BTL Noam Chomsky on Middle East Conflict and U.S. War Plan Against Iraq

Noam Chomsky on Middle East Conflict and U.S. War Plan Against Iraq

Between The Lines' Scott Harris

Israel's continued military occupation and assault on West Bank cities has enraged Palestinians, inflamed tensions in many Arab states and turned public opinion in much of the world against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Although investigations into the assault on the Jenin refugee camp has just recently gotten underway, it is clear that Israeli troops destroyed much of the city during more than a week of intense fighting. The number of Palestinian civilians killed during the battle is a matter of bitter dispute, but with aid workers, human rights officials and journalists barred by the Israel military from Jenin for many days after the conflict ended, the truth may never be known.

The Bush administration has been criticized by observers on both the left and right, for what many characterize as an incoherent foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere. Because of the regional tensions produced by the Israeli Palestinian conflict the White House was forced to temporarily put on hold its very public plan to launch a new war against Iraq. But administration officials continue to make the case that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein remains necessary because the Iraqi leader is said to possess biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Noam Chomsky, Massachuesetts Institute of Technology professor of linguistics, author and political analyst, who examines the continuing violence in the Middle East and the reasons why the U.S. is planning to launch a new war against Iraq (A RealAudio Version of this interview may be found at http://www.btlonline.org).

Read professor Chomsky's papers and articles by visiting the Z Magazine Web site at http://www.zmag.org

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