Noam Chomsky - War Crimes and Imperial Fantasies - 2CD

For More than a half century, the United States and its leaders have been pursuing a grand imperial strategy with the aim of dominating and controlling international politics. Our elected leaders have been willing to follow the dream of dominance regardless of the cost. In War Crimes and Imperial Fantasy, Noam Chomsky talks to Alternative Radio’s David Barsamian in Chomsky’s MIT office about the history of the United State’s pursuit of imperialism and the crimes against humanity committed along the way.

Is George W. Bush an international criminal and is his war in Iraq an egregious criminal act? In this thorough and in-depth 2xCD interview, Noam Chomsky, who is commonly referred to as “the conscience of the American people,” carefully places Bush into an historical perspective; explaining Bush’s actions in relation to past US presidents and how Bush’s war in Iraq is in blatant disregard of the findings of the Nuremberg Tribunal. In this exposing interview, Chomsky recounts America’s history of aggressive war, war crimes and murder while placing George Bush’s Iraq invasion and occupancy into context. Just in time for election day, War Crimes and Imperial Fantasy is an exercise in American honesty and objective, factual criticism.

When official enemies of the United States commit crimes, they must be punished. That is an unquestioned staple of public discourse. But what happens when the United States commits war crimes? Are they crimes? Are they reported? Is there justice? In an under-reported revelation, recently released documents from the Nixon White House, unambiguously make clear that an order for genocide came directly from the Oval Office. Unhappy with the Air Force, Nixon tells Kissinger, "I want them to hit everything" in Cambodia. The faithful servant immediately conveyed the message to the Pentagon: "A massive bombing campaign in Cambodia. Anything that flies on anything that moves." Rarely in history has a direct order for mass murder been discovered and published. The reaction from the political elites, the pundit-ocracy and the media? Undetectable. In War Crimes and Imperial Fantasies Noam Chomsky shines light on such criminal American hypocrisy and exposes an overt America which very few Americans even know exist.

These interviews by David Barsamian of Alternative Radio were recorded at MIT. Part 1: 12 February, 2004; Part 2: 11 June, 2004.

BIO:

Noam Chomsky, internationally renowned MIT professor, has been a leading voice for peace and social justice for more than four decades. He is in such demand as a public speaker that he is often booked years in advance. And wherever he appears, he draws huge audiences. The Guardian calls him, "One of the radical heroes of our age."

Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1928. In 1955, he received his Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania; he conducted much of the related research at Harvard University between 1951 and 1955. Since completion of his graduate work, Chomsky has taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he has held the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics since 1965. Among his many accomplishments, he is most famous for his work on generative grammar, which developed from his interest in modern logic and mathematical foundations.

Noam Chomsky is a renowned scholar, the founder of the modern science of linguistics, a philosopher, a political and social analyst, a media critic, an author of more than 70 books, a winner of numerous prizes and awards and ranks with Marx, Shakespeare and the bible as one of the 10 most quoted sources in the humanities. Chomsky has had a long involvement in political activism, generally leaning towards a socialist and anarchist perspective. He became known for his opposition to the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War during the late 1960s. In 1969, he published a book of essays, American Power and the New Mandarins, which is considered to be one of the most substantial arguments ever against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. His subsequent written works and lectures continue to expose the hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy and the detrimental role of large corporations and the mainstream media.

Chomsky continues to be an outspoken critic of the current world order, and of the U.S. government in particular, as witnessed by his incisive statements following the September 11th attacks.

Noam Chomsky has written dozens of books and released about a dozen CDs as well. He has collaborated with Chumbawumba, and has released CDs on Epitaph Records.

Chomsky's book on 9/11 has been on bestseller lists of major newspapers such as NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Village Voice and the Boston Globe.

Even major media outlets such as CNN who have been critiqued by Chomsky sought his opinions regarding the events of 9/11.

Previous lecture CDs by Chomsky have been staples at record stores and book stores including chain outlets such as Borders.

"If the Nuremberg laws were applied today, then every Post-War American president would have to be hanged." ~ Noam Chomsky