Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (American Empire Project) Paperback – September 1, 2004

Whatever one may say about famed linguist Noam Chomsky regarding his provocative political views, it seems difficult to seriously doubt either his intellect or his integrity. While he may sometimes seem didactic or repetitive in his exhortations against the evils manifesting themselves in contemporary America, he always views the circumstances with insight, sophistication, and verve. In this offering, Chomsky faces off brilliantly with a superb broadside against the emerging unilateral imperialism represented by the Bush administration's foreign policy, and presents us with what he sees as a most fateful fork in the republic's future polity; with one road leading to a corporate-driven totalitarian society organized and conducted for the exclusive benefit of the rich and well-placed, or, on the other hand, a road leading toward a renewed commitment to America's more traditional values of moral leadership, a more constrained and human-oriented capitalism, and a turn toward greater inclusiveness within our own borders.Chomsky's argument finds its emotional traction by focusing on the nascent rise of what he views as a neo-conservative regime as represented by the Bush administration, one capable of becoming a fascistic totalitarian entity capable of attempting to recreate the world in its image, and willing to use the military in a no-holds barred attempt to unilaterally remake the world in a fashion more consonant to our tastes and sensibilities. Indeed, he fear that with the thrust of current policy, only a combined effort uniting what he refers to as the `planet's public' can succeed in turning the momentum toward such a kinder and gentler fascism from permanently taking root in this country. After all, as he argues, once such a crypto-fascist regime takes power, they are hardly likely to relinquish it willingly.As in his previous works, Chomsky quickly disabuses readers of any lingering notions regarding the nature of the current polity by walking us through the litany of sins it is guilty of, from its contempt for tradition and international law to its arrogance in dealing with other nations, from its blatant militarism and saber-rattling to its consistent disregard for existing international agreements, and from its somewhat arbitrary attitude toward aggression of other sovereign states to its alarming support of anti-democratic and totalitarian regimes. He also decries American support of Israeli excesses toward the Palestinians, and suggests that American troops are becoming consistently involved in activities that can only be fairly described as constituting crimes against humanity and/or war crimes.All of this is, as usual, impeccably documented, and it is hard to ague with the amassed citations or the logic employed. He is particularly convincing in assailing the Bush record of active attempts to reverse tradition norms and attitudes toward freedom and civil liberties, such that, left unchecked, could conceivably deflate a half-century of tradition in terms of American respect for law, human rights, and international cooperation. He is at his most provocative here in citing the evidence of a deliberate American support for world-wide repression through surrogate client states such as Turkey, Pakistan, and Columbia, in which both American arms and generous foreign aid in what Chomsky argues is in direct proportion to their level of terror they visit upon their domestic populations. He notes that given current levels of citizen ignorance and apathy domestically, American policy is likely to continue along its current path without some intervention by concerned citizens.He concludes with a quite convincing demonstration of the many ways in which American policy has directly contributed to and sponsored the growth of international terrorism, and shows how our current policies of disregard for international law and the need for cooperation with our fellow nations leads to a geometric increase in the numbers of terrorist organizations and groups actively working against the USA. Needless to say, the book has a number of provocative threads running through it, and is definitely not for the feint of heart. But nowhere will you find a book that so intelligently and carefully documents all the reasons citizens have to become more concerned and more involved in the actions of their government and all the horror that the current administration is doing in the people's name. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!

This is a significant book. One that should replace the media and be used as a permanent historical reference work. The masks applied to the media, the masses, those diverted into activities that consume smaller issues and cloud judgment on objectivity are very much in affect. This book "needs" to be out there more than reading some opinionated account. Only in years of time, when the dust settles and emotional detachment of the nationalist and patriot is attained, only then can this be seen as objective history by the majority. This book is on the top of my list of high significance.Some of the thoughts contained: Two superpowers: the U.S. government and masses of public opinion. Two enemies: the domestic and the foreign. The domestic masses and the Wilsonian ideal that the "good" only exists in the hands of few responsible decision makers who know what's best for everyone else and the need to protect them; to subdue public opinion, the "wild beast," with propaganda and information control. And today with the new laws on terrorism, censorship without warrants, wiretapping and donating to the wrong Muslim or other organization can get you arrested and deported. And in the foreign policy, the transforming global order in domination as seen in from the recent past in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Central America with U.S. backed dictatorships of terror, in power for their support of U.S. economic interests, who employ the most deadly murderous and genocidal regimes. A great comparison is given from John Stuart Mill's British imperialism against India. and in approval of France's imperialism against Algeria.Critics result to name calling in unfairly labeling all those who love America but do not approve of its imperialistic actions as "Anti-American," who "hate America, a common tactic used in the past by fascist and Soviet authoritarianism. And the rhetoric used over and over again by aggressors such as Hitler in "preserving the peace of the German and Czechoslovakian people," esteeming his hostile take over. Apparently all political actions are accompanied by a noble intent.A new form of U.S. imperial strategy that overrides all U.N. Security counsel, that is now preemptive, evidence or not, Iraq the new Petri dish of experiment and NATO the new instrument of power which acts on its own discords. While the WTO and IMF enforce the neoliberalization of privatizing the third world into U.S. raw materials, populations thrown into the poverty of production commodities for the developed countries luxuries, NATO is enforcing U.S. interests through one party power, contradictorily allowing some countries to violate treaties, laws and own nuclear weapons and others attacked for the same, as can be seen in the repeated bombing of Serbia and its civilian targets. The rule of law rests in the U.S. alone, unilaterally, WMD or not, or what ever reason sees fit at the time of questioning. Punishments and rewards, intimidative domination of leverage are applied to other countries on votes in the U.N. security counsel, and even then, action will take place regardless. A new domestic policy of "terrorist activities" applied to citizens who now are legally refused the right of a lawyer and civil liberties has gone into affect.Today, U.S. citizens are not as submissive as they were when Kennedy attacked Viet Nam as can be seen by protests and around the world. What worries people globally is not the threat of Saddam Hussein, Iraq or North Korea, but that of U.S. hegemony and world domination through force.U.S. view of underdeveloped countries as "children" that must be disciplined and shown who is in charge: Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela, Mexico and Iran dared to attempt to control its own sources. An excellent objective view of the declassified documents and close call in the Cuban missile crises.The real threat of the cold war was not Soviet aggression but the idea that resistance to U.S. economic interests would spread as the post WWII peace was in reality from the threat of U.S. might.Thoughts on NATO and Iraq, on Turkey and U.S. support of its killings of Kurds. Not until their resistance in the Iraq war did it come out in the papers - U.S. backing is much more than simply "tolerance," as the media claims. Also the NATO bombings with lack of evidence of the Serb genocides and without UN Security Counsel permissions. The U.S. Drug policy equals U.S. economic interests. And suppression in Columbia; crimes are privatized in accord with neoliberal practice with private militias and private companies hired for fumigation which eradicate personal responsibilities. We can learn by history of the 19th century colonialism as insight in this.More thoughts are: the similar cowboy aggressive attributes between JFK and GW Bush II; Guatemala democratic peoples government destroyed by U.S., Castro has the majority of support, but U.S. knows what's best for the Cuban people; Kennedy's Operation Mongoose against Cuba is more with severe deception with false accusations and set ups against Cuba; haphazard raids against Cuba killing innocent civilians including an airliner of 73 passengers; Jeb Bush pardons the terrorists, while Bush I hardened the embargo, refusing hurricane aid, food and medicine; U.S. murder of Latin American Priests and a housemaid and her daughter who dared speak out for self rule and economic interests; U.S. support for Algerian torture; bombing Libya without evidence of so called drugs while pushing tobacco on others; undoing the "new deal" and privatization for the rich only; the answer to domestic unpopularity - raise up nationalism with the enemy to destroy and U.S. has made it clear - no UN security counsel needed, they, and the rest of the world, must "catch up" - Collin Powell; Washington's refusal to attend UN discussions on post war reconstruction; the Panama and Afghanistan invasions; the sanctions has already destroyed Iraq before the war; how the world court and the UN Security Counsel condemned the U.S. killings in Nicaragua - only the U.S. and Israel vetoed. If a country harbors so called terrorists than they are the same according to Bush and the U.S. harbors the same. Also the human rights abuses of Israel/And the claim of Washington and the media that "Old Europe" is paranoid anti-American and undemocratic really means: "Strong governments disregard their populations and "accept the role," assigned to them by the global ruler (U.S.); weak governments succumb to the will of 95 percent of their population." P. 136Much more book for this review. Highly recommend this book.And so will the other superpower, the masses of the public, succeed despite it all?

I really liked all the facts AND data surrounding multiple instances of American imperialism. There is ample evidence in the book about repeated human rights violations and other ilegal behaviors. Powerfull to disarm any supporter of American exceptionalism.

Bon

Good Book by Noam Chomsky. Mine first one.,...

You either love or hate Chomsky, nothing in the middle. To me this book is an eye opener, very well documented and written, and easy to read. Chomsky speaks frankly and openly about things that few other people dare to write about for fear of being harassed/disappeared by the establishment.

This book is a must-read for everybody who wishes to be informed bout the US foreign policy of the last century, its origins and its continuity, which is unbroken in spite of several changing US administrations. Chomsky is also casting a sharp light on the relationship between the aggressive foreign policy and the neoliberal and restrictive economical internal policy. The boos is from the start of this century (2004), but ten years later and under the gouvernment of the Obama-administration, noth9ing has changed. In addition, Chomsky warns about the danger for the survival of the planet which is endangered by this hegemonial US-policy in the age of weapons of mass destruction, and of environmental pollution (and no, that is no exaggeration). All in all, the book is absolutely recommendable!