Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs

Chomsky is fabulous at pointing out stinging ironies in the American political landscape, not to mention the media landscape. Those are indeed his two main topics, and he makes you think about these things as you watch your local or national news, (which gets harder to do after reading Chomsky). For instance, if you watch CNN right now, you'll be watching a lengthy report and analysis on a woman from North Dakota who is missing and believed to have been kidnapped and furthermore believed to be dead. The images of this young woman splash across the screen, then there's a shot of the suspect, then a shot of a hundred people scouring a field looking for clues, then a shot of the local sheriff hugging the woman's dad, and finally another image of the woman followed by a picture of the parking lot where it is supposed she was kidnapped. It's a tragic story to be sure, and many people must find it interesting, but not by any definition can this be news. All of the cable news companies are doing this, and while it is simply a device to boost ratings and appeal to the lowest interests of the masses, it also creates a massive distraction from the huge tragedies and ironies in the world.

For those of us living inside the big, neon capitalist bubble that is America, it can be shocking to hear details about US policy abroad. For example, we all know that Saddam Hussein is a bad man, but most Americans are completely unaware that the US armed him in the 1980s, thereby giving him the firepower he needed to massacre tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds. When Americans are exposed to details like this it tends to produce a kind of cognitive dissonance, because this fact runs counter to everything we see on TV or read in newspapers. Moreover, not too many Americans know that the US and the UK are now engaged in deadly biological warfare against Iraq's citizenry: "The destruction of infrastructure and banning of imports to repair it has caused disease, malnutrition, and early death on a huge scale, including more than 500,000 children..." That is an average of 5,000 children dying each moth - a figure that blows the 9-11 tragedy out of the water (if one were so humane as to compare dead Iraqis with dead Americans). The US and Britain have taken the lead in blocking aid programs to Iraq under these UN-approved sanctions. For example, delaying approval for ambulances on the grounds that they could be used to transport troops, and barring insecticides for preventing the spread of disease and spare parts for sanitation systems. All the while, as innocent Iraqis (that is to say, women and children citizens) die and Saddam Hussein remains in power, the U.S. continues to purchase Iraqi oil - which under the "Oil for Food" program is now pennies on the dollar. A classic example of beat up the little guy and take the lunch money, US foreign policy is not as noble as our leaders would have us believe. Of course, thinking about this fact while filling up the SUV will only lead to more of that cognitive dissonance stuff. The story is much more detailed than this, and Chomsky's book helps flesh out some of these details that never seem to end up in mainstream media sources. But Chomsky does not limit his analysis to Iraq. In this book, he provides a global survey of the entire Rogue's Gallery - covering the Balkans, East Timor, Colombia, Cuba and Latin America. In the last few chapters, Chomsky also lends commentary and critique to European colonial history, imperialism, the rise of corporate capitalism, and the modern global economy. This is compact and potent Chomsky, a factual wrap sheet placed within the historical context of empire and conquest. If you are looking for a quick survey of Chomsky's views, there is no better place to start. Perhaps Chomsky's most readable critique of the "Washington Consensus" to date.

For those of us living inside the big, neon capitalist bubble that is America, it is often shocking to hear details about US policy abroad abroad. Saddam Hussein is a bad man, granted, but most Americans are completely unaware that the US armed him in the 1980s, thereby giving him the firepower he needed to massacre tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds. Moreover, not too many Americans know that the US and the UK are now engaged in deadly biological warfare in Iraq: "The destruction of infrastructure and banning of imports to repair it has cased disease, malnutrition, and early deaeth on a huge scale, including more than 500,000 children, according to UNICEF investigators - an average of 5,000 children dying each moth.... The US and Britain have taken the lead in blocking aid programs - for example, delaying approval for ambulances on the grounds that they could be used to transport troops, and barring insecticides for preventing the spread of disease and spare parts for sanitation systems." All the while, as innocent Iraqi people are dying and Saddam Hussein remains in pwer, the US continues to purchase Iraqi oil - only now its pennies on the dollar as dictated by the "Oil for Food" program. Of course, the story is much more detailed than this, and Chomsky's book helps flesh out some of these details that never seem to end up in mainstream media sources. But Chomsky doesn't just limit his analysis to Iraq. In this book, he provides a global survey of all the so-called Rogue States: The Balkans, East Timor, Colombia, Cuba and Latiin America in general. Chomsky also throws in commentary on European colonial history, imperialism, the rise corporate capitalism, and critiques the modern global economy. This is compact and potent Chomsky: a factual wrap sheet placed within the historical context of Empire and conquest. If you are looking for a quick intro to Chomsky's views, this is a good place to start. Perhaps Chomsky's most readable critique of the "Washington Concensus." At times repetetive, but then Chomsky is getting old. A good read.

This has to be one of the best books about recent events that I have ever read. Through a series of case studies spanning the entire globe, Chomsky paints a picture of the way things stand. It is clear from this book that large corporations and Bill Gates-ian "rich folk" rule the world. Under the guise of democracy and freedom, the United States government is the single most destructive and evil force in all of history. I don't call it evil due to some mental problem on my part. The evil stems from hypocritical policies of the government. Quell the masses with lofty speeches about democracy, while at the same time destroying the democratic movements around the world. I became politically aware around the time of the Waco fiasco. At the same time as that event Russia was crushing a rebellion, in I think, Chechnya. The reports were contemporary. I realized that the United States was just as intolerant of "rebellion" and "revolution" as Russia. I get sick to my stomach when I try to rationalize the actions of the US in terms of freedom and human rights. I accept some of the cultural guilt, but I point out to anyone willing to listen that I am American by birth, not by choice. Perhaps I am an unrealistic idealist, but what Chomsky writes gets me thinking. I commit myself from this point forward to do abosultely anything necessary to help bring down an entity that ruins millions of people's lives through its policies. Isn't the American myth built on fighting tyranny and abuse? One thing that rang clear while reading this book: if you are brave enough to challenge the system, be prepared to be invaded, possibly killed, certainly discredited, and definitely abused. Watch your back, take responsibility for your own actions, and do something nice for someone that has had his/her country demolished by the American imperial machine.