It is a testament to the force of Noam Chomsky's ideas that a film like "Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky In Our Times" can get a theatrical release. The documentary, which opened this weekend in New York and on a small number of screens in North America, is essentially just a highlight reel of the graying intellectual's most relevant thoughts about the post-9/11 world.

Guerrilla of the Week

Editor's Pick, November 25, 2002

"I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of gas … I am strongly in favour of using poisonous gas against uncivilised tribes … [it would] spread a lively terror" - Winston Churchill, 1919 (as quoted by Noam Chomsky in "Power and Terror")

It is a testament to the force of Noam Chomsky's ideas that a film like "Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky In Our Times" can get a theatrical release. The documentary, which opened this weekend in New York and on a small number of screens in North America, is essentially just a highlight reel of the graying intellectual's most relevant thoughts about the post-9/11 world. It appears that director John Junkerman simply took two DV cameras, showed up at several Chomsky public appearances, conducted one sit-down interview and then strung the best bites together. In that sense, it's not much of a documentary. But in this case, the simplicity of the film works. Chomsky probably would have wanted it no other way. He is the ultimate straight-shooter, determined to apply simple moral precepts and easily understandable historical lessons to the world around him. His entire political philosophy could be summed very nicely with, as he says, "If one is right, why is the other wrong?"

It's just this sort of dispassionate analysis that has got him in hot water. Immediately following 9/11, he made the mistake of making some now rather mundane observations about the nature of empire and terrorism. He was accused of being an "apologist" for the hijackers. Of course, today his thoughts on the subject sound pretty tame:

"I reacted pretty much the way people acted around the world. It was a terrible tragedy but nothing new. That is the way the imperial powers treated the rest of the world for centuries. This is a historic event unfortunately not because of its scale, but because of who its victims were. If you look at hundreds of years of history the imperial powers have basically been immune to this kind of violence …. It's not so surprising. I've been talking about this for years … with contemporary technology it is possible for small groups to carry out pretty awful atrocities, there is no use screaming about. If you are serious about preventing further attacks you look for what the roots are. Almost any crime, whether it's in the streets, or in war, there is usually something behind it that has legitimacy."

Exposing the double-standards of the so-called War on Terrorism is where Chomsky is at his strongest. As he says, "Everyone's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: Stop participating in it." Chomsky's favorite case-in-point is Turkey:

"Maybe of the most striking cases, the one that tells you something about western intellectuals is Turkey. Turkish troops are now in Kabul paid for by the U.S. to fight the War on Terror. Why is Turkey offering troops? It was in gratitude because the U.S. was the only country to offer massive support for their own huge terrorist atrocities in southeast Turkey in the past few years, it's not ancient history. In fact, they've carried out some of the worst atrocities in the 90s - far beyond anything Milosevic is accused of in Kosovo, were carried out in southeast Turkey, about the same time, against a quarter of the population, the Kurds, who are horribly repressed. Millions were driven from their homes, tens of thousands were killed, every imaginable kind of barbaric torture and Clinton was pouring arms in. Turkey became the biggest recipient of U.S. arms, after Israel and Egypt … and they are very grateful that the U.S. helped them carry out such massive state terror that in reward they are now fighting the War on Terror. The fact that western intellectuals can look at this and not say anything is a really impressive testimonial to the discipline of educated people...

If you can't comprehend why you can't apply the same moral standards to us as we do to others - that is incomprehensible. I cannot think of a moral principle more elementary...The hypocrite is the person who refuses to apply the same moral standards to himself as he does to others. By that standard the entire commentary on the so-called War on Terror is pure hypocrisy… Can anyone understand that? No. But that's not surprising… It's ugly but it's standard."

My favorite parts of "Power and Terror" are when Chomsky shoots down two widely-held, and wrongheaded, lefty myths, which I summarize below, followed by his response:

1. The government controls the media: In response to a questioner who asks if Chomsky is worried about the media becoming a mouthpiece of the government:

"They are much less so than they were in the past. It's not they are becoming. They always were. It's just they are becoming less so. Take MSNBC. Since 9/11 the media have opened up a lot. I was on MSNBC in November for a long discussion for the first time ever. Public concerns are forcing the media to open up … the government has almost no influence over the media. It's like asking how does the government convince General Motors to increase profit. It doesn't. The media are huge corporations that share the interest of the huge corporate sector that dominates the government. The government doesn't tell the media what to do. They don't have the power to do it here … in fact, if they tried, the media would do the opposite just to spite them."

2. The world is getting worse: In response to a question about the world going to hell in a handbasket:

"Do you think it is better to have slavery or kings? … In the past few years, the country has got a lot more civilized, in many respects. The movements that have had a massive effect on this country aren't even from the 60s, they are from the 70s and 80s. there was only a bare beginning of a feminist movement in the 60s that became a major movement in subsequent years. The environmental movement didn't really exist until the 70s and 80s. Same with solidarity movements, the anti-nuclear movement, currently what's called ridiculously the anti-globalization, meaning support for a kind fo globalization that has concern for people not investors. Those are much more recent developments, and they are massive and they have changed the character of the country. I think it's not a pretty world, but things are improving … We have every opportunity open to us. We are not in Turkey or Colombia. We are not going to get assassinated or thrown in prison. Every option is open, we have all kinds of privileges. It's just a matter of if you want to pursue them."

And there you have it. Absolut Chomsky. Cool, collected, rational, and ultimately full of hope. That is why, at 73, graying and rumpled, he's still America's most important intellectual.