'The world' according to Washington (By Noam Chomsky)

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On February 13, Imad Moughniyeh, a senior commander of Hezbollah, was assassinated in Damascus. "The world is a better place without this man in it," US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said. "One way or the other he was brought to justice." Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell added that Moughniyeh had been "responsible for more deaths of Americans and Israelis than any other terrorist with the exception of Osama bin Laden".

Joy was unconstrained in Israel too, as "one of the US and Israel's most wanted men" was brought to justice, the London Financial Times reported. Under the heading, "A militant wanted the world over", an accompanying story reported that he was "superseded on the most-wanted list by Osama bin Laden" after September 11, 2001, and so ranked second among "the most wanted militants in the world".

The terminology is accurate enough, according to the rules of Anglo-American discourse, which defines "the world" as the political class in Washington and London (and whoever happens to agree with them on specific matters). It is common, for example, to read that "the world" fully supported President George W Bush when he ordered the bombing of Afghanistan in 2001. That may be true of "the world", but hardly of the world, as revealed in an international Gallup Poll after the bombing was announced. Global support was slight.

In Latin America, which has some experience with US behavior, support ranged from 2% in Mexico to 16% in Panama, and that support was conditional on the culprits being identified (they still weren't eight months later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported), and civilian targets being spared (they were attacked at once). There was an overwhelming preference in the world for diplomatic/judicial measures, rejected out of hand by "the world".

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JB28Ak02.html

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1. I think the most important point

about this article is that you cannot jerk around the entire world, and expect to get away with it.
This is the most deranged aspect of the current leadership, or the PNAC. I've read their documents, and it's quite clear they felt that the US (4% of the world's population) could be ruthless with the other 96% without any repercussions.

The US is not all-powerful. In fact, we're quite weak and are getting weaker by each passing day.
And we're still doing it!!

Even in spite of massive losses, unbelievable defiance from other countries in particular S. America.
I'm not sure delusion is the right word for it.

Thanx B.

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2. I was mostly struck by the tone.

Chomsky sounded quite annoyed, not the usual dry, dispassionate recitation of facts. And yeah, it's deranged. But decadent empires always tend to look deranged.
:hi: