There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Even in the 1950s, President Eisenhower was concerned about what he called a campaign of hatred of the U.S. in the Arab world, because of the perception on the Arab street that it supported harsh and oppressive regimes to take their oil.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects concerns about the U.S. foreign policy and its impact on perceptions in the Arab world.
Noam Chomsky highlights President Eisenhower's awareness of the negative perception of the United States in the Arab world during the 1950s, primarily stemming from America's support of oppressive regimes that prioritized oil interests over the welfare of the local populations. This insight underscores the complex interplay between geopolitics and public sentiment, illustrating how foreign policies can lead to widespread feelings of animosity and hatred.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on foreign policy, this quote can be used to illustrate the unintended consequences of U.S. actions abroad.
More from Noam Chomsky
All quotes →The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
Similar quotes
I am not a reluctant peer but a persistent commoner
I never stood for any president in my life, never voted, before Barack Obama. It changed my life to vote. It starts there with me. I never cared for politics before Barack Obama. I never thought it mattered to people like me.
They say, oh, let’s have multiparty politics. Let’s have different parties change and be in charge of the Government. Is it that simple? You vote in a Division Three government, not a Division One government, and the whole economy will just subside within three, four years. Finished.
The best defence [for a democracy, for the public good] is aggressiveness, the aggressiveness of the involved citizen. We need to reassert that slow, time-consuming, inefficient, boring process that requires our involvement; it is called 'being a citizen.' The public good is not something that you can see. It is not static. It is a process. It is the process by which democratic civilizations build themselves.
The world will not accept dictatorship or domination.
I will venture to assert that no combination of designing men under heaven will be capable of making a government unpopular which is in its principles a wise and good one, and vigorous in its operations.