Noam Chomsky: American Empire After 20 Years in Afghanistan - Full Interview, 2021

Professor Noam Chomsky discusses whether Biden’s withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan signals the end of American imperialism, what the US owes the Afghan people, and what future antiwar movements can learn from the protests against the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Full livestream (members): • Noam Chomsky: American...

[@stephenwallace8782]

I don't think I've seen Noam smile as much in a single video as he does in this one. He knows he's in good company.

[@hhhahahhhahha]

he smiles because hes with fellow glowies

[@tonron888]

@@hhhahahhhahha no he smiles because he knows that as long as there is young ones like this, the cause is not lost, and his work is doing some good👍

[@tonron888]

@Jeff Whitman i think most would prefer young girls to be smart, dont you think?

[@adriannasmiths8262]

Gandalf

[@adriannasmiths8262]

Noam Chomsky is way too conservative for me

[@elewis9180]

I'm really glad Noam makes the effort he does to still do this. He's really earned some peace, but his knowledge and insights are invaluable.

[@SquillyNelson]

The fact that he isn’t 100% done with dumb people after the life he’s had is astounding

[@adriannasmiths8262]

Gandalf

[@eg4848]

I think it keeps him going

[@musbahalfarah442]

He has remarkable memory, recollection and mental agility as a 92 years young. A true genius.

[@johnlavers3970]

the breadth of his reading is amazing. i wish i could read that much

[@tylerhackner9731]

Love Noam ✊🏼

[@mikerocketmusic]

Professor Noam Chomsky is unequivocally the world’s greatest intellectual.

[@solidaritytime3650]

"It's a wonder that he writes such awful things about US foreign policy" Lmao! Must be doing something right when you annoy the commissars

[@atwarwithdust]

Alasdair MacIntyre.

[@ZenobiaofPalmyra]

Not Michael Parenti.

[@Natasha-ce3rm]

Cringe take. He’s not above anyone else, nor is his opinions. He’s a linguistic professor; not a professional in politics nor sociology. All he does is complain without prospects of improvement.

[@mrnogot4251]

I needed this. When I saw Noam I just clicked, sat down and watched the whole video in one sitting.

[@martinko4086]

now you need psychological re-evaluation .

[@stevenvanheemst9556]

Smartest and most Honest Man in the United States

[@ryanburdeaux]

that would be Thomas Sowell

[@bigollameo]

Here we go again: Jacobin and Noam Chomsky renewing my faith in the relationship between public intellectuals, honest media, and the common good.

[@VivaLaSocialismo]

I too share this fringe sentiment.

[@davidwhite4874]

Ask Chomsky about 9/11.

[@recstuf]

I'm so grateful for this conversation, this was wholesome and inspiring.

[@williambloodworth5126]

Professor Chomsky is an incredible example of how to keep your mind sharp well into old age. He uses his mind every day; staying interested and engaged can be a fountain of youth.

[@travismalone1985]

So true. What a great comment.

[@Aadam1948]

True

[@debralegorreta1375]

It helps if the establishment props you up with two academic chairs in exchange for your services as a sheep dog. Billy, you're being played.

[@martinko4086]

Chomsky do NOT need to keep his mind sharp, because he never had sharp mind . He was only brainwashed to the CORE by toxic Marxism.

[@stevepalmateer]

The best interview with Prof. Chomsky I have listened to in several years, thanks to the women who questioned him, listened and offered their own insights.

[@PhilipRhoadesP]

Such an international treasure - and still so sharp at his age - amazing . . and largely ignored by the people who actually run the joint . .

[@debralegorreta1375]

He's especially valuable to the DNC. . . the greatest sheep dog they ever had.

[@juliaglanville8625]

@@debralegorreta1375 He is pretty critical of the DNC and more well known abroad than here.

[@bobxyzp]

Ignored? They hate him! He wants them to lose all their power.

[@michaeldenney6774]

Thank you so much for allowing this man to speak at length! Too many interviews ask questions of Noam, then disallow him to finish a thought. Kudos!

[@kristinamelnichenko5775]

This man is a treasure. Thank you 👏👏👏

[@treefrog3349]

One of the most encouraging and heart-warming aspects of the present moment is the recognition and respect that many young people display for the wisdom of Noam Chomsky. When you have certifiable nitwits like Marjorie Taylor Green and Ted Cruz, and Matt Gaetz, etc on the national news regularly, but you have to go looking for Noam Chomsky and Chris Hedges, et al. in more obscure corners of the information landscape, I weep for America. I am 72 so I just want you youngsters to know that you are the only hope for Humanity.

[@stevenzuniga9827]

That's good to hear but a lot of people your age think noam is an anti American commie who wants to destroy America

[@toseeornot2see]

Bright young ladies interviewing a luminous intellectual elder. I love it. Faith in humanity restored.

[@martinko4086]

your "luminous intellectual" is down to ZERO . Just keep brainwashing young people .

[@toseeornot2see]

@@martinko4086 hah! Says the dude who listens to, probably, Shapiro, who reviews movies for a living.

[@terriej123]

Great interview. Thanks for posting it in its entirety. Everyone should get to watch it.

[@harmony9341]

Great conversation. Chomsky pulling in context from everywhere and making so many good points as usual.

[@debralegorreta1375]

Yes. He has to be the greatest sheep dog the DNC ever had.

[@TalatAfrozeToronto]

so grateful for this conversation

[@nwaraich147]

I love this man

[@carlscott4180]

You love a man who loved Marx, then. 80-100 million murders, and countless more interrogations, lives ruined, etc. Noam never defended real democracy with any vigor, or reflected on socialism's mass murders with any honesty.

[@borninvincible]

Gandalf's wisdom is unmatched. We are blessed to have him!

[@mtgreenwell5300]

Not enough is said about how well interviews are conducted. Clearly this interview by Ariella Thornhill and Jen Pan was marvelous. Thanks... Just take a moment to look at Norm's smile (at 57:19). Phenomenal!

[@louisfortin7824]

Best minds on the web here and now .Thank you all from my heart.

[@nicholashazlett4369]

Imagine being Noam, 93 years old.. Keep picking his brain Jacobin. His voice is as crucial as it is soothing. Love me some Noam

[@maryruthfarrell2158]

He'll be 93 in Dec.

[@nicholashazlett4369]

@@maryruthfarrell2158 im from the future, youll have to excuse me

[@SuperTonyony]

The Professor could just relax and read the classics and sip coffee on his balcony, but he still researches these intense and depressing topics that the rest of us don't have the time or patience to study. He's a treasure!

[@barquerojuancarlos7253]

Thank you, Jen Pan and Ariella Thornhill .... We will never stop fighting

[@carsonwieker]

Wow great interview & conversation

[@AWildBard]

Awesome, and welcome back, Ariella! What a way to start your return to work.

[@feynmanschwingere_mc2270]

Chomsky is the greatest American public intellectual of all time. And frankly, it's not even close. Absolute GENIUS. ❤👑

[@Natasha-ce3rm]

He has real GENIUS takes on the Yugoslavian and Cambodian genocides.

[@erinokeefe7945]

Wow! Great interview, thank you!! 🙂

[@johnmcgrath3480]

Nice! Look forward to this… Vijay Prashad next?

[@andrasszeri4753]

THANK YOU for this interview!

[@Hollowsmith]

We're blessed as a society to get Noam's education and wisdom to analyze major geopolitical news stories or so many decades. Watching Chomsky interviews over the last 60 years will give an American a hell of an insight as to our actual history.

[@lawrencelibby3607]

This was very good. There have been some over the past 3 or 4 years that were not as good. I'm glad to see him sharp, again.

[@kristinamelnichenko5775]

Good questions, great interview Thank you!

[@jessicafalstein]

good audio levels! thank you.

[@johnbx1876]

One of my great teachers!

[@AA-ul9qh]

Wow; this is impressive! How does he manage to keep up to date on so much & with such depth?!?! Love him or hate him, but you've got to respect how he champions human rights for ALL humans, not just the privileged dwellers of the West!

[@Natasha-ce3rm]

We missed his warm compassion here in the Balkans after he denied the genocide. (Denied Cambodias too)

[@VivaLaSocialismo]

Going on a panel with noam chomsky is like sitting on grandpas lap, if grandpa was Einstein. Even when you think you are sounding great, you know on some level that he sees your mistakes.

[@vikramreddy3292]

Jel & Ariella. Ladies great discussion. Will it be possible for both of you to work towards bringing together Naom Chomsky and like-minded people onto a single platform to discuss critical issues confronting the world and the US. A series perhaps that will enable people like me for instance, come up to speed with the right understanding of current affairs impacting the globe. Thanks

[@SalahEL33]

Good Job girls! Very interesting topic with professor Chomsky who always points out new angle of view you never see on mainstream media. I like btw the sound quality.

[@ToddWright2]

Some people prize sports and/or film stars. I have found it much more satisfying to hold people like Prof. Chomsky in high esteem. A giant intellect and a deeply moral being. It's great to see Noam take some well deserved flattery in good humor. He used to be really self-effacing(I met and talked a bit with him in the early 1980s)

[@carlscott4180]

Had Noam ever obtained actual political power at the head of the kind of socialist revolution he wanted, he would have killed and imprisoned millions. Deeply moral?

[@pauloulisses4893]

Great interview. I am very glad to meet this channel, which I intend to follow from now on. And very pleased with the interest of you, young people, in the great Noam Chomsky, whose books I was introduced to decades ago, while studying Linguistics in my home country, Brazil. By the way, do you know if Chomsky did any analysis on the worrying growth of the far right in Brazil? Thanks and all the best.

[@terriej123]

I actually don’t think that “if you break it, you fix it”. I think you should PAY to fix it, but other than that, I don’t want you anywhere near it after you’ve broken it.

[@weiskl887]

What makes you think US will pay????? Lol till today Vietnam still has over hundreds of thousands of unexploded ied not including hundreds of thousands more in Laos and Cambodia. Did the US pat any of it????

[@chioma3100]

Also haven't paid descendants of slavery Reparations either. Way overdue.

[@dudeman5303]

Indigenous people never got reparations. The closest thing to reparations that native Americans got was the US stealing more land and the government throwing some money at them to make it appear like it was a transaction.

[@GuyShōtō]

@@dudeman5303 If you can convince 70% White population to pay for a demographic that constitutes such an infinitely small segment of the larger population, then I'd love to see you do it, but if not this is a worthless hope and dream to have.

[@stefanhouston8616]

Truely amazing !

[@howardalantreesong2588]

Off topic, but it blows my mind that you are speaking to someone who turned 40 in 1968!

[@howardalantreesong2588]

@@willchristie2650 Don't take this the wrong way, but if you were 15 in 1968 you *are* old. Hell, I was 15 in 1988 and I am *definitely* old.

[@darrylschultz6479]

@@howardalantreesong2588 48 ain't old-you wanna see old? I'll show you old(zzzzz!😴-er, sorry, what was we talkin' about again...?").

[@howardalantreesong2588]

@@darrylschultz6479 He he he

[@eliyahubenysrael6272]

Chomsky is a national treasure

[@adriannasmiths8262]

Noam Chomsky is way too conservative for me ,

[@carlscott4180]

@@adriannasmiths8262 Not enough lies and slanders for you, apparently.

[@impolitikful]

Noam on 1.25x is ✌️

[@claredogyo533]

Well done

[@svharken6864]

when i was a kid, trying to understand people falling from the tower, I couldnt understand why we went to war with poor people. Im not a kid now, and i've tried to understand and the answer is tragic for the world.

[@fartofsparkness5635]

I met a self-identified Native American Iraq war vet who sustained a head injury while serving who used the term "haji." I didn't know what to say, just thought to myself how the US military teaches its members racist, us vs. them terminology, even ones who have been victimized by the same, so they will be willing to kill.

[@XOXO______]

Is part of the indoctrination of US citizens since birth, be it race, party, sexual preferences, gender, and most people are in a war base attacking their "opponents".

[@christopherhorn1161]

Its part of it, it isnt specific to this conflict. In Vietnam the term 'gooks' were used. We called Germans the term 'Krauts'. Rome called the Germanic tribes 'barbarians'. That propaganda is just part of conflict...wether it the term terrorist or infidel. Whatever dehumanizing label you can give to you opponent, its applied in warfare.

[@chrislubs1341]

Watched a WWII army indoctrination film “Know Your Enemy”, effectively pushing the only reasoned act was to kill Japanese as automatons of the Japanese Imperial machine: essential to battle is conditioning of soldiers to set aside any natural abhorance of doing harm, murder and injury. Empathy is constricting. Chomsky explicitly mentions the US 250 years of war mongering.

[@francisfernandes3749]

Both girls are great 👍 Super interview Simple things of life are great always War industry money greed gets in...

[@bethsweetwater4018]

Can you interview Sarah Chayes please

[@mtgreenwell5300]

Noam's smile.

[@thefakenewsnetwork8072]

War is always the answer

[@Hollis_has_questions]

One of the interviewers, Arielle Thornhill, refers to Afghans as Afghanis. The other interviewer, Jen Pan, also gets it wrong. An Afghan is to Afghanistan as an American is to America. The afghani is Afghanistan’s unit of currency. Shouldn’t the interviewers know this, after Americans’ TWENTY YEARS in country? I couldn’t stop myself from cringing, it was an involuntary reaction. Professor Chomsky is so polite, he doesn’t react, he doesn’t correct; he simply uses the correct terms.

[@johnlavers3970]

our father who art in arizona, hallowed be thy name--chomsky is an inspiration

[@kckoellein]

Is there a transcript of this?

[@georgesais8687]

Good on you mr Chomsky I'm old enough to remember what you mentioned, but when I state these things, especially about Reagan, also the economic devastation of Central America and later the world (the Chicago school of silly economics) I get blank stares and not by young people, but old (like me) that should know better. Good on you as well young people.

[@MR-tn5kv]

Excellent

[@davidlife4983]

Wow, thanks for this show to all involved. Mr. Chomsky puts most of us to shame with his encyclopedic understanding of US foreign policy and historic effects. My only hope is that young Americans can become the new revolutionaries and politicians, and that they will be even more effective than previous generations.

[@ninabishop8634]

I'm pretty sure Noam is blushing at the end of the video.

[@solidaritytime3650]

You heard it from Chomsky himself- the kids are alright.

[@dannytaro]

Chomsky the Grey

[@Tom_Tom_Klondike]

Chompsky Suggestions for Afganistan 1.) Admit refugees (also from South America) 2.) Put an end to Afgan sanctions. The people need humanitarian aid. Sanctions punish the people not the leadership. Unblock IMF and World Bank funding 3.) Don't destroy and call it humanitarian intervention. 4.) Make vaccines available (and to other places). E.g. people's vaccine movement. Free patents to other countries.

[@timothy9874]

I generally agree. I’m not sure how much damage we did to the “infrastructure” of Afghanistan; not sure their “infrastructure” isn’t in better shape now. I’d still have rather spent $1T domestically.

[@samlatooni]

Mannnnnnn Noam certainly ghouled out on us.... I hope he is healthy......... Gandalf Look would suit him more

[@Catholictomherbert]

Chomsky I predict will live until 150 years

[@123JumpingJacks]

Minute 13:15, can some one explain to me how the USA is able to kick people out of the international financial system?

[@stevenzuniga9827]

Example, usa puts sanctions on Iran, if another country say Spain wants to trade w Iran, they would be blocked first from doing that and if they were caught trading w Iran there would be all kinds of financial punishments

[@lawrencelibby3607]

By refusing to do business with them, and refusing to do business with anyone who does business with them.

[@lutherblissett9070]

Control over the SWIFT payment system.

[@juancastillonb]

other great true that he says is : "the sanctions are against the common folks, not vs. the leaders of countries that USA sanctions...the most affected are the common folks, the population ...'cos of that we have hondurians fleeing from Honduras and trying to refugee in USA, due to the blind coup that our imperialistl univoc government made in Honduras"

[@FM-ln2sb]

Ask the Iraqi and Afghani civilians if the anti-war movement was effective during Bush years...

[@davidk7544]

US imperialism will last as long as it's convenient for the US We've demonstrated no tendency to learn anything from our "misfortunes". We should have been listening to Prof. Chomsky the whole time regardless of what the neo-neos were labelling him. I personally am learning Mandarin, e.g. "我帮你多少?"

[@blackcoat7175]

Noam's looking a lot like Karl.

[@christopherbaker3817]

Thornhill's glowing

[@piggyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

Noam Chomsky looks like a wise wizard 🧙- in contrast Joe Biden looks like a zombie 🧟‍♂️

[@gabrielsyme4180]

A wise wizard with dementia and syphilis

[@gabrielsyme4180]

Welcome to my TED Talk “How to learn like @@willchristie2650 - A Critical Pedagogy” Step 1: Cover your eyes Step 2: Cover your ears Step 3: Use your outside voice and amygdala thoughts to write the sequel to Marx’s “Grundrisse” in 120 characters or less

[@adriannasmiths8262]

Gandalf

[@gabrielsyme4180]

@@adriannasmiths8262 Gandalf in Depends™️©️®️

[@CIARUNSITE]

The people we have taken into the US from Afghanistan seem to be getting favorable treatment to the people on our streets and refugees from south of us. I'm not exactly sure I'm comfortable with it. People around Seattle who intensely hate the homeless because they're "tired of it" or "they're not even from here" or "they're just drug users/dealers" rolling out red carpets, just as 60,000 are about to be evicted is not logical. Treat Afghans with respect too, but placing them on a level above others is not something I'm comfortable with. Plus how many will end up in the streets eventually when the news cycle moves on? Their preferred status may not last long.

[@CannibalCommunist]

You guys have to slow down haha Noam gives these long-winded, and circling responses, and talks very slowly and deliberately, then the hosts come on speaking twice as fast trying to rattle off their questions as fast as possible to give Noam as much time as they can. Just slow down. It's jarring when the hosts are speaking 40wpm faster than the interwee. Remember, Noam is a professor of linguistics. If you want to learn something from him, learn his pacing.

[@geoffreynhill2833]

American politicians all grew up (so to speak) on John Wayne movies.

[@thomasanderson2735]

Great interview w/ Prof Chomsky by the young ladies. 🇺🇸 has a horrific past, but is very clever at covering its tracks... What's done in the dark will come to light. Prof C uncovers all the dirty work for all to see!

[@fakher8225]

Afghanistan was, is and Always be The Graveyard of the Empires! Advice Word:- Treeth Us Always with Respect, Pation and regards!!! Because the History has been Shown:- That we are the True Heroes and Winners With the Help of Almighty God and Dont Ever intherstemet Us!!!!

[@juancastillonb]

the same selfishness of USA's ego ...cue observation of Noam Chomsky (my discovered idol since I was reading HIS linguistics theories when I was studying BA in ELT)when he said : "zero documentaries about what was the cost of this gringa war for the Afganos... everybody only asking what was the cost for us, the empire"

[@ryanmurdoch9581]

Professor lock-them-up would have read gulag archipelago. Perhaps that’s his answer to any old problem.

[@ally11488]

If you must make moronic comments at least be original.

[@ryanmurdoch9581]

@@ally11488 professor lock-them-up, that is original. I made it up, it just popped in my head. Perhaps it’s not funny but definitely original.

[@ally11488]

@@ryanmurdoch9581 No, professor lock-them-up came from a damaged brain.

[@ryanmurdoch9581]

@@ally11488 my original damaged brain 😉

[@ally11488]

@@ryanmurdoch9581 Maybe it's haunted? Anyway, I'm off to find more Chomsky clips before interacting with you damages my brain further.

[@macpb2892]

You should watch the video from Kraut on Chomsky... he is a Srebrenica Genocide denial...

[@saramuhumphries9225]

💐👍

[@georgesais8687]

My 2nd comment. Australia's secret foreign agency had a hand in the military coup in Chile's 9/11. In 1973. I think it had a direct link of the then P M Gough Whitlam ( twice elected government) being sacked in 1975 by the Governor General. Whitlam's government raided the Australian Secret Service Agency. Yes I also consider Kissenger as a mass killer.

[@kathleenshannon8284]

unfortunately, the poor, homeless, disabled, seniors and minority groups are punished in america?

[@fakher8225]

01 Afghanistan was, according to the history books, graveyard of one?, two?, no, three empires: the Persian religious Safavid empire, the Great British colonialist empire, and the Soviet communist empire. 02. Recently Afghanistan became, unwillingly though, again a graveyard, this time, for the world's nr one mighty military pact. 03. Who can guarantee that Afghanistan in the future won't turn into a graveyard for a power who choose to invade her. So, let's respect each other. If a nation doesn't deserve our respect, the least we could do is to refrain from insulting her.

[@AbelMalcolm]

The only time that Noam Chomsky ever appeared on television (aka the main stream media) was in 1969, on a show called Firing Line, hosted by conservative commentator William F Buckley jr. Right afterwards, he was taken off the air, and then numerous conservative guests appeared on that show, one after another, all of them conservatives, to mercilessly attack Noam Chomsky, without giving Noam Chomsky any sort of opportunity to respond. Noam Chomsky has effectively been banned from television it seems. The only place to hear Noam Chomsky is on the internet, on shows like this. Here is a link to Noam Chomsky on KZbin kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3XZnn-Dist6qdU

[@thefakenewsnetwork8072]

Long live capitalism

[@TheArtimusMaximus]

Even the d******'s at Jacobin can't screw up a Chomsky interview.

[@jeanne553]

If the US had just offered a 1 million dollar reward for bin laden, we could have had him in a week. Saved trillions of dollars and thousands of lives. But, the poor weapons manufacturers wouldn't have cleaned up off the taxpayers.

[@ryanmurdoch9581]

Does professor lock-them-up know about Kary Mullis or David Tyrrell. Yes he probably does, that’s concerning.

[@gnomechomsky2524]

Noam''s transformation into Santa Claus is almost complete

[@willvanhorn]

👍

[@mikerocketmusic]

As far as the climate crisis we can all individually abate the cH4 problem by become even a little more vegetarian/vegan.

[@Walter-yt4be]

Have you given some thought about interviewing radical, activist women scholars; like Dr. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Dr. Chomsky does have a radical , activist daughter

[@LasseJ789]

Why on Earth, when he brings up Cambodia, don't you confront him of his denial of the genocide? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide_denial#Chomsky_and_Herman We have to base our knowledge and work on facts, not gut feelings.

[@stevejames5863]

kissinger cambodia, that was bad, man....killing many...war crimes.]

[@maryruthfarrell2158]

Jen, stop shaking your head!

[@AJ-baraka]

0

[@AJ-baraka]

Spanish in 9ooh 900 08 0