I remember talking to, 40 years ago, one of the leading people in the government who was involved in arms control, pressing for arms control measures, dรฉtente, and so on. He's very high up, and we were talking about whether arms control could succeed. And only partially as a joke he said, "Well it might succeed if the high tech industry makes more profit from arms control than it can make from weapons-related research and production. If we get to that tipping point maybe arms control will work." He was partially joking but there's a truth that lies behind it.
Noam ChomskyThis Sarah Palin phenomenon is very curious. I think somebody watching us from Mars โ they would think the country has gone insane.
Noam ChomskyAllowing an independent and sovereign Iraq could be a nightmare for the United States. It would mean that it would be Shi'ite-dominated, at least if it's minimally democratic. It would continue to improve relations with Iran, just what the United States doesn't want to see. And beyond that, right across the border in Saudi Arabia where most of Saudi oil is, there happens to be a large Shi'ite population, probably a majority.
Noam Chomsky