By Brian Carnell

Wednesday, January 9, 2002

Just another example of Noam Chomsky insisting that those he disagrees with are not only wrong, but that they are disingenuous and really don't believe the arguments they are making.

The latest target of this recurring theme is leftist Christopher Hitchens who has been a very vocal supporter of the U.S. war against Afghanistan. In articles in The Nation and elsewhere, Hitchens has defended military action in Afghanistan and attacked Chomsky and others for their claims about the war.

In an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corproation program "Late Night Live," Peter Clarke asked Chomsky about Hitchens. Chomsky replies,

Clarke: Many of our listeners had trouble following his [Hitchens'] arguments. I know you did as well. You wrote that they were not only wrong but unintelligible.

Chomsky: Well, he can't believe what he's saying. His major claim is that I and presumably others are declaring that the [attack on] the World Trade Center is morally equivalent to actions taken by the United States which have led to huge casualties. Nobody's saying that. In fact, just take a look at the data. Nobody says it. I mean, what he's objecting to is factual statements which he knows are correct.

Chomsky lately seems incapable of having a disagreement with someone without invoking the "he can't believe what he's saying"-style attack.

As for the claim that Chomsky was not trying to draw a moral equivalence between the 9/11 attacks and U.S. actions, exactly what did he expect listeners to take away from his claim that the the main thing to note about the war in Afghanistan is that, "we are in the midst of apparently trying to murder three or four million people."

Source:

Doing the sensible thing. Peter Clarke, Interview with Noam Chomsky from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, October 16, 2001.

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