Fifty years ago this month, on January 17, 1961, outgoing U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower made one of the truly memorable presidential speeches of all time. Through his justly celebrated farewell address, Eisenhower wanted to alert his fellow Americans to two great dangers threatening public life in the Republic. For the first time in its history, the U.S. was home to a permanent arms industry. Allied with the military, this newly created military-industrial complex constituted a menace of "unwarranted influence" over U.S. decisions on momentous issues of war and peace, and for the structure of American society itself.
noam chomsky
Noam Chomsky: Looking back on 9/11 a decade later
We are approaching the 10th anniversary of the horrendous atrocities of September 11, 2001, which, it is commonly held, changed the world. On May 1st, the presumed mastermind of the crime, Osama bin Laden, was assassinated in Pakistan by a team of elite U.S. commandos, Navy SEALs, after he was captured, unarmed and undefended, in Operation Geronimo.
Noam Chomsky on Egyptian protests: 'This is the most remarkable regional uprising that I can remember'
In recent weeks, popular uprisings in the Arab world have led to the oust of Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the imminent end of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime, a new Jordanian government, and a pledge by Yemen's long-time dictator to leave office at the end of his term. Democracy Now! speaks to MIT Professor Noam Chomsky about what this means for the future of the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy in the region. When asked about President Obama's remarks last night on Mubarak, Chomsky said: "Obama very carefully didn't say anything... He's doing what U.S. leaders regularly do. As I said, there is a playbook: whenever a favored dictator is in trouble, try to sustain him, hold on; if at some point it becomes impossible, switch sides."
Chomsky: 'We were denied entry'
Noam Chomsky, a renowned Jewish-American scholar and political activist, has been barred from entering Israel to deliver a speech at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank.
He spoke to Al Jazeera about his hours-long wait at the Israeli border, and the explanation he was given for being denied entry.
