Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Noam
Chomsky: How Obama Has Ushered in 'a New Era of International Terrorism'
August 25, 2016
The
following is a recent interview with Noam Chomsky on the Middle East and the
Obama Administration's policies towards Syria, Egypt and Iran, and the rise of
right-wing extremism and nationalism in Europe.
Emran
Feroz: Barack Obama's presidency is coming to an end. With reference to the
political situation in the Middle East, what remains of his historical speech in
Cairo and what of his Middle East policy in general?
Noam
Chomsky: At the time I felt that the speech was pretty vacuous. I didn't
expect anything from it, so I wasn't disappointed. One positive aspect of his
policy is that there have been no major acts of aggression like the vicious
invasion of Iraq, which in my opinion was the worst crime this century. And I
suppose you could describe the negotiation of the agreement with Iran as
positive too. But it could have been done much earlier. Still, better an agreement
with Iran than no agreement.
Obama's
major legacy in the Middle East is the US drone campaign, which is ushering in
a new era of international terrorism. I predict that its impact will be wide
reaching. Drone technology will not only expand, it will also become a useful
tool for all kinds of different terrorist groups in the near future. In the
case of the Arab Spring, Obama – and his allies – supported the established
dictators as long as it was possible. Moreover, they also tried to shore up the
old systems even after the revolutions had started.
EF: We are
still witnessing these brutal dictatorships, in Egypt particularly, but also in
Syria. Has the Arab Spring been a total failure?
NC: That's
hard to say. Some progress has been made, but there is still much to be done.
There have been significant changes which could have formed the basis for
something. In Egypt, for example, the labour movement, which is an important
and leading part of the Arab Spring, did make some substantial gains. I don't think
the Sisi dictatorship is capable of dealing with Egypt's mammoth problems. I
suspect this is just another stage of many as the country edges towards
democratisation and freedom. Syria is a different story. The country appears
bent on self-destruction. Anything that might be done to mitigate the situation
simply leads to another disaster.
EF: To what
extent is the US administration responsible for Syria's implosion?
NC: It's
hard to say. The Assad regime is absolutely monstrous and responsible for a
large majority of the atrocities. IS is another monstrosity. The al-Qaida
affiliated al-Nusra Front is not much better than IS, while some of the other
major groups are closely linked to it. The Kurdish groups have succeeded in
defending their own territory and establishing a more or less decent system
within. And then there are various other groups – local militias and parts of
the original reform movement and some other more democratic elements.
To what
extent they still exert any influence is debatable. The veteran Middle East
correspondent Robert Fisk claims they no longer exist. Others say they are a
substantial force. It's a patchwork of many different groups. At the moment,
there are some small signs of progress that might possibly lead to a ceasefire
or some kind of negotiated agreement. We can be sure that this will be pretty
ugly. But it's still better than suicide.
EF: You
already mentioned the deal with Iran. Many people say it's one of the biggest
successes of the Obama administration, while others say it will lead to the
nuclearisation of the Arab Sunni states. Why do you think it is a success?
NC: I
think the deal was a success, but I also think there is a problem with how the
issue has been presented. It would have been a major step had those involved
accepted Iranian, Arab and, in fact, global opinion and moved towards
establishing a nuclear-weapons-free-zone in the region. Indeed that is what
Obama promised. The deal is a small step in the right direction. We – and that
includes the US intelligence agencies - don't know whether Iran was planning to
develop nuclear weapons. I think we can be fairly confident that it was
planning to develop nuclear capability. On the other hand, any nation with
nuclear power or technology can be said to possess this capability.
Considering, however, the restrictive conditions in which it was reached, the
agreement was a step forward.
EF: On the
subject of success, to what extent can we say there's been any in Israel and
Palestine?
NC: We've
seen zero success there. If we put aside words and look at actions, the Obama
administration has been the most supportive administration of Israeli expansion
so far. While the rest of the world condemns the illegal settlements, the US is
still supporting the Israeli government in this point. There is still military,
diplomatic, economic and even ideological support for continuing the settlement
programme. Obama's most remarkable move, one of the few that actually received
some public attention, was his veto of the UN security council resolution in
February 2011 which literally endorsed official US policy. The resolution
called for limiting settlement expansion while the Obama veto claimed it was a
drawback to peace. In fact, we're currently seeing negotiations with Netanyahu
over increasing extensive US aid, which basically feeds settlement expansion.
Gaza has just been subjected to brutal and savage attacks by Israel with US
support.
EF: We're
seeing a rise in nationalism and right-wing extremism in Europe at the moment.
First and foremost the hatred is being directed at the refugees fleeing the
chaos in the Middle East. With the rise of Donald Trump, a similar picture
seems to be developing in the United States. Do you think that the fear-mongers
are winning?
NC: It's
very interesting to look at the so-called refugee crisis. In Austria, for
example, a neo-Nazi is on the verge of political victory. Austria has taken in
a very small number of refugees. One of the most forthcoming countries in
Europe, I suppose, is Sweden, which has taken in some 160,000 refugees. Sweden
is a rich country with a population of 10 million, so now refugees make up
about 1.5 per cent of the population. But this is still a very small number
compared to a poor country like Lebanon, which has no role in generating
refugees. But refugees currently make up 40 percent of its population; 25
percent of those are Syrians. Jordan has also taken in a huge number of
refugees, while most European countries have apparently absorbed very few.
But where
are the refugees coming from? Most of them come from the Middle East, but some
are also coming from Africa. Europe has a long history in Africa. For
centuries, Africa suffered devastation and destruction, which is still one of
the reasons why people are fleeing from Africa to Europe. In the Middle East,
there are many causes for the crisis, but one major and overwhelming cause is
the American and British invasion of Iraq, which virtually destroyed the
country. Iraqis are still fleeing, at the moment mostly from a sectarian
conflict that barely existed before the invasion. Look more closely and it is
clear that there are countries that have generated refugees throughout their
history – and they include the US, Britain and a number of European countries.
Interview
conducted by Emran Feroz
[5]
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/emran-feroz-0
[2] http://qantara.de
[3] http://www.dronememorial.com/
[4] mailto:corrections@alternet.org?Subject=Typo on Noam Chomsky: How Obama Has Ushered in 'a New Era of International Terrorism'
[5] http://www.alternet.org/
[6] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
No comments:
Post a Comment