Noam Chomsky on Ron Paul’s 9/11 Theories: What He Said Is Completely Uncontroversial

Dandelion Salad

Note: replaced video number 2, Sept. 16, 2011

www.democracynow.org
Sept. 13, 2011

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Ten years ago, at a time when lawmakers from both sides of the isle joined together to authorize endless war, Noam Chomsky’s was the leading voice to call for the United States to take a look in the mirror — for a re-thinking of U.S. actions in the Middle East and across the globe. His 2001 book simply titled “9-11” became a surprise bestseller. The book collected a series of interviews Chomsky had given on the roots of the 9/11 attacks and his prescription for a just response. Ten years later, Chomsky has just released an updated version titled, “9-11: Was There An Alternative?,” which refers to the U.S. assassination of Osama bin Laden and the continuity Chomsky sees between the Bush administration’s foreign policy and President Obama’s. “Right at this moment, Obama has succeeded in descending even below George W. Bush in approval in the Arab world,” says Noam Chomsky on Democracy Now! Sept. 13. “The policies change, but they are hostile. We should understand where atrocities come from. They do not come from nowhere. If we’re serious, we should try to do something about what is the basis for them.”

Noam Chomsky: Looking Back on 9/11 a Decade Later. Part 1 of 2

democracynow on Sep 16, 2011

Noam Chomsky on Libya, Israel & GOP Presidential Candidates’ ‘Utterly Outlandish’ Positions

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President Obama sent his new jobs proposal to Congress on Monday with a plan to pay for the $447 billion package by raising taxes on the wealthy. Noam Chomsky says, “The healthcare system…the huge military spending, the very low taxes for the rich [and corporations]…those are fundamental problems that have to be dealt with if there’s going to be anything like successful economic and social development in the United States.” As Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, calls Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” and Democrats buy into the narrative that the program is in crisis, Chomsky notes that “to worry about a possible problem 30 years from now, which can incidentally be fixed with a little bit of tampering here and there, as was done in 1983, to worry about that just makes absolutely no sense, unless you’re trying to destroy the program.”

Noam Chomsky on US Economic Crisis: Joblessness, Excessive Military Spending and Healthcare

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President Obama publicly confirmed Monday that the United States will oppose any attempt by the Palestinians to achieve statehood at the United Nations, but Palestinians leaders are still vowing to move ahead with their bid for statehood this week. What will the ramifications of a U.S. veto be? For more, we speak with Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky. “If the Palestinians do bring the issue to the Security Council and the U.S. vetoes it, it will be just another indication of the real unwillingness to permit a settlement of this issue, in terms of what has been for a long time an overwhelming international consensus,” Chomsky says.

Noam Chomsky: U.S. To Veto Palestinian Statehood Bid Despite “Overwhelming Intl Consensus”

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www.democracynow.org

During the most recent Republican presidential debate on Monday, September 12th, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas drew boos and jeers from the crowd and his fellow debaters for his views on the roots of 9/11 attacks. Dr. Paul criticized U.S. foreign policy as the catalyst stating, “we’re under great threat because we occupy so many countries… We have to be honest with ourselves. What would we do if another country, say China, did to us what we do to all those countries over there?” For more, Democracy Now! spoke with Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Noam Chomsky. Dr. Chomsky responded to Dr. Paul’s comments by reciting the history of antagonism to US policy, concluding: “I think what he said is completely uncontroversial. You can read it in government documents.”

In our extended interview with Noam Chomsky, he argues that in Libya, “you could have made a case for a no-fly zone and protection of civilians, but I think it’s much harder to make a case for direct participation in a civil war and undercutting of possible options that were supported by almost the entire world.” Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Chomsky notes that Turkey and Egypt have been key allies for Israel and that the deterioration of their relations “contributes very substantially to Israel’s isolation in the region.” Back in the United States, Chomsky says that while he is no fan of President Obama, the position of the Republican presidential candidates on issues such as climate change are “utterly outlandish.” Chomsky is interviewed by Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman, along with producer Aaron Maté.

Noam Chomsky on Ron Paul’s 9/11 Theories: “What He Said Is Completely Uncontroversial”

see

After 9/11, Was War the Only Option? by Noam Chomsky

9/11: When truth became a casualty of war

9/11 Paved the Way for America’s Permanent Wars of Aggression by Finian Cunningham

Noam Chomsky on Ron Paul

The Punk Patriot: Yellow Journalism At Its Worst