The War in Afghanistan

Noam Chomsky analyzes the situation in Afghanistan – new article at Znet

The War in Afghanistan

Excerpted from Lakdawala lecture, New Delhi

Online version with notes, prepared Dec. 30

By Noam Chomsky

The threat of international terrorism is surely severe. The horrendous events of Sept. 11 had perhaps the most devastating instant human toll on record, outside of war. The word “instant” should not be overlooked; regrettably, the crime is far from unusual in the annals of violence that falls short of war. The death toll may easily have doubled or more within a few weeks, as miserable Afghans fled — to nowhere — under the threat of bombing, and desperately-needed food supplies were disrupted; and there were credible warnings of much worse to come.

The costs to Afghan civilians can only be guessed, but we do know the projections on which policy decisions and commentary were based, a matter of utmost significance. As a matter of simple logic, it is these projections that provide the grounds for any moral evaluation of planning and commentary, or any judgment of appeals to “just war” arguments; and crucially, for any rational assessment of what may lie ahead.

full text: http://www.zmag.org/lakdawalalec.htm