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Is this—Chomsky’s words on Assad— a defensive posture, showing that both sides are equivalently terrible? <br class="">
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<span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">From:
</b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Sukla Sen <<a href="mailto:sukla.sen@gmail.com" class="">sukla.sen@gmail.com</a>><br class="">
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<span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Subject:
</b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><b class="">[ufpj-activist] "The Assad Regime is a Moral Disgrace": Noam Chomsky on Ongoing Syrian War</b><br class="">
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<span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Date:
</b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">April 12, 2017 at 1:31:43 PM CDT<br class="">
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<div class="">[NOAM CHOMSKY: Syria is a horrible catastrophe. The Assad regime is a<br class="">
moral disgrace. They’re carrying out horrendous acts, the Russians<br class="">
with them.]<br class="">
<br class="">
<a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/5/the_assad_regime_is_a_moral" class="">https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/5/the_assad_regime_is_a_moral</a><br class="">
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"The Assad Regime is a Moral Disgrace": Noam Chomsky on Ongoing Syrian War<br class="">
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STORY APRIL 05, 2017 Watch icon WATCH FULL SHOW<br class="">
<br class="">
[Video]<br class="">
<br class="">
TOPICS<br class="">
<br class="">
Syria<br class="">
GUESTS<br class="">
<br class="">
Noam Chomsky<br class="">
world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author. He is<br class="">
institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,<br class="">
where he has taught for more than 50 years. His new book comes out<br class="">
today, titled Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of<br class="">
Concentration of Wealth & Power.<br class="">
<br class="">
As worldwide outrage mounts over an alleged chemical weapons attack in<br class="">
Idlib province, which was reportedly carried out by the Assad<br class="">
government, we speak with world-renowned political dissident, linguist<br class="">
and author Noam Chomsky about the ongoing conflict in Syria.<br class="">
<br class="">
TRANSCRIPT<br class="">
<br class="">
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.<br class="">
<br class="">
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s<br class="">
best-known dissidents. He’s institute professor emeritus at<br class="">
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught for more than<br class="">
50 years. Juan González and I spoke to him live on Democracy Now! on<br class="">
Tuesday’s program. After the broadcast, we continued the conversation.<br class="">
I asked him to talk about the situation in Syria, as well as the<br class="">
broader Middle East.<br class="">
<br class="">
***NOAM CHOMSKY: Syria is a horrible catastrophe. The Assad regime is<br class="">
a moral disgrace. They’re carrying out horrendous acts, the Russians<br class="">
with them.*** [Emphasis added.]<br class="">
<br class="">
AMY GOODMAN: Why the Russians with them?<br class="">
<br class="">
NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, pretty simple reason: Syria is their one ally in<br class="">
the whole region. Not a close ally, but they do have—their one<br class="">
Mediterranean base is in Syria. It’s the one country that’s more or<br class="">
less cooperated with them. And they don’t want to lose their one ally.<br class="">
It’s very ugly, but that’s what’s happening.<br class="">
<br class="">
Meanwhile, there have been—it’s kind of like the North Korean case we<br class="">
were discussing. There have been possible opportunities to terminate<br class="">
the horrors. In 2012, there was an initiative from the Russians, which<br class="">
was not pursued, so we don’t know how serious it was, but it was a<br class="">
proposal to—for a negotiated settlement, in which Assad would be<br class="">
phased out, not immediately. You know, you can’t tell them, "We’re<br class="">
going to murder you. Please negotiate." That’s not going to work. But<br class="">
some system in which, in the course of negotiations, he would be<br class="">
removed, and some kind of settlement would be made. The West would not<br class="">
accept it, not just the United States. France, England, the United<br class="">
States simply refused to even consider it. At the time, they believed<br class="">
they could overthrow Assad, so they didn’t want to do this, so the war<br class="">
went on. Could it have worked? You never know for sure. But it could<br class="">
have been pursued. Meanwhile, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are supporting<br class="">
jihadi groups, which are not all that different from ISIS. So you have<br class="">
a horror story on all sides. The Syrian people are being decimated.<br class="">
<br class="">
AMY GOODMAN: And the U.S. now sending 400 more troops to Syria. But if<br class="">
the U.S. has a better relationship with Russia, could that change<br class="">
everything?<br class="">
<br class="">
NOAM CHOMSKY: It could lead to some kind of accommodation in which a<br class="">
negotiated diplomatic settlement would be implemented, which would by<br class="">
no means be lovely, but it would at least cut down the level of<br class="">
violence, which is critical, because the country is simply being<br class="">
destroyed. It’s descending to suicide.<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class="">
-- <br class="">
Peace Is Doable<br class="">
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