Prof. Noam Chomsky on American goal in Afghanistan and Pakistan

This is part of an interview filed for SAMAA on October 1st, 2009. We had asked Prof. Noam Chomsky of MIT University to help us understand America's interest in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Noam Chomsky
• SAMAA
• MIT
• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• Oil
• china
• imperialism

[haitch76]

Right on, Prof. Chomsky!

We preach freedom and but we practice world empire.

[spicaaychicken]

..............nts their economic interests, attempting to rehash the extreme divide between the rich and poor, and our economic meltdown. When has logic and history given you any reason to believe the governments thinks minimally, or at all of your interests. Where do you draw the line?

[nelrish24]

I can't imagine where you read any of that garbage. $500 billion in opium?

[punxsutawneybarney]

Dr. Chomsky says that the US has no evidence against Osama that would stand up in court.

Last fall he told Iranian TV that at the time of US invasion of Afghanistan, they had no evidence that al Qaeda had done 9/11.

See my video:

Chomsky on Faith Based Wars and 9/11

[Royak]

@MrDaemonB Wow. Not that I care about Chomsky's ideas, but you seem to so have you ever heard what he says about idiotic conspiracy theories such as yours? Check it Noam’s comments about 9/11 conspiracy theorist out; you might have to find a new speaker to mindlessly follow after you do that.

[BigMikeMcBastard]

@MrDaemonB Right, so there's some vast CIA conspiracy involving the laundering of drug money which involved the deaths of thousands of Americans prior to the war, however-many Americans and NATO forces after the way, all those civilians etc, and it's you... MrDaemonB... who has managed to get to the bottom of it and find out the truth, when all these veteran investigative journalists and political thinkers like Chomsky haven't even detected a whiff of it.

Are you fucking high? Seriously.

[MrDaemonB]

@BigMikeMcBastard Taliban burned poppy fields, US occupation has regenerated the crops 100%, any report that says US regime is anti opium, is lies....500Billion may include all illegal drug money laundered by the CIA via NYSE, but mostly heroin $, and Afghanistan leads world production. So yeah my figures were somewhat inaccurate.

[BigMikeMcBastard]

I'd also like to point out that Noam Chomsky here thinks your conspiracy theories regarding 9/11 are nonsense and that nobody who knows anything takes them seriously. There's a video of it here on YouTube, go give it a watch and then rethink your position on this.

[BigMikeMcBastard]

@MrDaemonB You have no idea what you are talking about. I can't imagine where you read any of that garbage. $500 billion in opium? The entirety of Afghanistan's production of opium doesn't even come close to that. Opium revenue is ~$3 billion.

Furthermore, the US is actively discouraging the production of opium in Afghanistan. It's a major way the Taliban is gaining support, as they instead encourage and support opium production. So your reason for invasion isn't supported by ANY facts at all.

[MrDaemonB]

@BigMikeMcBastard 'stupid as opium production'? Afghan opium importation is one of the biggest US imports, upwards of 500 billion $ a year. A huge percentage of that $ floats the NYSE.(CIA mandate) Sure they've lacked political support for past invasions of central American countries, among others. And opted to go in covertly. But the magnitude of this invasion had to be backed politically. Can you think of an alternative means they could have used to manufacture such support?

[BigMikeMcBastard]

@MrDaemonB The US had been attacked previously by Al Qaeda. If they wanted to go to war for something as stupid as opium production they could have used the various attacks previously which Clinton wasn't able to get enough support to stage an attack to capture bin Laden on. Alternatively, they could have simply made up a reason and told the CIA/etc to bullshit their way through it like they did with Iraq. The idea that they'd fly planes into their own buildings to invade Afghanistan is absurd.

[30sad]

@qonf Here's one version: The Taliban, the US and the resources of Central Asia

By Peter Symonds, published on 24 October 2001 on: w s w s DOT o r g