant obeys”. This is in light of the optimism that people had when they see that the US now seems to have some consideration for the Palestinian cause. In fact it wasn’t, argued Chomsky. What happen was that the tanks in Palestinian soil seems to interrupt Dick Cheney’s mission. That is why the US politely asked Sharon to withdraw them.
Israel is the American base in the middle east, it supported the US policy and help them to be accomplished. This reason alone, made it valuable to US. For example in 1967 Israel crushed Arab Nationalist, this service is done to ensure that the US influence in the region remain firm, an independent and democratic society in the middle east will undermine US strategic interest.
Chomsky also elaborate on how the US consistently blocking the peace settlement, by vetoing the UN resolution. The Geneva Convention also can be seen as a perfect example on how the US is alone in international views. The forth Geneva Convention makes what US and Israel did to the occupied territory a war crime. In 2000 the UN security council voted that the Geneva Convention applies to Israeli Occupation, the vote was 14 to 0, but the US choose to abstained.
What the US used as a pretext to invade other countries seems paradoxical to Chomsky’s thought. They said that it is the ‘war on terror’. Saddam Hussein is a maniac which kills his own people with poison gas, that is why the US need to come and free the Iraqi from this brutal tyrant. The only missing fact is that the tyrant atrocities was done using military equipment supplied by the US. To end terror, Chomsky note “everyone’s worried about stoping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: stop participating in it”.
Chomsky is a bit witty in his remarks, he mark Israel as thug operated by their master, the mafia don, which refers to the US. In his words “when the master speaks, the servant obeys”. This is in light of the optimism that people had when they see that the US now seems to have some consideration for the Palestinian cause. In fact it wasn’t, argued Chomsky. What happen was that the tanks in Palestinian soil seems to interrupt Dick Cheney’s mission. That is why the US politely asked Sharon to withdraw them.
Israel is the American base in the middle east, it supported the US policy and help them to be accomplished. This reason alone, made it valuable to US. For example in 1967 Israel crushed Arab Nationalist, this service is done to ensure that the US influence in the region remain firm, an independent and democratic society in the middle east will undermine US strategic interest.
Chomsky also elaborate on how the US consistently blocking the peace settlement, by vetoing the UN resolution. The Geneva Convention also can be seen as a perfect example on how the US is alone in international views. The forth Geneva Convention makes what US and Israel did to the occupied territory a war crime. In 2000 the UN security council voted that the Geneva Convention applies to Israeli Occupation, the vote was 14 to 0, but the US choose to abstained.
What the US used as a pretext to invade other countries seems paradoxical to Chomsky’s thought. They said that it is the ‘war on terror’. Saddam Hussein is a maniac which kills his own people with poison gas, that is why the US need to come and free the Iraqi from this brutal tyrant. The only missing fact is that the tyrant atrocities was done using military equipment supplied by the US. To end terror, Chomsky note “everyone’s worried about stoping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: stop participating in it”.
February 28, 2019
Chomsky talks and a long interview about terrorism and (primarily) US actions in the middle east — in short, it’s terrorism when the other guy does it, but if you, the powerful, does it, it’s counterterrorism or a just war. And how good it would be if the US and other centers of power applied the same moral standards to their actions that they demand from the rest of the world. Interesting ideas, enlightening to some and naive lies, I’m sure, to others.
November 9, 2020
Este libro me ha abierto los ojos sobre asuntos realmente terribles que están sucediendo en el mundo, lo que más me gustó fue que el autor cree firmemente en el poder que pueden ejercer los ciudadanos. Recomendadísimo.
July 16, 2024
If you want a different perspective as compared to what's shoved from the western media around terrorism then this is a good starting point.
October 29, 2014
There are no readers indifferent to Noam Chomsky. At one point he and his wife agreed, if he continued as an activist and they had children, she'd better have a good job because he could be in jail. Later, he commented that, being part of the establishment he wasn't that vulnerable any more. (Chomsy has contributed new insight to language, especially its development in children.)
With that background, let me tell you what this book is: it's a series of questions and answers about the US and its activities worldwide.
I will give you a couple of sentences from Page 115, The United States in the World.
Q: How do you explain the recent shift in U.S. policy to support Palestine and the possible creation of a Palestinian state?
CHOMSKY: I explain it the same way I explain the U.S. shift in policy to dismantle the military sytem and hand it over to Andorra. Since it didn't happen, there is nothing to explain. There is no shift in policy whatever. It is a total farce. What happened is that Dick Cheney is running around the Middle East trying to get support for the upcoming war in Iraq, which is very hard because nobody wants it ....
If you are a blind patriot, this book will enrage you. If you wonder why bad things happen, this book will enlighten you.
With that background, let me tell you what this book is: it's a series of questions and answers about the US and its activities worldwide.
I will give you a couple of sentences from Page 115, The United States in the World.
Q: How do you explain the recent shift in U.S. policy to support Palestine and the possible creation of a Palestinian state?
CHOMSKY: I explain it the same way I explain the U.S. shift in policy to dismantle the military sytem and hand it over to Andorra. Since it didn't happen, there is nothing to explain. There is no shift in policy whatever. It is a total farce. What happened is that Dick Cheney is running around the Middle East trying to get support for the upcoming war in Iraq, which is very hard because nobody wants it ....
If you are a blind patriot, this book will enrage you. If you wonder why bad things happen, this book will enlighten you.
April 29, 2013
Chomsky has an amazing ability to see the big picture. Compared to others, the big picture he sees is like a remastered 72mm technicolor print of Lawrence of Arabia at a theater... and everybody else is midnight movies on a 12 inch black and white TV with no rabbit ears.
September 19, 2021
boy was he right about a lot of things…
November 7, 2023
Published 20 years ago and still as actual as ever.
We need to open our eyes and stop searching faults in those other people and countries, instead correct our own faults first.
We need to open our eyes and stop searching faults in those other people and countries, instead correct our own faults first.
June 16, 2025
I know Chomsky is a questionable character but his politics is always pretty on point. I really enjoyed this read, the framing of it was very good and I liked the interview format it had. The opening discussions on why 911 was so impactful was super interesting.
I like how the book mentioned a wide range of American involvement talking about the connection of foreign aid to war crimes. I was already aware of America’s strong funding of turkey in the 90s during peak Kurdish repression but I wasn’t aware to the extreme extent (that they were the second most funded after Israel?) crazy. Also the points on americas support and praising of saddam during his genocide of Kurds also very impactful on presenting americas interests (not noted in the book but bush then used the genocide as an argument for the Iraq war completely ignoring the fact that saddams power was built on American support, shows use of Kurds as a political pawn in their relation to the US).
I especially liked the point of calling Israeli tanks and weapons US tanks and weapons, it ensures you never forget Israels ability to remain an apartheid and arguably exist at all is purely reliant on America.
I learnt lots about Vietnam I didn’t know previously also the point about the American public only starting to properly protest after 5 years once their own men started to be sent to war and killed is very poignant. I think honestly that’s the same today, if American soldiers were being deployed on the ground there would be much more protesting to end American military aid to Israel. Unfortunately living in countries like Britain or America u live in the heart of the “empire” and masses only start to care once it affects them.
Overall good read but took ages to finish cause it’s lots of info (not pages wise but like pure facts and different types of argument he presents)
In reality probs like a 3.7 but 4 seems more right than 3
I like how the book mentioned a wide range of American involvement talking about the connection of foreign aid to war crimes. I was already aware of America’s strong funding of turkey in the 90s during peak Kurdish repression but I wasn’t aware to the extreme extent (that they were the second most funded after Israel?) crazy. Also the points on americas support and praising of saddam during his genocide of Kurds also very impactful on presenting americas interests (not noted in the book but bush then used the genocide as an argument for the Iraq war completely ignoring the fact that saddams power was built on American support, shows use of Kurds as a political pawn in their relation to the US).
I especially liked the point of calling Israeli tanks and weapons US tanks and weapons, it ensures you never forget Israels ability to remain an apartheid and arguably exist at all is purely reliant on America.
I learnt lots about Vietnam I didn’t know previously also the point about the American public only starting to properly protest after 5 years once their own men started to be sent to war and killed is very poignant. I think honestly that’s the same today, if American soldiers were being deployed on the ground there would be much more protesting to end American military aid to Israel. Unfortunately living in countries like Britain or America u live in the heart of the “empire” and masses only start to care once it affects them.
Overall good read but took ages to finish cause it’s lots of info (not pages wise but like pure facts and different types of argument he presents)
In reality probs like a 3.7 but 4 seems more right than 3
August 17, 2014
Chomsky's style as usual to the point and no sugar-coating. The book is laid out in a Q&A format although some of his longer answers are taken from his talks and presentations. There are three parts of the book with a fourth section on Recommended readings and about the film Power and Terror.
The third part has an excerpt of a talk he gave in 2002 to benefit the legal defense of a friend and Israeli Arab member of the Knesset, Azmi Bishara. It was delivered at Hunter College, NYC. Titled Visiting the West Bank, it traces Chomsky's visit to the troubled and anguished area. His accounts from Nablus where there was eve more large scale destruction compared to Jenin, relates how the locals coped with life after the devastation.
"Of all the villages we went to, the most dramatic case was the village that had become famous a couple of days earlier, namely Beita. Beita is a traditional conservative village nestled in the hills not far from Ramallah... It clearly had been a very attractive place, with old houses, hundreds of years old.
"At that time, Beita had been attacked and partially destroyed by Israeli forces. The reason was that a group of Israeli hikers from a nearby Israeli settlement had entered the fields of Beita. They were led by Romam Aldubi, a criminal extremist, and the only Jew ever to have been barred by the military authorities from entering any Arab areas. The hikers found a shepherd in the field and killed him. They were brought into the village, where they killed a couple of other people. Following that, the mother of one of the people who was killed, threw a stone at Aldubi, and he fired and killed an Israeli girl, Tirza Porat, who was one of the hikers. That led to a hysterical reaction in Israel including calls to destroy the town and drive the whole population out. The Israeli army knew exactly what had happened and told people. But for whatever reason, maybe to cut back on a more serious reaction among the settlers, the army went into town and smashed it up."
Chomsky then details his personal account describing that what they saw in the town at the time showed a devastation that was more grave than what was officially reported (almost double the number of houses destroyed and it was obvious there was no time given for them to leave).
"Though it was well known that Adulbi was the killer of both the Palestinians and of the Israeli girl, he was never punished, although he did come to trial. The authorities determined that the tragic events that happened were already punishment enough for him. So it was only the people in the village who had to be punished, and they were."
This chapter also captures his conversations with residents there.
"At the time we were there, it happened to be a bitter cold rainy day, as happens in that season, April - the people whose houses were demolished were living outdoors, trying to cook outdoors and so on. It was a pretty ugly and painful scene. Their attitudes were striking. They were not resigned. They were quiet and determined. We asked them whether they would be willing to accept assistance from Israeli Jews to rebuild what they had destroyed, and they told us they would, under certain conditions. If the assistance was given honestly, they would accept it happily. If it was given as an effort to create an image of what's called "the beautiful Israel", a term that's used in Israel in Hebrew as a term of contempt for a disgraceful posture that's familiar, they didn't want anything to do with it. Strikingly, there was no call for revenge or any retaliation, just the quiet determination to continue."
He quotes other incidences from his trip and again notes the same quiet determination with no retaliation or revenge.
"All this reveals a very remarkable fact about the military occupation. It went on for 34 years and was harsh, brutal, and repressive from the beginning, with robbery of land and resources. But there was no retaliation, not from the occupied territories. Israel was immune from any attack from within the territories. .... And when I refer to Israel, I mean the United States and Israel, because everything that Israel does is done up to the limits that the United States supports and authorizes."
Besides this account, Chomsky also focuses on Afghanistan, Iraq, and the relationship of United States with the world (an entire chapter on that). A quick read, this book is only 150 pp long. Recommended for anyone wanting to understand the dynamics of power and how it is so easily used and abused.
The third part has an excerpt of a talk he gave in 2002 to benefit the legal defense of a friend and Israeli Arab member of the Knesset, Azmi Bishara. It was delivered at Hunter College, NYC. Titled Visiting the West Bank, it traces Chomsky's visit to the troubled and anguished area. His accounts from Nablus where there was eve more large scale destruction compared to Jenin, relates how the locals coped with life after the devastation.
"Of all the villages we went to, the most dramatic case was the village that had become famous a couple of days earlier, namely Beita. Beita is a traditional conservative village nestled in the hills not far from Ramallah... It clearly had been a very attractive place, with old houses, hundreds of years old.
"At that time, Beita had been attacked and partially destroyed by Israeli forces. The reason was that a group of Israeli hikers from a nearby Israeli settlement had entered the fields of Beita. They were led by Romam Aldubi, a criminal extremist, and the only Jew ever to have been barred by the military authorities from entering any Arab areas. The hikers found a shepherd in the field and killed him. They were brought into the village, where they killed a couple of other people. Following that, the mother of one of the people who was killed, threw a stone at Aldubi, and he fired and killed an Israeli girl, Tirza Porat, who was one of the hikers. That led to a hysterical reaction in Israel including calls to destroy the town and drive the whole population out. The Israeli army knew exactly what had happened and told people. But for whatever reason, maybe to cut back on a more serious reaction among the settlers, the army went into town and smashed it up."
Chomsky then details his personal account describing that what they saw in the town at the time showed a devastation that was more grave than what was officially reported (almost double the number of houses destroyed and it was obvious there was no time given for them to leave).
"Though it was well known that Adulbi was the killer of both the Palestinians and of the Israeli girl, he was never punished, although he did come to trial. The authorities determined that the tragic events that happened were already punishment enough for him. So it was only the people in the village who had to be punished, and they were."
This chapter also captures his conversations with residents there.
"At the time we were there, it happened to be a bitter cold rainy day, as happens in that season, April - the people whose houses were demolished were living outdoors, trying to cook outdoors and so on. It was a pretty ugly and painful scene. Their attitudes were striking. They were not resigned. They were quiet and determined. We asked them whether they would be willing to accept assistance from Israeli Jews to rebuild what they had destroyed, and they told us they would, under certain conditions. If the assistance was given honestly, they would accept it happily. If it was given as an effort to create an image of what's called "the beautiful Israel", a term that's used in Israel in Hebrew as a term of contempt for a disgraceful posture that's familiar, they didn't want anything to do with it. Strikingly, there was no call for revenge or any retaliation, just the quiet determination to continue."
He quotes other incidences from his trip and again notes the same quiet determination with no retaliation or revenge.
"All this reveals a very remarkable fact about the military occupation. It went on for 34 years and was harsh, brutal, and repressive from the beginning, with robbery of land and resources. But there was no retaliation, not from the occupied territories. Israel was immune from any attack from within the territories. .... And when I refer to Israel, I mean the United States and Israel, because everything that Israel does is done up to the limits that the United States supports and authorizes."
Besides this account, Chomsky also focuses on Afghanistan, Iraq, and the relationship of United States with the world (an entire chapter on that). A quick read, this book is only 150 pp long. Recommended for anyone wanting to understand the dynamics of power and how it is so easily used and abused.
August 5, 2018
This book was loaned to me for the weekend by a work colleague who knew my political stances and thought I would like to read it. Embarrassingly, my knowledge of Noam Chomsky before this was limited to what I’d read on his Wikipedia page and any mentions of him in the 2016 movie ‘Captain Fantastic’ (GREAT film that I’d highly recommend to any self-identifying socialists, btw). So beginning this book, I knew about Chomsky’s political alignments and his career as a linguist, but I’d never actually read anything written/spoken by him, and this book was a great place to start. It’s basically a collection of talks and interviews given by Chomsky on topics related to power and terror (ofc, the clue is in the title) and I found it an interesting read, yet short and broken down enough to make it user-friendly and to hold onto my attention. Overall, I found Chomsky’s views to be impressive, refreshing, reassuring, and - although these interviews are certainly not new and taken from over a decade ago - still very relevant. It is certainly somewhat comforting to be reminded that there are some strong individuals out there who have been calling out the media and politicians on their total dismissal of factual evidence in favour of furthering their own causes. It was nice to see someone willing to stand up to the widely accepted narrative of the U.S. leading a “war on terror” and actually highlighting that historically it has caused far more terror than it has ever prevented. All in all, really well argued.
January 14, 2016
Before you form an opinion on global terrorism, I would suggest reading this book. It's brief but effective in shedding light on the involvement of first world countries (most dominantly the United States) in global terrorism and also how malleable and controlled the media is. Noam Chomsky gives facts point blank and without sugar coating the truth. It's very brief but manages to cover quite baffling information regarding the American atrocities across the world for many of which media records are unavailable. He also bravely points out the misuse of veto power by the United States and the truth hidden between the lines in declassified government records. He also shows how the US justifies its acts of terrorism as war on terror and uses its power to silence anyone who would not accept such a justification and hushes up the issues with phrases such as "unavoidable casualties". One couldn't help but think if people were keeping quiet because they are ignorant or because they are afraid. I have read many of Noam Chomsky's articles and have been impressed by the wisdom and bravery this man holds.
February 15, 2018
Having listened to and watched videos of Noam Chomsky deliver his ideas, this is the first book of his that I have read. It seems clear that despite the criticism he receives his attitude and unerring commitment to calling out international terrorism for what it is is vitally important. We live in paradoxical times, on one hand we have the internet and as such a dearth of information literally at our fingertips, yet on the other information is as tightly withheld as ever.
There has been created a predatory culture of silencing or criticizing free-thinkers because it causes cognitive dissonance to the reader. We are saturated with news, information and our brains it seems cannot delineate between truth and fiction because there are forces out there who would have you believe your nation is true and just. You Americans and we British, we are citizens of the most corrupt powers of this century and the last, which is not to say I am proud of our accolades but we must not shy away from holding accountable murderous leaders who commit heinous crimes in our names.
Chomsky, in his lucidity, enables us to confront the reality of our privileged existence.
There has been created a predatory culture of silencing or criticizing free-thinkers because it causes cognitive dissonance to the reader. We are saturated with news, information and our brains it seems cannot delineate between truth and fiction because there are forces out there who would have you believe your nation is true and just. You Americans and we British, we are citizens of the most corrupt powers of this century and the last, which is not to say I am proud of our accolades but we must not shy away from holding accountable murderous leaders who commit heinous crimes in our names.
Chomsky, in his lucidity, enables us to confront the reality of our privileged existence.
November 1, 2018
In this book, Noam Chomsky has interviews and essays from the period following 9/11. As always, his thoughts are provocative. In this book, he discusses the fact that we often label terrorism as the actions from the "other." When it is us performing similar actions, we call it something else. He points out repeatedly that it is not just the United States that does this: it is any country in a position of relative power. A couple of things new to me are studies showing that there is a high correlation between foreign aid from the United States and the use of torture by dictators in Latin America. The other was that Honduras was the base for United States' terror activities in the region. Chomsky's thoughts are very relevant to our current situation. The migrants Trump is targeting in Mexico are mostly from Honduras. Now he's militarizing the border and threatening to shoot people even if they throw rocks at the troops. What would happen if Mexico did that to us?
April 29, 2021
I definitely think this is a fine book, informing people about power structures and how they pertain to modern geopolitics and keeping those who already knew the broader details of these topics mindful, but Chomsky's speeches at times, especially the unscripted replies he gives, feel rambling or as though his answers don't quite hit the mark of the notions posed by the people asking them - a common symptom of using only speeches and Q&As as text with which to build a book around, as I've noticed. I generally don't think very highly of books which have individual assorted essays in them which were not constructed with a central narrative or point in mind, but some times the overarching point they roughly all address shines through enough that I still give them a high rating; in this case, I didn't feel that rang true. Perhaps it's an arbitrary reason to downplay a decent short book, but it's certainly not one of my favorites of the year so far.
May 12, 2016
This book collects several talks and interviews of Noam Chomsky that occurred shortly after 9/11. The main idea running through this book is that we shouldn't use a double standard when talking about acts of terrorism. Whether an act of terror is committed by non-state groups or by well-established states, it is still terror. Chomsky argues that western nations, by failing to understand that the atrocities they commit overseas are in fact terrorism, are creating the conditions that breed the terrorism they fear.
I felt it was an interesting read. One thing to note is that these talks and interviews refer to current events--some of which have fallen from current political consciousness. Depending on what kind of reader you are, this could frustrate you, or it could inspire you to dig into recent history.
I felt it was an interesting read. One thing to note is that these talks and interviews refer to current events--some of which have fallen from current political consciousness. Depending on what kind of reader you are, this could frustrate you, or it could inspire you to dig into recent history.
January 27, 2019
Not typically a non-fiction reader, but the title, "Power and Terror" caught my interest. Great read. Gave justification to sentiments I have already held about the U.S. intuitively. Has definitely piqued my interest in U.S. foreign policy/criticism of U.S. foreign policy. Chomsky reiterates throughout the various talks transcribed in the book that many of the horrors committed by the U.S. (directly, via foreign aid, via voting record, etc.) aren't widely known even among intellectuals. That's probably one of the most valuable aspects of this book, that it contains otherwise elusive justification for criticism. Like anything, take it with a grain of salt, but definitely worth a read. Looking forward to getting into Chomsky's written (this was all oral/transcribed) work in the future!
March 29, 2021
Noam Chomsky gives a clear analysis of the history and causes of the 9/11/2001 attacks in "Power and Terror." Published in 2003, Chomsky outlines the USA's neocolonial war machine destroying the Middle East, and the fightback which the propaganda-producers label "Terrorism". Many Americans are so brainwashed by their media and educational propaganda, that they have trouble understanding Chomsky's (and the rest of the world's) point of view. In 1995, I traveled from Brisbane to Sydney to hear Chomsky speak, he spoke of US imperialism, as well as Indonesian imperialism in East Timor, which was struggling for independence at the time. Chomsky inspired me to learn more about Timor, Papua, and the Neocolonialism on my doorstep, which led to me writing "Long Pork." He is inspirational, a great philosopher of our times.
August 29, 2016
I found this an excellent introduction to Noam Chomsky and his approach of researching official government documents which seldom reach our conventional news outlets because it's from 2002 and we have a bit of the perspective of history. Chomsky is fundamentally right about terrorism being the (mostly) covert practice of powerful governments all the time, not excepting our own. In fact he makes a good case that the first thing you'd want to do to stop terrorism would be for the USA to stop endorsing, abetting, and practicing terrorism. Chomsky is fantastically well informed, articulate, and plainspoken.
Politics is about who dies, about which genocides are going to be permitted. There are endless complications, but that's the fact at the bottom of the iceberg.
Politics is about who dies, about which genocides are going to be permitted. There are endless complications, but that's the fact at the bottom of the iceberg.
February 3, 2016
A typical Chomsky book that compares non-state terrorism (Al Qaida) with state terrorism (coups in Guatamala, war in Vietnam). Although Chomsky always seems to be generally caring about the suffering of all peoples his refusal, more than 21 years after the Islamic revolution in Iran, to acknowledge the repression, torture, murder, unlawful trials, unjust imprisonment and rape in Iran under the ayatollah and the mullahs shows he picks his dictatorships as he pleases. I guess one peoples suffering can be worth less than another as long as that dictatorship appears to be anti-America and anti-Israel.
July 3, 2007
A must for those wishing to familiarize themselves with Chomsky, though die-hards will probably find this work too breezy and light. Contains interview and speech excerpts from the socio-linguist cum political activist, especially as they pertain to the role rhetoric, language, and definition play in igniting terrorism/counter-terorism, and their collateral fires. Pieces are aptly selected, and, on the whole, the collection well-edited.
July 13, 2010
I learned from reading this book that there are more atrocities that have been committed by the government/policy makers and executors of the United States of America than I realized before. Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Argentina, Germany, Japan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Grenada, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq... I don't believe every word I read in a book just because it's a book, but I know from other sources facts about U.S. atrocities. It still surprises me to learn new bits.
April 12, 2018
Another enlightening Chomsky read, Power and Terror is essential reading for those wanting to understand America's relationship with the rest of the world. Although slightly outdated, this is highly relevant material and can even extend beyond America's relationships to broader "Western" relationships.
Wish that this had been essential reading for my political science degree!
Wish that this had been essential reading for my political science degree!
August 20, 2011
Made me want to throw things!
Everything you really kind'a "knew" anyway, but starkly and well informed confirmation...
Still makes me want to throw things....
Everything you really kind'a "knew" anyway, but starkly and well informed confirmation...
Still makes me want to throw things....
October 6, 2018
Chomsky's commentary is insightful and spot-on as ever - and, reading this in 2018, unsettlingly prescient in many ways.
November 11, 2018
I like the way he thinks
July 11, 2019
Eye opening and enraging. The world is so much richer for Chomsky’s work.
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