Who Rules the World? (38 page)
Read Who Rules the World? Online
Authors: Noam Chomsky
3. THE TORTURE MEMOS AND HISTORICAL AMNESIA
1
. Inquiry into the Detainees in U.S. Custody, Report of the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, 20 November 2008,
http://documents.nytimes.com/report-by-the-senate-armed-services-committee-on-detainee-treatment#p=72
. Jonathan Landay, “Abusive Tactics Used to Seek Iraq–al Qaida Link,” McClatchyDC, 21 April 2009.
2
. Paul Krugman, “Reclaiming America’s Soul,”
New York Times
, 23 April 2009.
3
. Hans Morgenthau,
The Purpose of American Politics
(New York: Knopf, 1964).
4
. Ibid.
5
. Roger Cohen, “America Unmasked,”
New York Times
, 24 April 2009.
6
. See Richard Drinnon,
Facing West: The Metaphysics of Indian-Hating and Empire-Building
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997). Knox cited by Reginald Horsman in
Expansion and American Indian Policy 1783–1812
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992), 64.
7
. Krugman, “Reclaiming America’s Soul.”
8
. See discussion in Horsman,
Expansion and American Indian Policy 1783–1812
; William Earl Weeks,
John Quincy Adams and American Global Empire
(Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992).
9
. On the record of Providentialist justifications for the most shocking crimes and its more general role in forging “the American idea,” see Nicholas Guyatt,
Providence and the Invention of the United States, 1607–1876
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007).10
. Cited by Lars Schoultz in
That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009), 4.11
. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.,
Robert Kennedy and His Times
(Boston: Mariner Books, 2002), 480.12
. Republican Party Platforms: “Republican Party Platform of 1900,” June 19, 1900. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley,
The American Presidency Project
,
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29630
.13
. Alfred McCoy,
Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State
(Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2009).14
. Jennifer Harbury,
Truth, Torture, and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture
(Boston: Beacon Press, 2005).15
. Alfred McCoy,
A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror
(New York: Metropolitan Books, 2006). See also McCoy, “The U.S. Has a History of Using Torture,” History News Network, 6 December 2006.16
. Noam Chomsky,
Hopes and Prospects
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2010), 261.17
. Allan Nairn, “The Torture Ban That Doesn’t Ban Torture: Obama’s Rules Keep It Intact, and Could Even Accord with an Increase in US-Sponsored Torture Worldwide,”
www.allannairn.org
, 24 January 2009.18
. Chomsky,
Hopes and Prospects
, 261.19
. Lars Schoultz, “U.S. Foreign Policy and Human Rights Violations in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis of Foreign Aid Distributions,”
Comparative Politics
13, no. 2 (January 1981): 149–70; Herman in Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman,
The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism: The Political Economy of Human Rights: Volume I
(Boston: South End Press, 1999); Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman,
After the Cataclysm: Postwar Indochina and the Reconstruction of Imperial Ideology: The Political Economy of Human Rights—Volume II
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2014); Edward S. Herman,
The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda
(Boston: South End Press, 1982).20
. McCoy, “The U.S. Has a History of Using Torture”; Danford Levinson, “Torture in Iraq and the Rule of Law in America,”
Daedalus
133, no. 3 (Summer 2004).21
. Linda Greenhouse, “Justices, 5-4, Back Detainee Appeals for Guantánamo,”
New York Times
, 13 June 2008.22
. Glenn Greenwald, “Obama and Habeas Corpus—Then and Now,”
Salon
, 11 April 2009.23
. Ibid.24
. Daphne Eviatar, “Obama Justice Department Urges Dismissal of Another Torture Case,”
Washington Independent
, 12 March 2009.25
. William Glaberson, “U.S. May Revive Guantánamo Military Courts,”
New York Times
, 1 May 2009.26
. Michael Kinsley, “Down the Memory Hole with the Contras,”
Wall Street Journal
, 26 March 1987.27
. Patrick Cockburn, “Torture? It Probably Killed More Americans than 9/11,”
Independent
(London), 6 April 2009.28
. Rajiv Chandrasekaran, “From Captive to Suicide Bomber,”
Washington Post
, 22 February 2009.29
. Chomsky,
Hopes and Prospects
, 266.30
. Ibid., 267.31
. Ibid., 268.
4. THE INVISIBLE HAND OF POWER
1
. Tareq Y. Ismael and Glenn E. Perry,
The International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East: Subordination and Beyond
(London: Routledge, 2014), 73; Noam Chomsky,
Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance
(New York: Metropolitan Books, 2003), 150; Daniel Yergin,
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power
(New York: Free Press, 1991).
2
. Noam Chomsky,
Hopes and Prospects
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2010), 55.
3
. Laurence H. Shoup and William Minter,
Imperial Brain Trust: The Council on Foreign Relations and United States Foreign Policy
(New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977), 130.
4
. Chomsky,
Hopes and Prospects
, 238.
5
. Gerard Van Bilzen,
The Development of Aid
(Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015), 497.
6
. White House, “Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America,” press release, 26 November 2007,
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071126-11.html
.
7
. Charlie Savage, “Bush Declares Exceptions to Sections of Two Bills He Signed into Law,”
New York Times
, 15 October 2008.
8
. Marina Ottoway and David Ottoway, “Of Revolutions, Regime Change, and State Collapse in the Arab World,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 28 February 2011,
http://carnegieendowment.org/2011/02/28/of-revolutions-regime-change-and-state-collapse-in-arab-world
.
9
. Pew Research Center, “Egyptians Embrace Revolt Leaders, Religious Party and Military, As Well,” 25 April 2011,
http://pewglobal.org/files/2011/04/Pew-Global-Attitudes-Egypt-Report-FINAL-April-25-2011.pdf
.10
. Marwan Muasher, “Tunisia’s Crisis and the Arab World,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 24 January 2011,
http://carnegieendowment.org/2011/01/24/tunisia-s-crisis-and-arab-world
.11
. Thom Shanker, “U.S. Fails to Explain Policies to Muslim World, Panel Says,”
New York Times
, 24 November 2004.12
. Afaf Lutfi Al-Sayyid Marsot,
Egypt in the Reign of Muhammad Ali
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984). For more extensive discussion on post–World War II Egypt, see Noam Chomsky,
World Orders Old and New
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1994), chapter 2.13
. Adam Smith,
The Wealth of Nations
(New York: Bantam Classics, 2003), 309.14
. Noam Chomsky,
Year 501: The Conquest Continues
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2014), 150.15
. Chomsky,
Hopes and Prospects
, 80.16
. David Ricardo,
The Works of David Ricardo: With a Notice of the Life and Writings of the Author by J. R. McCulloch
, (London: John Murray, 1846), 77.17
. Tony Magliano, “The Courageous Witness of Blessed Oscar Romero,”
National Catholic Reporter
, 11 May 2015.18
. Martin van Creveld, “Sharon on the Warpath: Is Israel Planning to Attack Iran?,”
New York Times
, 21 August 2004.19
. Clayton Jones, “China Is a Barometer on Whether Israel Will Attack Nuclear Plants in Iran,”
Christian Science Monitor
, 6 August 2010.20
. Kim Ghattas, “US Gets Serious on Iran Sanctions,” BBC News
,
3 August 2010.21
. Thom Shanker, “Pentagon Cites Concerns in China Military Growth,”
New York Times
, 16 August 2010.22
. Joshua Kurlantzick, “The Belligerents,”
New Republic
, 17 February 2011.23
. Stephen Braun and Jack Gillum, “2012 Presidential Election Cost Hits $2 Billion Mark,” Associated Press
,
6 December 2012; Amie Parnes and Kevin Cirilli, “The $5 Billion Presidential Campaign?,”
The Hill
, 21 January 2015.24
. Editors, “The Secret Behind Big Bank Profits,”
Bloomberg News
, 21 February 2013.25
. Christine Harper and Michael J. Moore, “Goldman Sachs CEO Blankfein Is Awarded $12.6 Million in Stock,” Bloomberg Business
,
29 January 2011.26
. Eszter Zalan, “Hungary’s Orban Wins Another Term, Jobbik Support Jumps,”
EU Observer
, 7 April 2014.27
. See Wikipedia, “Austrian Legislative Election, 2008,”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_legislative_election,_2008#Results
.28
. Donny Gluckstein,
Nazis, Capitalism, and the Working Class
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 1999), 37.29
. Matthew Weaver, “Angela Merkel: German Multiculturalism Has ‘Utterly Failed,’”
Guardian
(London), 17 October 2010.30
. Darren Samuelsohn, “John Shimkus Cites Genesis on Climate Change,”
Politico
, 10 December 2010.31
. Joseph Stiglitz, “Some Lessons from the East Asian Miracle,”
World Bank Research Observer
, August 1996,
https://feb.kuleuven.be//files/08/02/98/f080298/public/ndaag37/1996_Some_Lessons_from_the_East_Asian_Miracle.pdf
.
5. AMERICAN DECLINE: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
1
. Giacomo Chiozza, review of
America’s Global Advantage: US Hegemony and International Cooperation
, by Carla Norrlof,
Political Science Quarterly
(Summer 2011): 336–37.
2
. Geoffrey Warner, “The Cold War in Retrospect,”
International Affairs
87, no. 1 (January 2011): 173–84.
3
. Noam Chomsky,
On Power and Ideology
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2015), 15.
4
. “The Chinese Revolution of 1949,” U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian,
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/chinese-rev
.
5
. Robert Kagan, “Not Fade Away,”
New Republic
, 2 February 2012.
6
. Noam Chomsky,
Powers and Prospects: Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2015), 185.
7
. For these and other pronouncements, see Noam Chomsky,
New Military Humanism: Lessons from Kosovo
(Monroe, ME: Common Courage, 2002) and Noam Chomsky,
A New Generation Draws the Line: Kosovo, East Timor, and the Responsibility to Protect Today, Updated and Expanded Edition
(Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2011).
8
. Noam Chomsky,
Hopes and Prospects
(Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2010), 277.
9
. Samuel P. Huntington, “The Lonely Superpower,”
Foreign Affairs
78, no. 2 (March/April 1999); Robert Jervis, “Weapons Without Purpose? Nuclear Strategy in the Post–Cold War Era,” review of
The Price of Dominance: The New Weapons of Mass Destruction and Their Challenge to American Leadership
, by Jan Lodal,
Foreign Affairs
80, no. 4 (July/August 2001).10
. Jeremy White, “Obama Approval Rating in Arab World Now Worse Than Bush,”
International Business Times
, 13 July 2011.11
. Department of State Bulletin, 8 December 1969, 506–07, as cited in David F. Schmitz,
The United States and Right-Wing Dictatorships, 1965–1989
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 89.12
. Bill Keller, “The Return of America’s Missionary Impulse,”
New York Times Magazine
, 17 April 2011.13
. Yochi Dreazen, Aamer Madhani, and Marc Ambinder, “The Goal Was Never to Capture bin Laden,”
Atlantic
, 4 May 2011.14
. Nick Turse, “Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Special Ops ‘Successes,’”
TomDispatch
, 25 October 2015,
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/176060/
.15
. See also Nick Turse,
The Changing Face of Empire: Special Ops, Drones, Spies, Proxy Fighters, Secret Bases, and Cyberwarfare
(Chicago: Haymarket Books/Dispatch Books, 2012) and Nick Turse,
Tomorrow’s Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa
(Chicago: Haymarket Books/Dispatch Books, 2015).16
. Robert Westbrook,
John Dewey and American Democracy
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991), 440.17
. Jennifer Epstein, “Poll: Tax Hike Before Medicare Cuts,”
Politico,
20 April 2011.18
. Jon Cohen, “Poll Shows Americans Oppose Entitlement Cuts to Deal with Debt Problem,”
Washington Post
, 20 April 2011.19
. University of Maryland–College Park, “Public’s Budget Priorities Differ Dramatically from House and Obama,” press release,
Newswise.com
, 2 March 2011,
http://www.newswise.com/articles/publics-budget-priorities-differ-dramatically-from-house-and-obama
.20
. Catherine Lutz, Neta Crawford, and Andrea Mazzarino, “Costs of War,” Brown University Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs,
http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/
.21
. Martin Wolf, “From Italy to the US, Utopia vs. Reality,”
Financial Times
(London)
,
12 July 2011.22
. Lawrence Summers, “Relief at an Agreement Will Give Way to Alarm,”
Financial Times
(London)
,
2 August 2011.23
. “Health Care Budget Deficit Calculator,” Center for Economic and Policy Research,
http://www.cepr.net/calculators/hc/hc-calculator.html
.24
. Matthew L. Wald and John M. Broder, “Utility Shelves Ambitious Plan to Limit Carbon,”
New York Times
, 13 July 2011.25
. Thomas Ferguson, “Best Buy Targets are Stopping a Debt Deal,”
Financial Times
(London)
,
26 July 2011.26
. Robert Pear, “New Jockeying in Congress for Next Phase in Budget Fight,”
New York Times
, 3 August 2011.27
. Stephanie Clifford, “Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves,”
New York Times
, 3 August 2011.28
. Louis Uchitelle, “Job Insecurity of Workers Is a Big Factor in Fed Policy,”
New York Times
, 27 February 1997.29
. Ajay Kapur, “Plutonomy: Buying Luxury, Explaining Global Imbalances,” 16 October 2005, as found at
http://delong.typepad.com/plutonomy-1.pdf
.30
. Noam Chomsky,
Making the Future: Occupations, Interventions, Empire and Resistance
(San Francisco: City Lights, 2012), 289.