The Post-Cold War in Central America
The invasion of Panama was the first U.S. military action not justified by the threat from the Soviet Union. Noriega, a former Washington “asset” and “minor drug figure” was made into the “worst monster since Attila the Hun.” The press, says Chomsky, “went along with appropriate jingoist hysteria and…rapturous enthusiasm.” He traces U.S. policy in the region and elsewhere and predicts what is likely to follow absent the USSR. Washington’s main concern was in the past, and still is “nationalist regimes which are responsive to the demands of their populations.” This is Chomsky at his prescient best.
Speaker
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky, by any measure, has led a most extraordinary life. In one index, he is ranked as the eighth most cited person in history, right up there with Aristotle, Shakespeare, Marx, Plato, and Freud. His contributions to modern linguistics are legendary. In addition to his pioneering work in that field, he has been a leading voice for peace and social justice for many decades. Chris Hedges says he is “America’s greatest intellectual” who “makes the powerful, as well as their liberal apologists, deeply uncomfortable.” The New Statesman calls him “the conscience of the American people.” He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. At 97, though having health setbacks, he continues to inform and inspire people all over the world. He is the author of scores of books, including Masters of Mankind, Consequences of Capitalism, Chronicles of Dissent, and Notes on Resistance. He is co-author with Edward Herman of Manufacturing Consent. His latest books are The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World and Surviving the 21st Century.
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