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Wednesday, Mar 20, 2002

progressive reviewing

"Chomsky's newest book, 9-11, contains interviews he gave in the days following Sept. 11. In those interviews, Chomsky argues the unpopular position that the United States itself is a terrorist nation which supplies economic support and weaponry to some of the world's most hostile and repressive regimes in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He notes that, not only has the United States both secretly and openly supported "terrorist" factions in Nicaragua, Columbia and Afghanistan, it also frequently and blatantly disregards international law. In 9-11, Chomsky asserts that war against Afghanistan in response to a terrorist attack violates United Nations guidelines. Under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, the United States should have sought action through the U.N. Security Council, a directive the Bush administration chose to ignore. Not only does Operation Enduring Freedom violate international law, it brings further destruction to an already war-ravaged, war-impoverished nation. As Chomsky foresaw in 9-11, "An attack in Afghanistan will probably kill a great many innocent civilians...in a country where millions are already on the verge of death from starvation. Wanton killing of innocent civilians is terrorism, not a war against terrorism."

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