The Clash of Barbarisms
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carter’s national Security Advisor and frequent talk show guest, contends that the main task facing the managers of American empire is “to prevent collusion and maintain dependence among the vassals, keep tributaries pliant and protected, and to keep the barbarians from coming together.” Pax Americana, America uber alles is the order of the day. The Bush doctrine of first strike combined with genuine terrorist threats may be the formula for a clash of barbarisms. Far from canceling each other out, they reinforce each other in a spiral of continual escalation.
Interviewed by David Barsamian.
Recorded at KGNU.
Speaker
Gilbert Achcar
Gilbert Achcar is from Lebanon. He is currently based in France where he teaches politics and international relations at the University of Paris. He is a contributor to Le Monde Diplomatique and the author of several books on contemporary politics. His most recent book is The Clash of Barbarisms: September 11 & the Making of the New World Disorder.
William Delzell –
Whenever I hear the name, Zbigniew Brezinski, I get a shiver. In may ways, he was worse than Trump during his tenure. Carter’s big mistake was allowing the likes of him to replace more moderates like Cyrus Vance from his military/foreign policy-making decisions. It was he who helped push Carter to reinstate draft-registration (especially the repugnant male-only variety), to recommend the development of a Rapid Deployment Force, to build MX missles, and to undertake the reckless rescue mission in Iran during April of 1980. Why isn’t Brezinski in jail where he belongs? He gets ever richer by giving lectures that boast his militarism.