Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs - Softcover

Chomsky, Noam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0896086119 ISBN 13: 9780896086111

Publisher: South End Press, 2000

Synopsis

Contents

Rogues' Gallery: Who Qualifies?
Rogue States
Crisis in the Balkans
East Timor Retrospective
"Plan Colombia"
Cuba and the US Government: David vs. Goliath
Putting on the Pressure: Latin America
Jubilee 2000
"Recovering Rights": A Crooked Path
The United States and the "Challenge of Universality"
The Legacy of War
Millennium Greetings
Power in the Domestic Arena
Socioeconomic Sovereignty
Notes
Index

An Excerpt from Rogue States by Noam Chomsky

The concept of "rogue state" plays a pre-eminent role today in policy planning and analysis.

The current Iraq crisis is only the latest example. Washington and London declared Iraq a "rogue state," a threat to its neighbors and to the entire world, an "outlaw nation" led by a reincarnation of Hitler who must be contained by the guardians of world order, the United States and its British "junior partner," to adopt the term ruefully employed by the British foreign office half a century ago. The concept merits a close look.

[...]

A secret 1995 study of the Strategic Command, which is responsible for the strategic nuclear arsenal, outlines the basic thinking. Released through the Freedom of Information Act, the study, Essentials of Post-Cold War Deterrence, "shows how the United States shifted its deterrent strategy from the defunct Soviet Union to so-called rogue states such as Iraq, Libya, Cuba and North Korea," AP reports. The study advocates that the US exploit its nuclear arsenal to portray itself as "irrational and vindictive if its vital interests are attacked." That "should be a part of the national persona we project to all adversaries," in particular the "rogue states." "It hurts to portray ourselves as too fully rational and cool-headed," let alone committed to such silliness as international law and treaty obligations. "The fact that some elements" of the US government "may appear to be potentially 'out of control' can be beneficial to creating and reinforcing fears and doubts within the minds of an adversary's decision makers." The report resurrects Nixon's "madman theory": our enemies should recognize that we are crazed and unpredictable, with extraordin

About this title

About the Author:

Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. A member of the American Academy of Science, he has published widely in both linguistics and current affairs. His books include At War with Asia, Towards a New Cold War, Fateful Triangle: The U. S., Israel and the Palestinians, Necessary Illusions, Hegemony or Survival, Deterring Democracy, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy and Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.

Review:

[Chomsky] holds a mirror up to the United States, [showing] it in a very different light than the United States' official rhetoric." -- Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs

About this edition

• Publisher: South End Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0896086119
• ISBN 13: 9780896086111
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 150