by Noam Chomsky
The most powerful state in history has proclaimed that it intends to
control the world by force, the dimension in which it reigns
supreme. . . .
The consequences could be catastrophic in Iraq and around the world.
The United States may reap a whirlwind of terrorist retaliation --
and step up the possibility of nuclear Armageddon. . . .
Last October, when Congress granted the president the authority to
go to war, it was "to defend the national security of the United
States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq."
But no country in Iraq's neighborhood seems overly concerned about
Saddam, much as they may hate the murderous tyrant.
Perhaps that is because the neighbors know that Iraq's people are at
the edge of survival. Iraq has become one of the weakest states in
the region. As a report from the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences points out, Iraq's economy and military expenditures are a
fraction of some of its neighbors'. . . .
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