The Culture of Terrorism
by Noam Chomsky
South End Press, 1994; ISBN 0-89608-344-9
From the South End Press:
This scathing critique of U.S. political culture is a brilliant analysis of the Iran-Contra scandal. Chomsky offers a message of hope, reminding us resistance is possible, necessary and effective.
From the Common Courage Press:
Excerpt:
“The central — and not very surprising — conclusion that emerges from the documentary and historical record is that the U.S. international and security policy, rooted in the structure of power in the domestic society, has as its primary goal the preservation of what we might call the “Fifth Freedom,” understood crudely but with a fair degree of accuracy as the freedom to rob, to exploit and dominate, to undertake any course of action to ensure that existing privilege is protected and advanced.
“This guiding principle was overlooked when Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced the Four Freedoms that the U.S. and its allies would uphold in the conflict with fascism: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom of want, and freedom from fear.”
Reviews
“Chomsky, linguist and political essayist, continues his critique of President Reagan’s Central American policy begun in Turning the Tide ( LJ 4/1/86), in which he argued that the United States has opposed human rights and democratization in the region to advance our economic interests. Here the thesis is extended to the Iran-contra scandal. Chomsky’s documentation neatly supports his logic. Leftist adherents will applaud, while the majority depicted as perpetrators or dupes of military-based state capitalism will ignore the book or dismiss it as rhetoric. But Chomsky has a point of view not frequently encountered in the press. For larger public and academic libraries.”
— Kenneth F. Kister
Library Journal
“Chomsky once again holds the mirror up to America and shows how blatantly hypocritical and disingenuous our foreign policy actually is. In this book his primary focus is on the Reagan administration and Central America, where corporate and military interests were promoted at the expense of the indigenous people and “true” democracy. Recent events (the 2000 Bush “coup”, Webb’s book on cocaine and the contras, the Colombia “aid” package, etc.) show how truly relevant this research is.
“Also, do not let the simpletons of the right and the mainstream (is there really a difference between the two anymore?) critique Chomsky without comment or evidence. His research, unlike theirs (on those rare occasions when they actually engage in true journalism) is meticulously documented and uses their own words and documents as source material.
“One last thing, if you don’t get this book then get any book from Chomsky on American economic and foreign policy (I recommend his work on Israel and the Palestinians as a particularly contemporary selection).”
— Brian Mitchell
Amazon.com reviewer
from Woodland Hills, CA
“Enlightening for those who suffer it; outrageous for those who profit from it. The culture of terrorism (overt and covert) is very much a global reality to deal with. A bad book for those whom the culture of terrorism has managed to brainwash into blind denial and self-censorship. An excellent book for us, 99% of the world oppressed by that culture.”
— Fernando
Amazon.com reviewer
from Mumbai, India
The following is a joke, not a real quote. However, the type of American it portrays is, most unfortunately, all too real :)
“Y’see? This here book by Chomsky proves we Americans got cultur! Shit, besides the parade like it shows on the cover, we got Ronald McDonald n’ Standard Oil n’ Coca Cola n’ Joe Camel cigarettes n’ Nike shoes (Just Do It child laborers!). We got Mickey Mouse n’ Goofy n’ Democrapublicans like Bill ‘I never inhaled’ Clinton n’ Ronald ‘Bedtime for Bonzo’ Reagan. We got Hollywood n’ Playboy bunnies n’ REAL football n’ — most importint uv all — prime-time TV!
“Hell we got Charles Manson n’ Madeleine Albright n’ Lt. William ‘Babykiller’ Calley n’ Tricky Dick Nixon n’ Stormin’ Norman Scheizkopf n’ Colon Powell n’ Gee Dubbya Shrub n’... wull, the list of Amerikin heros is pert near endliss!
“Yep, we in cappitalist America feel so damn blessed, we just wanna share our fine, upstandin cultur with the rest of the world — whether you dang foreigners like it or not! Hell, its only outta the goodniss of our harts that we shovin are corporate dumocracy down you’re ungrateful throats. Fer the rest of you’re lives you be workin for slave wages, but hey — at least you got American TV an’ moovies to program yer stupid little infeerier third world brains with!
“What? You ain’t gonna get on yer kneess n’ thank us?? Pinko Commies!!! Well, fer yer own good, fer th’ sake of freedom n’ dumocracy n’ apple pie, we gonna hafta — to use a fine ol’ Americn expreshun — KICK YER ASS!!!”
— Joe Blowhard
All-American flag-waver,
Budweiser guzzler & True Believer
About the Author
Noam Chomsky is a major figure in twentieth-century linguistics. He has taught since 1955 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he became a full professor at the age of 32. His 1957 work Syntactic Structures revolutionized the field of linguistics, fundamentally changing the current understanding of language and mind. In 1976 he was appointed Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT. Currently he is also the Ferrari P. Ward Professor of Modern Languages and Linguistics.
Chomsky has received honorary degrees from the University of London, University of Chicago, Georgetown University and Cambridge University. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. His work in linguistics, which has been internationally acclaimed, has earned Chomsky the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psychological Association, the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences and the Helmholtz Medal.
Born in Philadelphia on December 7, 1928, Chomsky became politically conscious at a very young age, writing his first political article, on the fight against fascism in Spain, when he was only ten years old.
Chomsky has written many books on contemporary issues and is an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy and corporate power. His political talks have been heard, typically by standing-room only audiences, all over the country and the globe.
In a saner world, his tireless efforts to promote justice would have long since won him the Nobel Peace Prize. But no, the committee prefers to give it to sleazy war-criminals like Henry Kissinger.
Books by Noam Chomsky
-
Acts of Aggression:
Policing “Rogue States”
(with Ramsey Clark and Edward W. Said)
-
After the Cataclysm: Postwar Indochina and the Reconstruction of Imperial Ideology
(with Edward S. Herman)
South End Press, 1980
-
Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
-
At War with Asia
Pantheon, 1970
-
The Chomsky Trilogy
-
The Chomsky Reader
-
Chronicles of Dissent
-
Class Warfare
-
The Cold War and the University
-
The Common Good
-
The Culture of Terrorism
South End Press, 1988
-
Deterring Democracy
Routledge, Chapman & Hall, 1991; Verso 1991
-
Fateful Triangle:
The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians
South End Press, 1983; Noontide, 1986
-
For Reasons of State
Pantheon, 1973
-
“International Terrorism: Image and Reality”
chapter 2 of the book Western State Terrorism
Routledge, 1991; Polity-Blackwell, 1991
-
Keeping the Rabble in Line
-
Language and Mind
-
Language and Problems of Knowledge
-
Latin America
-
Letters from Lexington
-
Manufacturing Consent:
The Political Economy of the Mass Media
(with Edward S. Herman)
Pantheon, 1988
-
Media Control:
The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda
-
Mobilizing Democracy: Changing the U.S. Role in the Middle East
(edited by Greg Bates)
Common Courage Press, 1991
-
Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies
South End Press, 1989
-
The New Military Humanism
-
The New World Order
(speech)
Open Magazine Pamphlet Series, 1991
-
On Power and Ideology: the Managua Lectures
South End Press, 1987
-
Paths to Peace in the Middle East
-
Pirates and Emperors:
International Terrorism in the Real World
Claremont, 1986; Black Rose Books, 1987; Amana, 1988
-
Powers and Prospects
-
Profit Over People
-
The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many
-
Radical Priorities
Black Rose Books, 1981
-
Rethinking Camelot
-
Secrets, Lies and Democracy
-
Syntactic Structures
1957
“...Syntactic Structures revolutionized the field of linguistics, fundamentally changing the current understanding of language and mind.” — South End Press
-
Terrorizing the Neighborhood: American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era
(speech)
Pressure Drop Press, 1991
-
Towards a New Cold War: Essays on the Current Crisis and How We Got There
Pantheon, 1982
-
Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace
South End Press, 1985
-
The Umbrella of U.S. Power:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Contradictions of U.S. Policy
-
U.S. Gulf Policy
(speech)
Open Magazine Pamphlet Series, 1990
-
The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism
South End Press, 1979
-
World Orders; Old and New
-
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
Odonian Press, 1992
- Year 501: The Conquest Continues
Audio books:
-
The New Military Humanism
- Paths to Peace in the Middle East
Other works:
-
Introduction to
Censored 2001
-
Introduction to
Colombia: the Genocidal Democracy
-
Introduction to Bridge of Courage
-
Contributor to Corporations Are Gonna Get Your Mama
- Introduction to East Timor
Related site
The Noam Chomsky Archive
http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/
“This archive is hosted by ZNet, the web site of Z Magazine. It contains the full text to many of Chomsky’s major works, the complete audio to several important lectures, and numerous articles, interviews and speeches.”
Related pages
The Crucifixion of El Salvador
From
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
by Noam Chomsky
Making Guatemala a Killing Field
From
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
by Noam Chomsky
Teaching Nicaragua a lesson
From
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
by Noam Chomsky
The Invasion of Panama
From
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
by Noam Chomsky
Free online book from Common Courage Press:
Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy
by Javier Giraldo
Inside American State Terrorism: A Soldier Speaks
by Stan Goff
Related books
Pirates and Emperors, Old and New:
International Terrorism in the Real World
by Noam Chomsky
Body of Secrets:
Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency
by James Bamford
In 1962, U.S. military leaders had a top-secret plan for committing terrorist attacks on Americans in Miami and Washington D.C., while blaming Cuba. Codenamed “Operation Northwoods”, the plan was intended to provide the propaganda necessary to create popular support for an invasion of Cuba.
Terrorizing the Neighborhood:
American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era
by Noam Chomsky
Pressure Drop Press, 1991
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
by Noam Chomsky
Western State Terrorism
Alexander George, editor; essays by Noam Chomsky, Edward S. Herman, Gerry O’Sullivan and others
The Real Terror Network:
Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda
by Edward S. Herman
Rogue State:
A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower
by William Blum
Killing Hope:
U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII
by William Blum
The Fire This Time:
U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf
by Ramsey Clark
Desert Slaughter:
The Imperialist War Against Iraq
by the Workers League
Apocalypse 1945:
The Destruction of Dresden
by David Irving
Blackshirts and Reds:
Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism
by Michael Parenti
The Beast Reawakens
by Martin A. Lee
To Kill A Nation:
The Attack on Yugoslavia
by Michael Parenti
Against Empire
by Michael Parenti
The Sword and the Dollar:
Imperialism, Revolution and the Arms Race
by Michael Parenti
Eyewitness Sudan:
The War of the Future
Video, produced by Ellen Andors
A People’s History of the United States:
1492 — Present
by Howard Zinn
Bloody Hell:
The Price Soldiers Pay
by Daniel Hallock
Deadly Deceits:
My 25 years in the CIA
by Ralph W. McGehee
Derailing Democracy:
The America the Media Don’t Want You to See
by David McGowan
Hidden Agenda:
U.S./NATO Takeover of Yugoslavia
by Ramsey Clark, Nadja Tesich, Michel Chossudovsky, Slobodan Milosevic, numerous authors
NATO in the Balkans:
Voices of Opposition
by Ramsey Clark, Nadja Tesich, Sean Gervasi, Sara Flounders, Gary Wilson, Richard Becker and Thomas Deichmann
Colombia:
The Genocidal Democracy
by Javier Giraldo
I Was Never Alone:
A Prison Diary from El Salvador
by Nidia Diaz
Corporate Predators:
The Hunt for Mega-Profits and the Attack on Democracy
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
Saving Private Power:
The Hidden History of “The Good War”
by Michael Zezima
The Continuing Terror Against Libya
by Fan Yew Teng
The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb
by Gar Alperovitz
The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
by Gore Vidal
Manufacturing Consent:
The Political Economy of the Mass Media
by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
Inventing Reality:
The Politics of News Media
by Michael Parenti
Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy
by Robert W. McChesney
War, Lies & Videotape:
How media monopoly stifles truth
edited by Lenora Foerstel; multiple authors