Monday, June 30, 2008

Chomsky on America-Iran Relations



In this interview from November of last year, Noam Chomsky talks about how perceptions of the conflict with Iran are being shaped by a combination of historical ignorance and a perspective largely defined by American arrogance and hypocrisy.

For example, Chomsky notes that any country such as Iran thought to be “interfering” with the American invasion and occupation of Iraq is regarded as engaging in “criminal” behaviour, whereas America has engaged in exactly the same behaviour in the past by inserting itself through proxies into various conflicts around the world...

Chomsky also maintains that much of the antagonism towards Iran is because “Iran is out of control. It’s supposed to be a U.S. client state, as it was under the Shah, and it’s refusing to play that role.”

Update: Sy Hersh talks about covert operations against Iran and how the situation would be affected by a new administration in Washington.