America's Real Foreign Policy

8/12/2019 America's Real Foreign Policy

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Published on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 byTomDispatch

America's Real Foreign Policy: Global Corporatization

by Force

Whose security is the U.S. military an !oreign ser"ice protecting#

byNoam Chomsky

US soldies paticipatin! in li"e #ie dills duin! N$T% tainin! in &emany' (Photo) #lick

* cc * +$TUS-2.)24/2The uestion o# ho3 #oei!n policy is detemined is a cucialone in 3old a##ais' n these comments, can only po"ide a #e3 hints as to ho3 think thesub5ect can be poducti"ely e6ploed, keepin! to the United States #o se"eal easons' 7ist,the U'S' is unmatched in its !lobal si!ni#icance and impact' Second, it is an unusually opensociety, possibly uniuely so, 3hich means 3e kno3 moe about it' 7inally, it is plainly themost impotant case #o $meicans, 3ho ae able to in#luence policy choices in the U'S' 88and indeed #o othes, inso#a as thei actions can in#luence such choices' The !enealpinciples, ho3e"e, e6tend to the othe ma5o po3es, and 3ell beyond'
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175863/tomgram%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_america's_real_foreign_policy/http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175863/tomgram%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_america's_real_foreign_policy/http://www.commondreams.org/noam-chomskyhttp://www.commondreams.org/noam-chomskyhttp://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175863/tomgram%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_america's_real_foreign_policy/


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Thee is a 9ecei"ed standad "esion,: common to academic scholaship, !o"enmentponouncements, and public discouse' t holds that the pime commitment o# !o"enmentsis to ensue secuity, and that the pimay concen o# the U'S' and its allies since 1;4 3asthe


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$ll o# this has e"ident beain! on the standad "esion, but it passed unnoticed 88 opehaps, thereforeit passed unnoticed'

%the impotant e"ents took place immediately a#te the #all o# the Aelin =all, endin! theCold =a' %ne 3as in l Sal"ado, the leadin! ecipient o# U'S' militay aid 88 apat #om

sael8!ypt, a sepaate cate!oy 88 and 3ith one o# the 3ost human i!hts ecodsany3hee' That is a #amilia and "ey close coelation'

The Sal"adoan hi!h command odeed the $tlacatl Ai!ade to in"ade the Jesuit Uni"esityand mude si6 leadin! @atin $meican intellectuals, all Jesuit piests, includin! the ecto,7' !nacio llacuEa, and any 3itnesses, meanin! thei housekeepe and he dau!hte' TheAi!ade had 5ust etuned #om ad"anced counteinsu!ency tainin! at the U'S' $my John7' ennedy Special =a#ae Cente and School in 7ot Aa!!, Noth Caolina, and hadaleady le#t a bloody tail o# thousands o# the usual "ictims in the couse o# the U'S'8unstate teo campai!n in l Sal"ado, one pat o# a boade teo and totue campai!nthou!hout the e!ion' $ll outine' !noed and "itually #o!otten in the United States and

by its allies, a!ain outine' Aut it tells us a lot about the #actos that di"e policy, i# 3e caeto look at the eal 3old'

$nothe impotant e"ent took place in uope' So"iet pesident +ikhail &obache" a!eedto allo3 the uni#ication o# &emany and its membeship in N$T%, a hostile militayalliance' n the li!ht o# ecent histoy, this 3as a most astonishin! concession' Thee 3as aquid pro quo' Pesident Aush and Secetay o# State James Aake a!eed that N$T% 3ouldnot e6pand 9one inch to the ast,: meanin! into ast &emany' nstantly, they e6pandedN$T% to ast &emany'

&obache" 3as natually outa!ed, but 3hen he complained, he 3as instucted by=ashin!ton that this had only been a "ebal pomise, a !entlemans a!eement, hence3ithout #oce' # he 3as naF"e enou!h to accept the 3od o# $meican leades, it 3as hispoblem'

$ll o# this, too, 3as outine, as 3as the silent acceptance and appo"al o# the e6pansion o#N$T% in the U'S' and the =est !eneally' Pesident Aill Clinton then e6panded N$T%#uthe, i!ht up to


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The elimination o# economic nationalism #o othes stood in shap con#lict 3ith the @atin$meican stand o# that moment, 3hich State Depatment o##icials descibed as 9thephilosophy o# the Ne3 Nationalism GthatH embaces policies desi!ned to bin! about aboade distibution o# 3ealth and to aise the standad o# li"in! o# the masses': $s U'S'policy analysts added, 9@atin $meicans ae con"inced that the #ist bene#iciaies o# the

de"elopment o# a countyIs esouces should be the people o# that county':

That, o# couse, 3ill not do' =ashin!ton undestands that the 9#ist bene#iciaies: should beU'S' in"estos, 3hile @atin $meica #ul#ills its se"ice #unction' t should not, as both theTuman and isenho3e administations 3ould make clea, unde!o 9e6cessi"e industialde"elopment: that mi!ht in#in!e on U'S' inteests' Thus Aail could poduce lo38ualitysteel that U'S' copoations did not 3ant to bothe 3ith, but it 3ould be 9e6cessi"e,: 3ee itto compete 3ith U'S' #ims'

Simila concens esonate thou!hout the post8=old =a peiod' The !lobal system that3as to be dominated by the U'S' 3as theatened by 3hat intenal documents call 9adical

and nationalistic e!imes: that espond to popula pessues #o independent de"elopment'That 3as the concen that moti"ated the o"etho3 o# the paliamentay !o"enments o#an and &uatemala in 1;K and 1;4, as 3ell as numeous othes' n the case o# an, ama5o concen 3as the potential impact o# anian independence on !ypt, then in tumoilo"e Aitish colonial pactice' n &uatemala, apat #om the cime o# the ne3 democacy inempo3ein! the peasant ma5oity and in#in!in! on possessions o# the United 7uitCompany 88 aleady o##ensi"e enou!h 88 =ashin!tons concen 3as labo unest andpopula mobiliation in nei!hboin! U'S'8backed dictatoships'

n both cases the conseuences each to the pesent' @iteally not a day has passed since1;K 3hen the U'S' has not been totuin! the people o# an' &uatemala emains one o# the3olds 3ost hoo chambes' To this day, +ayans ae #leein! #om the e##ects o# nea8!enocidal !o"enment militay campai!ns in the hi!hlands backed by Pesident


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teoist 3as, pimaily duin! the ennedy yeas, and economic stan!ulation' Notbecause o# the


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+uch the same 3as tue in the +iddle ast' The uniue U'S' elations 3ith sael 3eeestablished in thei cuent #om in 1;Q., 3hen sael deli"eed a smashin! blo3 to !ypt,the cente o# secula $ab nationalism' Ay doin! so, it potected U'S' ally Saudi $abia,then en!a!ed in militay con#lict 3ith !ypt in Remen' Saudi $abia, o# couse, is the moste6teme adical #undamentalist slamic state, and also a missionay state, e6pendin! hu!e

sums to establish its =ahhabi8Sala#i doctines beyond its bodes' t is 3oth emembein!that the U'S', like n!land be#oe it, has tended to suppot adical #undamentalist slam inopposition to secula nationalism, 3hich has usually been pecei"ed as posin! moe o# atheat o# independence and conta!ion'

&he (alue o! Secrecy

Thee is much moe to say, but the histoical ecod demonstates "ey clealy that thestandad doctine has little meit' Secuity in the nomal sense is not a pominent #acto inpolicy #omation'

To epeat, in the normal sense' Aut in e"aluatin! the standad doctine 3e ha"e to ask 3hatis actually meant by 9secuity:) secuity #o 3hom?

%ne ans3e is) secuity #o state po3e' Thee ae many illustations' Take a cuent one' n+ay, the U'S' a!eed to suppot a U'N' Secuity Council esolution callin! on thentenational Ciminal Cout to in"esti!ate 3a cimes in Syia, but 3ith a po"iso) theecould be no inuiy into possible 3a cimes by sael' % by =ashin!ton, thou!h it 3aseally unnecessay to add that last condition' The U'S' is uniuely sel#8immunied #om theintenational le!al system' n #act, thee is e"en con!essional le!islation authoiin! thepesident to use amed #oce to 9escue: any $meican bou!ht to the Ba!ue #o tial 88 the9Nethelands n"asion $ct,: as it is sometimes called in uope' That once a!ain illustatesthe impotance o# potectin! the secuity o# state po3e'

Aut potectin! it #om 3hom? Thee is, in #act, a ston! case to be made that a pimeconcen o# !o"enment is the secuity o# state po3e #om the population' $s those 3hoha"e spent time umma!in! thou!h achi"es should be a3ae, !o"enment sececy isaely moti"ated by a !enuine #o secuity, but it de#initely does se"e to keep thepopulation in the dak' $nd #o !ood easons, 3hich 3ee lucidly e6plained by thepominent libeal schola and !o"enment ad"ise Samuel Buntin!ton, the po#esso o# thescience o# !o"enment at Ba"ad Uni"esity' n his 3ods) 9The achitects o# po3e in theUnited States must ceate a #oce that can be #elt but not seen' Po3e emains ston! 3henit emains in the dak e6posed to the sunli!ht it be!ins to e"apoate':

Be 3ote that in 1;>1, 3hen the Cold =a 3as a!ain heatin! up, and he e6plained #uthethat 9you may ha"e to sell Ginte"ention o othe militay actionH in such a 3ay as to ceatethe misimpession that it is the So"iet Union that you ae #i!htin!' That is 3hat the UnitedStates has been doin! e"e since the Tuman Doctine':

These simple tuths ae aely ackno3led!ed, but they po"ide insi!ht into state po3e andpolicy, 3ith e"ebeations to the pesent moment'


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Conside !lobal 3amin!' Thee is no3 much e6ubeance in the United States about 9100yeas o# ene!y independence: as 3e become 9the Saudi $abia o# the ne6t centuy: 88pehaps the #inal centuy o# human ci"iliation i# cuent policies pesist'

That illustates "ey clealy the natue o# the concen #o secuity, cetainly not #o the

population' t also illustates the moal calculus o# contempoay $n!lo8$meican statecapitalism) the #ate o# ou !andchilden counts as nothin! 3hen compaed 3ith theimpeati"e o# hi!he po#its tomoo3'

These conclusions ae #oti#ied by a close look at the popa!anda system' Thee is a hu!epublic elations campai!n in the U'S', o!anied uite openly by Ai! ne!y and thebusiness 3old, to ty to con"ince the public that !lobal 3amin! is eithe uneal o not aesult o# human acti"ity' $nd it has had some impact' The U'S' anks lo3e than othecounties in public concen about !lobal 3amin! and the esults ae stati#ied) amon!


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honestly and ealistically the uestion o# ho3 policy decisions ae made, and 3hat 3e cando to alte them be#oe it is too late'

2014 Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is nstitute Po#esso (etied at +T' Be is the autho o# many books andaticles on intenational a##ais and social8political issues, and a lon!8time paticipant inacti"ist mo"ements' Bis most ecent books include) Po+er Systems: Con"ersations onGlobal ,emocratic Uprisings an the )e+ Challenges to U.S. $mpire(with interviewer

David Barsamian),-aing the Future: /ccupations0 1nter"entions0 $mpire anResistance,*opes an Prospects, and Pro!it /"er People: )eoliberalism 2 Global/rer' Pe"ious books include) 3455: 56th Anni"ersary $ition, Faile States,What WeSay Goes(3ith Da"id Aasamian, *egemony or Sur"i"al, and the $ssential Chomsy'

moe Noam Chomsky
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