Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World by Noam Chomsky (PDF)

Description

This updated edition of Noam Chomsky’s classic dis-section of terrorism explores the role of the U.S. in the Middle East, and reveals how the media manipulates -public opinion about what constitutes “terrorism.”This edition includes new chapters covering the second Palestinian intifada that began in October 2000; an analysis of the impact of September 11 on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East; a deconstruction of depictions and perceptions of terrorism since that date; as well as the original sections on Iran and the U.S. bombing of Libya.Chomsky starts by tracing the changing meaning of “terrorism,” examining how it originally referred to violent acts by “governments designed to ensure popular submission.” He calls its current application “retail terrorism,” practiced by “thieves who molest the powerful.” Chomsky argues that appreciating the differences between state terror and nongovernmental terror is crucial to stopping terrorism, and understanding why atrocities like the bombing of the World Trade Center happen.In comparing the “war on terror” launched by George W. Bush to that of his father and Ronald Reagan’s administrations, Chomsky recalls Winston Churchill’s summation of the terror by the powerful: “The rich and powerful have every right to demand that they be left in peace to enjoy what they have gained, often by violence and terror; the rest can be ignored as long as they suffer in silence, but if they interfere with the lives of those who rule the world by right, the ‘terrors of the earth’ will be visited upon them with righteous wrath, unless power is constrained from within.”Pirates and Emperors is a brilliant account of the workings of state terrorism by the world’s foremost critic of U.S. imperialism.An internationally acclaimed philosopher, linguist, and political activist, Noam Chomsky teaches at MIT.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐As always Professor Chomsky delivers salient and detailed information on his subjects and eloquently ties all ofthis in with today’s issues. He is doing all that is within his power to educate the public in order to stimulate action thatwould make for a better world for everyone.

⭐MUST READ

⭐This is a new edition of one of Professor Chamosky’s success. Excelent book.

⭐It is well written. logic explanations and excellent analysis.

⭐This is NC describing hundreds of occasions of violence and atrocities taking his usual position of viewing violence from what may be viewed as a neutral perspective – so that perpetrators of violence are the terrorists regardless of side. In this light, of course the US military is the worst terrorist force in the world. Noam turns what might be viewed as typical news reporting as biased in that they consider there to be good guys and bad guys of the sort that “we” are the good guys and “they” are the bad guys so whatever violence they do is evil and terroristic while what violence we do is heroic and defensive with the goal of protecting civilization and aiding those who need our protection. When viewed from Noam’s perspective it becomes obvious that moral blindness to this bias will not do and we are left wondering what might be a moral answer to the violence so prolific in the world. Thinking about Steven Pinker’s book The Better Angels of our Nature may best be understood as coming from a western bias regarding violence and even in the sense that what is being measured and the possible reason for the decline of violence described results from western concepts and so ignores the larger question of what is moral regarding the life and death struggles played out world wide. As a side, the movie The Woman in Gold portrays a historical set of events depicting the Nazi destruction of Jewish society and people and the theft of their belongings including great art and how legal efforts have developed over recent years to reclaim some of that property by survivors and relatives. The various contexts of violence through the movie would be an interesting topic for the sort of analysis Noam typically gives. Perhaps a dialog can be arranged.

⭐Chomsky starts with the premise that the United States has fewer restrictions on its press than any other contry in the world. At the same time, it has the most effective system in the world for restricting what its citizens think.Focusing on the Israel-Palestine dispute (but with forays as far abroad as Hiroshima, Guatemala, Afghanistan, and–most relevantly for today–Iraq), Chomsky proves over and over again that the US version of terrorism is completely one sided. After all, he argues, it is the US that has killed more civilians in more attempts to influence enemies through terror than any other country.Chomsky gives short shrift to those who argue endlessly over the legal meaning of various UN Resolutions to determine what the legalities are of various conflicts. Applying his philosophical theories to politics, Chomsky says that words mean exactly what those with the power to act say they mean, nothing more and nothing less.Chomsky’s bottom line is that if the US really wants to combat terrorism, the first thing we ought to do is stop practicing it, and stop supporting others who do so.Chomsky certainly has a point of view that one hears all too infrequently in this country. My main criticism is that the book repeats the same examples several times in different chapters to make the same point. This results from the fact that the book is actually a loosely connected series of essays and talks, not originally wirtten at the same time, let alone with a book in mind.

⭐Professor Noam Chomsky deserves a literary award for this scholarly treatise that exposes the hypocrisies and selective standards the big powers use with respect to theword “terrorism.” Chomsky brilliantly illustrates that by the internationally accepted definition of the word terrorism, the Western powers are guilty of state sponsored terrorism by their support of attrocities against Third World peoples such as thePalestinains, Kurds, East Timorese, and others.The convenient countries that are targeted for sanctions against terrorism are Iraq, Iran, Syria, Cuba, and North Korea. Chomsky argues that should a leader who supportsWestern expansionism and domination such as the Shah of Iran or Ferdinand Marcos of the Phillipinesarise, the countries will be termed “friendly” and “moderate” like the Gulf potentates and Indonesia.I thorougly enjoyed reading this book and others by the same author. Chomsky consistently points out the mistakes and fallacies of policy makers through his superbmastery of polemics and prose. His style is entertaining and never loses my interest. I suggest any prospective student in international relations be required to read this text byone of America’s leading dissident voices, particularly in this time of “war on terror,” which has been advocated and advanced by the Bush Administration.

⭐It interesting to see how the critics of Mr. Chomsky might my call him by several nasty names, but fail to present evidence to contradict its presentation of the facts about why USA and Israel are among the largest terrorist actors in the world responsible of merciless and cinical killings of thousands of civilians.Suprinsigly he does not accomodate the definition of what is a terrorist or a terrorist act to fit its conclusions. He gets there using the definition coinded by the US government.That is why the reaction of his critics is so emotional, nobody likes it what its dark side is exposed.By the way he does not argue that the guys on the other side are the good ones, he simply points out how sad it is that neither USA, Israel can claim to be innocent victims of terrorism when a maniac blows himself and several bystanders in a burger joint or takes down a bulding with a plane.

⭐This book is a collection containing some of Noam Chomsky’s best and most important political articles – seven in all – with an emphasis on the Middle East. The articles have been well selected for current relevance, but they are not new: three of them were first published in 1986, two in 1991, and one in 2001; only one article is really post-9/11 in its specific content. So don’t buy this if what you are looking for is up-to-date Chomsky. On the other hand, I knew what i was getting and find this an enormously useful collection. It provides excellent background for what is going on right now in the Middle East. I am very glad to have it.

⭐Great

⭐En México es difícil conseguir este título. Completamente recomendado.

⭐

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