Noam Chomsky: On the Bombings

[Helena Goscilo]

Dear Michael and Colleagues,

I sense a confusion or a conflation here between a posting and an
endorsement.  For at least the last two years Sergei Ushakin (in his exotic
transliteration as S. Oushakine--fate in the form of international
politics/bureaucracy, not choice) has posted at least two hundred messages
that have not been misapprehended as items symptomatizing  his personal or
professional passions.  No one has objected, for his unpaid service has
provided invaluable information for countless colleagues, while those not
interested could always press the button we all wish could be connected to
tenured deadwood colleagues--"Delete."  In his latest message, as in all
others, he simply passed on information that I found of more interest than
requests from colleagues incapable of consulting their libraries or
dictionaries regarding basic information about literary and historical
personae or about the Russian equivalent of manure or the English
translation of "new" Russian words that have been around for the last
quarter-century.
Doesn't it make sense to express outrage when something genuinely
outrageous occurs (yesterday's nightmare, for instance) rather than in
response to one of Sergei's non-partisan postings, the intent of which, I
surmise, is to generate discussion?  If I misread you, Michael, I apologize
in advance, but my sense is that you are reading Sergei
Ushakin in terms not relevant to his posting.

Helena Goscilo

--On Wednesday, September 12, 2001 9:10 PM -0400 "Michael S. Flier"
<flier at FAS.HARVARD.EDU> wrote:r

> Mr. Oushakine:
>
> I am appalled by your abuse of a scholarly bulletin board devoted to
> Slavic languages and literatures to air your personal views concerning the
> terrorist attack on the United States and the conflict in the Middle East
> by disseminating recent articles by Chomsky and Fisk through SEELANGS.  If
> you wish to argue about American and Middle Eastern politics publicly,
> then do so in an appropriate forum, but not on a Slavic bulletin board.
> This is a gross violation of our common trust.
>
> Michael Flier
>
>
>
> At 07:04 PM 9/12/01 -0400, Serguei Alex. Oushakine wrote:
>> On the Bombings
>> Noam Chomsky
>>
>>
>> The terrorist attacks were major atrocities. In scale they may not reach
>> the level of many others, for example, Clinton's bombing of the Sudan
>> with no credible pretext, destroying half its pharmaceutical supplies
>> and killing unknown numbers of people (no one knows, because the US
>> blocked an inquiry at the UN and no one cares to pursue it). Not to
>> speak of much worse cases, which easily come to mind. But that this was
>> a horrendous crime is not in doubt. The primary victims, as usual, were
>> working people: janitors, secretaries, firemen, etc. It is likely to
>> prove to be a crushing blow to Palestinians and other poor and oppressed
>> people. It is also likely to lead to harsh security controls, with many
>> possible ramifications for undermining civil liberties and internal
>> freedom.
>>
>> The events reveal, dramatically, the foolishness of the project of
>> "missile defense." As has been obvious all along, and pointed out
>> repeatedly by strategic analysts, if anyone wants to cause immense
>> damage in the US, including weapons of mass destruction, they are highly
>> unlikely to launch a missile attack, thus guaranteeing their immediate
>> destruction. There are innumerable easier ways that are basically
>> unstoppable. But today's events will, very likely, be exploited to
>> increase the pressure to develop these systems and put them into place.
>> "Defense" is a thin cover for plans for militarization of space, and
>> with good PR, even the flimsiest arguments will carry some weight among
>> a frightened public.
>>
>> In short, the crime is a gift to the hard jingoist right, those who hope
>> to use force to control their domains. That is even putting aside the
>> likely US actions, and what they will trigger -- possibly more attacks
>> like this one, or worse. The prospects ahead are even more ominous than
>> they appeared to be before the latest atrocities.
>>
>> As to how to react, we have a choice. We can express justified horror; we
>> can seek to understand what may have led to the crimes, which means
>> making an effort to enter the minds of the likely perpetrators. If we
>> choose the latter course, we can do no better, I think, than to listen
>> to the words of Robert Fisk, whose direct knowledge and insight into
>> affairs of the region is unmatched after many years of distinguished
>> reporting. Describing "The wickedness and awesome cruelty of a crushed
>> and humiliated people," he writes that "this is not the war of democracy
>> versus terror that the world will be asked to believe in the coming
>> days. It is also about American missiles smashing into Palestinian homes
>> and US helicopters firing missiles into a Lebanese ambulance in 1996 and
>> American shells crashing into a village called Qana and about a Lebanese
>> militia - paid and uniformed by America's Israeli ally - hacking and
>> raping and murdering their way through refugee camps." And much more.
>> Again, we have a choice: we may try to understand, or refuse to do so,
>> contributing to the likelihood that much worse lies ahead.
>>
>> Noam Chomsky
>>
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>
> *************************************************************************
> ***** PROF. MICHAEL S. FLIER, Chairman
>
> Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
> Harvard University
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>
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