Book Review: Power and Terror by Noam Chomsky
Reviewed by Nick Berveiler
The U.S. led "war on terror" is anything but a war against terrorism. The use of the words "war on terror" should always be used in quotation marks as a so called war on terror, because there is no such thing. This is one of many sharp political criticisms in Noam Chomsky's latest book, "Power and Terror" which broadly reveals the role of the United States as one of the worst terrorist states in the world. "Power and Terror" has been released as a film and book of speeches and an interview given by Chomsky in the spring of 2002. Documented by Japanese filmmaker John Junkerman, this documentary shows Chomsky tirelessly arguing against state led terrorism by the powerful on the weak.
"Power and Terror" expands on concepts and remarks made in Chomsky's previous book "9-11" which was released immediately after the terrorist attack on America on September 11th and during the war in Afghanistan that followed. Chomsky's remarks that because the United States is the only country that has ever been condemned by the UN for its international terrorist involvement in Nicaragua disqualifies the United States from being a leader in fighting against terrorism. This specific reference is used because it is not controversial by the mainstream. "9-11" compliments "Power and Terror" because the arguments are consistent in each book using different examples of US foreign policy. Chomsky makes a solid argument for why the United States is feared as a terrorist state in many countries around the world while the Bush administration casts the illusion that it is fighting against terrorism to the American public.
Chomsky states that what makes September 11th historic is not the nature or scale of the atrocity, but who its victims are. There are plenty of atrocities in the world, but they're always somewhere else. Chomsky comments that it is unthinkable to most people that we should bomb Washington DC when there is clearly terrorist activity being plotted against innocent people from the power structure of that region. This argument is not used to encourage violence against the people of Washington DC but that it should also be unacceptable for American citizens to support the bombing of other countries. Chomsky uses the Oklahoma City bombing as an example, stating that if that atrocity were to have come from international terrorists we would have immediately bombed Iraq, however with our intelligence it was possible for us to capture Timothy McVeigh without bombing any major US cities.
A critical statement against countries supporting the "war on terror" is that the war is used to cover up atrocities committed by these countries in the name of fighting against terrorism. Turkey is the primary example of a country that not only has a terrible record of human rights but is also currently being funded by military aid from the United States to send troops into Afghanistan. The fact that Turkey is able to commit terrible atrocities of its own against the Kurdish population as they have been doing for years is because they are supported financially by the United States as a strategic ally. This is the same situation with Iraq. Iraq has committed atrocities on its own people, with the support of the United States. Chomsky notes that the reference of US support for Iraq at the time these atrocities took place is always withheld in the mainstream press. One of Chomsky's sharpest criticisms is: "Everyone's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: Stop participating in it."
Commenting on the "Axis of Evil" statement by George W. Bush, Chomsky states that this comment is used to strike fear in the American public when none of these countries are actually affiliated with each other in any way. Chomsky quotes an Egyptian newspaper that declares a real "Axis of Evil" as the United States, Israel, and Turkey. "This is an axis of evil aimed at the Arab states, and has been for years, a tight alliance."
Using highly controversial statements, Chomsky provides commentary that is missing from any critical analysis that may be provided by the mainstream press for reasons of objectivity. These statements represent the truth according to Chomsky, and he asks us to study the role of the US government in international terrorism much more closely than most people ever would. Chomsky states that if we want to understand why terrorism has occurred and try to prevent further terrorism we have to realize that there are some elements of legitimacy behind all forms of violence from a crime in the streets to war. This argument is not used to justify any terrorist atrocities but as a suggestion that we need to look at why the atrocity took place and handle the situation without using aggressive military force.
