Photo by: Andrew Fielding

Check out the photo gallery from Noam Chomsky

 

Renowned linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky spoke at the University of Denver on Thursday night, focusing mainly on the current uprisings in the Arabic world and the affect the United States government and its foreign policy on the region of the world.

 

Although the speech centered on the history behind the crisis and the modern day politics of the issue, particularly in Libya and Israel, Chomsky did admit that the current events were certain to have a long lasting impact on all world events.

 

The MIT professor traced the events to 1958, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House and an anti-American sentiment entitled, “campaign of hatred” ran wild in the Arab world, following a rebellion in Iraq.

 

According to Chomsky, that rebellion, and earlier ones in Iran, are the origins of our modern day oil conflict, which still plague the region.

 

“The perception in the Arab World [back then] was that the U.S. supported dictatorships, and that was more or less accurate,” said Chomsky.

 

Chomsky noted that U.S. foreign policy controllers have been using propaganda since the 1950s to hide that stigma, manipulating the American opinion with foiled slogans such as former President George W. Bush’s, “They hate our freedom” rally cry in 2001.

 

“They don’t hate our freedom, they hate our policies,” said Chomsky. “The reality [of U.S. policy] is that we hate their freedom, and try to stop it. If you go back in history, there are many examples of this.”

 

During the Bush regime, and long before that, Chomsky said that the main concern of the country’s leaders was a potential uprising in Iraq, stemming from a Shiite alliance that wanted to take control of the country’s oil.

 

While the Iraqi situation challenged western dominance, the United States paired with its “main ally” Saudi Arabia, the most radical of all Islamic countries, in an attempt to create a barrier for the growing secular nationalism ideology taking over the region, said Chomsky.

 

The support of the dictatorship regime in Saudi Arabia was one example Chomsky touched upon in his speech of the United States foreign policy supporting the wrong side of the issue and having to deal with the “consequences.”

 

 

As for the present day issues at hand, Chomsky spoke about the situation in Libya for a little over fifteen minutes, while concluding his speech with the origins of the problem in Israel, and the existing conflict between the United States and “the rest of the world.”

 

“When I mean the rest of the world, I mean the rest of the world,” said Chomsky, speaking of the United States siding with the Israel government. “It can be potentially very embarrassing, because the U.S. will have to openly veto an international consensus [regarding the UN resolution for Palestinian membership].”

Chomsky noted the two-faced crisis in Israel, dividing it into dangerous segments—legitimatization of Palestine and delegitimatization of Israel. This situation has seduced the U.S. into massive arms spending which Chomsky said was eerily reminiscent of what occurred in South Africa from the 1960’s to the 1990’s.

 

“History is never duplicated,” Chomsky admitted. “But there are certainly close analogies to be made.”

 

As for the Libyan conflict, Chomsky foresees it ending in a stalemate, which could only further instigate hostilities and fighting in the region. The stalemate would put the dividing line right over the main source of oil in the country with nobody in control of it.

 

Chomsky discussed the current politics surrounding the Libyan foreign policy decisions, summarizing that the imperial triumvirate—United States, England and France—were simply sticking by their traditional policies of getting involved in a situation that didn’t necessarily call for their aid.

 

Although the U.S. has “backed off” from the situation, Chomsky was apprehensive to believe the country still didn’t have a huge stake in the future of Libya, especially with the oil-rich country still holding untapped and unexplored areas.

 

“The oil is right in the middle of the conflict, it is the heart of the conflict, and everybody is going after a very rich prize,” said Chomsky. “The crucial question remains, what happens to the oil if there’s a stalemate.”

 

Chomsky urged the crowd to make a stand against the flawed system, noting, “public opinion can affect [foreign] policy,” and hinting the country didn’t necessarily need to reenter the situation even though history says it will.

 

He concluded the program with a question and answer session, where organizers walked around with microphones, allowing various participants to ask the acclaimed professor and author questions regarding various subject matters.

 

David Barsamian, the founder of Alternative Radio, and Rob Prince, professor at the Korbel School of International Studies, introduced Chomsky before his speech.

 

“Not everyday DU gets to host Noam Chomsky, this is a real gift for our school,” said Prince. “Our outstanding team of students made this possible, and it wouldn’t have happened without them.”

 

The event was co-sponsored by the Korbel School of International Studies, the Undergraduate Student Government, University Honors Program, Center on Rights Development, DU Programming Board, Muslim Student Association, DU Debate Society, Graduate School Association Council, International Student Organization and Pioneers for Public Health.