9-11 [Paperback]

Years ago I was a student at MIT and had a laboratory close to Chomsky's office in the old research MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics. At that time, and for many years later I thought Chomsky was a rabid liberal- socialist that was out somewhere in left field on many issues.

Of course I had formed that opinion without reading his books! But I knew that he had written dozens of books, was made an Institute Professor (which is a big deal at MIT) had written hundreds of papers and had at least 20 honorary doctorates from universities all around the world. When I sat down and read his books page by page I was converted. He simply presents the facts in a cool and detached manner. The facts speak quite eloquently for themselves and they are damming of US foreign policy.

On 9-11 and after like many others if I had been the President I would have ordered a military strike. It was and is a natural response as if your wife was raped or a child killed by a criminal. We wanted revenge for the 3,000 killed. Even Rudolph Giuliani told Bush he wanted to personally pull the trigger when Bin Laden was captured. It was a time of high emotion. Bush followed human instincts and his advisors, and indeed at lot of pressure from the American public and the congress to do something.

Chomsky of course has taken a more rational approach and has tried to formulate a quick analysis of what happened and where we have gone wrong. This is a short book but otherwise excellent. It is a question and answer format. I cannot agree with everything in the book but it gives a fair portrayal of many aspects of the problem. In many respects the US has become a rogue nation, pumped up with layer of propaganda and patriot rhetoric that has permitted the government for over 45 years and often with congressional and public support to invade Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Haiti, Kosovo, Iraq, to send troops to Lebanon, to bomb Yemen, Libya, and the Sudan. No wonder the US has enemies. If we are upset about the 3,000 killed on 9-11 what do the Vietnamese think of the 2 million killed by the USA?

It is time for a complete re-think of the US foreign policy and the role of the UN and other institutions such that groups and countries will act within a set of internationally accepted laws. Then variations from those laws will be addressed by all nations acting together, not just the US following its own self interests for better or for worse. That is the value of this thin book on 9-11.

My humble opinion.

Jack in Toronto

Though the interviews were good -- many done by foreign journalists -- they really seemed to lack in the analysis department, and offered little critical commentary on the current "War On Terrorism". I would have much preferred to have waited until many more facts were known relating to the 9/11 situation, and it's aftermath in a much better thoughout book than to have read this...what's even worse is that the majority of the interviews were done prior to the October 7th airstrikes!

I would recommend this to those wishing to get a better idea of Chomsky's ideas, but I wouldn't recommend this to his fans who really would expect a lot more in the way of analysis.

Aside from his more then 20 honorary doctorates from top universities around the world, his virtual remaking of the field of linguistics and his honorable position at MIT, Dr. Chomsky has something that few political writers, left or right, seem to have: Tons of information.

You will not see this kind of documentation many places, except possibly Gore Vidal. It is not only that he uses logical arguments and fact more then the pundits like O-Reilly and Coulter; He does so more then even those people I do not detest, like Moore and Franken.

All in all, more of a booklet then a book, but a very good booklet.

By the way, my favorite review is the one that said the book had no plot, as if it were supposed to be a story, thanks for the laugh kid!