[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [ufpj-activist] "The Assad Regime is a Moral Disgrace": Noam Chomsky on Ongoing Syrian War

[Brussel, Morton K]

Is this—Chomsky’s words on Assad— a defensive posture, showing that both sides are equivalently terrible?

Begin forwarded message:

From: Sukla Sen <sukla.sen at gmail.com<mailto:sukla.sen at gmail.com>>
Subject: [ufpj-activist] "The Assad Regime is a Moral Disgrace": Noam Chomsky on Ongoing Syrian War
Date: April 12, 2017 at 1:31:43 PM CDT
To: foil-l <foil-l at insaf.net<mailto:foil-l at insaf.net>>

[NOAM CHOMSKY: Syria is a horrible catastrophe. The Assad regime is a
moral disgrace. They’re carrying out horrendous acts, the Russians
with them.]

https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/5/the_assad_regime_is_a_moral

"The Assad Regime is a Moral Disgrace": Noam Chomsky on Ongoing Syrian War

STORY APRIL 05, 2017 Watch icon WATCH FULL SHOW

[Video]

TOPICS

Syria
GUESTS

Noam Chomsky
world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author. He is
institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
where he has taught for more than 50 years. His new book comes out
today, titled Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of
Concentration of Wealth & Power.

As worldwide outrage mounts over an alleged chemical weapons attack in
Idlib province, which was reportedly carried out by the Assad
government, we speak with world-renowned political dissident, linguist
and author Noam Chomsky about the ongoing conflict in Syria.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s
best-known dissidents. He’s institute professor emeritus at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught for more than
50 years. Juan González and I spoke to him live on Democracy Now! on
Tuesday’s program. After the broadcast, we continued the conversation.
I asked him to talk about the situation in Syria, as well as the
broader Middle East.

***NOAM CHOMSKY: Syria is a horrible catastrophe. The Assad regime is
a moral disgrace. They’re carrying out horrendous acts, the Russians
with them.*** [Emphasis added.]

AMY GOODMAN: Why the Russians with them?

NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, pretty simple reason: Syria is their one ally in
the whole region. Not a close ally, but they do have—their one
Mediterranean base is in Syria. It’s the one country that’s more or
less cooperated with them. And they don’t want to lose their one ally.
It’s very ugly, but that’s what’s happening.

Meanwhile, there have been—it’s kind of like the North Korean case we
were discussing. There have been possible opportunities to terminate
the horrors. In 2012, there was an initiative from the Russians, which
was not pursued, so we don’t know how serious it was, but it was a
proposal to—for a negotiated settlement, in which Assad would be
phased out, not immediately. You know, you can’t tell them, "We’re
going to murder you. Please negotiate." That’s not going to work. But
some system in which, in the course of negotiations, he would be
removed, and some kind of settlement would be made. The West would not
accept it, not just the United States. France, England, the United
States simply refused to even consider it. At the time, they believed
they could overthrow Assad, so they didn’t want to do this, so the war
went on. Could it have worked? You never know for sure. But it could
have been pursued. Meanwhile, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are supporting
jihadi groups, which are not all that different from ISIS. So you have
a horror story on all sides. The Syrian people are being decimated.

AMY GOODMAN: And the U.S. now sending 400 more troops to Syria. But if
the U.S. has a better relationship with Russia, could that change
everything?

NOAM CHOMSKY: It could lead to some kind of accommodation in which a
negotiated diplomatic settlement would be implemented, which would by
no means be lovely, but it would at least cut down the level of
violence, which is critical, because the country is simply being
destroyed. It’s descending to suicide.


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Peace Is Doable
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