"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
For all his celebrity on the academic and activist left, Noam Chomsky, the linguist turned gadfly, goes all but unnoticed inside the Capital Beltway. And this neglect, according to Chomsky's new collection of op-ed articles, Interventions, is not benign. "Chomsky's op-eds have been picked up widely by the international press," according to an editor's note, but American "'newspapers of record' have declined to publish them." When I picked up the new Chomsky collection, my first reaction was to be glad that City Lights Books -- "published at the City Lights Bookstore,"in San Francisco -- had brought out what promised to be a refreshing, if sometimes infuriating, challenge to conventional smugness. No such luck.
Chomsky's 44 brief essays, along with some supplementary notes added for republication, come to just over 200 loosely set pages. Yet this short book proves a chore to get through. To be sure, Chomsky's trademark barbs and provocations are here, but so are his flights to a separate reality. In Chomsky's universe, the 2001 U.S. attack on Afghanistan's Taliban "was undertaken with the expectation that it might drive several million people over the edge of starvation." And North Korea's counterfeiting racket may actually be a CIA operation. And the Clinton administration intervened militarily in Kosovo not in order to prevent ethnic cleansing but to impose Washington's neoliberal economic agenda. And President Bush -- the first and only U.S. president to declare formal American support for a Palestinian state -- is the obstacle to a two-state solution that Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran are all prepared to accept. (I am not making that up.) This kind of tendentious whimsy is more peculiar than interesting; as the pages turn, one becomes inured to it and begins to yawn. Also working against readability is that some columns ramble, some repeat, and some are compilations of news clippings. None of those flaws, however, would condemn Chomsky's collection to instant forgettability if it offered fresh analysis or supple argument. Instead the reader gets the sneaking suspicion that the author has not felt the need to adjust an opinion in 30 or so years.
As all who have read Chomsky know, he believes that "every form of authority and domination bears a severe burden of proof." The United States is the world's mightiest power, and its survival instinct, like that of all great powers, is the "imperial mentality" of domination and control. America, for Chomsky, has long been a major perpetrator of state terror; but now, with the advent of the Bush administration, "The most powerful state in history has proclaimed that it intends to control the world by force."
Because Interventions spans September 2002 to March 2007, the Iraq War naturally preoccupies it. That war, however, does not fit well into Chomsky's template. "The United States cannot tolerate a sovereign, more or less democratic Iraq," Chomsky claims. Just imagine, he says, the policies that such an Iraq would be likely to pursue: "The Shiite population in the south, where most of Iraq's oil is, would have a predominant influence.
They would prefer friendly relations with Shiite Iran." He wrote those words in January 2006. A year and a half later, the United States tolerates a sovereign, more or less democratic Iraq whose Shiite government is friendly toward Iran. If Bush is pursuing imperialism in Baghdad, it is of a very curious sort. In truth, foreign policy in the Bush years has blended aggression, humanitarianism, idealism and realism into a strange new brew. Pouring this new wine into old anti-imperialist bottles hardly does it justice. Heaven knows, the world needs a pointed, perceptive leftist critique of Bush's foreign policy and America's blind spots, but Chomsky, on the evidence of this tired book, is not the thinker to provide it.
Copyright 2007, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 6.11
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR001901544
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Interventions This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780141031804
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780141031804
Book Description Condition: good. Befriedigend/Good: Durchschnittlich erhaltenes Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit Gebrauchsspuren, aber vollständigen Seiten. / Describes the average WORN book or dust jacket that has all the pages present. Seller Inventory # M00141031808-G
Book Description Condition: very good. Gut/Very good: Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit wenigen Gebrauchsspuren an Einband, Schutzumschlag oder Seiten. / Describes a book or dust jacket that does show some signs of wear on either the binding, dust jacket or pages. Seller Inventory # M00141031808-V
Book Description Condition: Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP36847915
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Very Good. ***Simply Brit*** Welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there is something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality. Seller Inventory # 2249299
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780141031804
Book Description Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). 0.4. Seller Inventory # 353-0141031808-vrg
Book Description Condition: New. Dieser Artikel ist ein Print on Demand Artikel und wird nach Ihrer Bestellung fuer Sie gedruckt. At a time when the United States exacts a greater power over the rest of the world, America s leading voice of dissent needs to be heard more than ever. This book examines the issues of our post-9/11 world, covering the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the . Seller Inventory # 594371189