Rating: 
Summary: A thoughtfully written best-seller from the left
Review: I am deeply heartened to see that Noam Chomsky's small paperback, "9-11", is selling exceptionally well, despite the usual critical reviews from his detractors. Although it was written soon after the events of that date, before all of the relevant facts had emerged, Chomsky's sure and articulate grasp of the situation makes for enlightening reading.
Chomsky writes at length about the plight of the innocent, war-torn Afghanis, and about the people of many other countries, like Nicaragua and Haiti, who have been victimized by US policies. Reading his account should give pause to Americans who may be swept up in patriotic flag-waving and the ill-considered, narrow rhetoric of Bush and his advisors like Rumsfeld. Chomsky takes a world view and strives for an informed, balanced outlook. He writes of the extreme importance of not being intimidated or swayed by hysterical ranting or lies; to stay as closely as possible to the path of truth and honesty, and to acknowledge the human consequences of our acting, or failing to act. This book is must-reading for all concerned Americans. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a good thing I work with MIT graduates in Boston
Review: I guess you could split political ideologies into two equal but very different aspects. Those that believe in the Human Spirit, and those that believe in Human Nature. From those who would argue Human Spirit, they would have us believe that there shouldn't be winners or losers, that are against Free-market Capitalism, that everything must be redistributed and equalized or else you will have Terror. From those who argue Human Nature, they would say that it is the nature of Humans to want to aquire and build personal wealth so that they may give that wealth to their children so that they may have a better life. Thus, you begin the great political split between the Democrats and the Republicans in the United States. P>Noam is a brilliant man, or he wouldnt' be teaching at MIT. However, his book clearly outlines his overall agenda based on the Human Spirit. His unwillingness to recognize that the whole world doesn't play by the same set of rules makes me reduce this rating on his book to just two stars.
Rating:
Summary: No more brain wash
Review: Even though the book consist of a set of interviews the author gave in the aftermath of the horrible attacks on New York and Washington, it is highly interessting and readable. Everyone who wants to get behind the usual rhetorical war against terroism should read this book. Noam Chomsky makes a good case against the moral reasoning which is behind the so-called "war against terrorism". By referring to a lot of examples, where the U.S. has broken world laws, acting as a terrorist state, he shows clearly why the USA cannot win the war on moral ground, even though it pretends to. The morality which is behind the attacks on Afghanistan and the war on Iraq, which is soon to come, is shaken heavily by Chomsky's arguments. The book does not intend to say that the attacks on America were justified by its own actions around the world. It merely says that if you want to understand why we were attacked last summer, we have to see why we are so hated.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on 9-11
Review: This is the best book on 9-11, rivaled only by the French book The Big Lie, also available on Amazon. It exposes how the whole so-called "war on terrorism" is really just the rich oil company's excuse to further rip off the third world and eliminate what tiny little "freedoms" still manage to linger here in the U.S. Essential reading. Buy ten and give them to schools in your community.
Rating:
Summary: #1 Best-seller in Canada
Review: There is a reason that this book has been at the top of best
seller lists in Canada for the last while: Canadians, like
most other people in the world are exposed to a variety of
views about US foreign policy and can see for themselves
that US policy has hurt many people around the world. Chomsky concisely summarizes much of this history and
apparently strikes a chord among Canadians. Not if
Americans became a little more aware of these alternative
views, the world -- and the USA would be a lot better off!
Rating:
Summary: Wake up America
Review: Everyday citizens - Americans, British, Israeli etc: Before we fly into confict and attempt to rid the World of its less than wholesome tyrants, we owe it to ourselves and those we would send to war, to read as widely as we can on how and why 9/11 happened. Chaomsky is only one viewpoint amongst many. He is asking us to look at ourselves more closely and be more honest about our own unwholesome past. Can we really take a moral high ground? IS war the only solution? Who are our real enemies? Although a liberal Naom isn't forcing his opinions down our necks - he just makes you prick up your ears to listen more closely.HE asks questions that in all fairess, goverments really should respond to before getting all gung ho with our lives and those of our children.
Read for instance the definition of terrorism as defined by America itself - it's almost a description of American policy over the last 50 years.
Read it and make up your own mind - at least Chaomsky credits you with having the brain to be able to do so. Know thyself and remember - Western Civilization - it should be more than a nice idea or oxymoron.
Rating: 
Summary: Challenging stereotyping
Review: Chomsky's credentials in analysing terrorism and international politics are unimpeachable. In this series of interviews, conducted by various international journalists, he demonstrates his knowledgeable grasp of the realities of "terrorism." From the outset, he makes clear that definitions of "terrorism" must include the United States with its history of state-supported acts in various countries, most particularly in the Middle East. He makes us aware that the Middle East population is cognizant of American activities there, even as the bulk of the American public is not. He steadfastly refutes the belief, held by many American intellectuals, that the World Trade Centre attacks are due to resentment over the American push for a "globalized economy." Chomsky recognizes that the WTC attacks were unique - never before had an assault been carried out directly on American territory. Pearl Harbour cannot be equated with the 9/11 attack. He cautions that the attacks were not carried out at the direction of a foreign nation. There is no state of war with another country, and the term "war on terror" is merely political sophistry. Nor, as he reminds his interviewers, is Amerika alone in its negative impact in the Middle East and elsewhere. Each of his interviewers is reminded of the history of their nations in colonial and post-colonial eras. Amerikan machinations were designed to foster the very forces opposed to them now. Saudi Arabia has been a "client state" of the US since its founding. The Taliban were supported so long as they represented anti-Soviet policies in Afghanistan. And that personification of Evil, Saddam Hussein was provided with weapons, advice and money in his campaign against the Ayatollah's Iraq. He stresses the inconsistencies in Amerikan policies. When Oklahoma City's bombing occurred and militia groups in Montana and Idaho were identified as likely funders, why weren't those states bombed and their governments deposed? Equally, Britain would have been justified in bombing Boston, a major source of funds for the IRA. What, then, is Chomsky's recommended course of action? He reminds us that the United States is the only nation that has been reprimanded by the World Court for acts of terrorism against Nicaragua. Although the United States "dismissed that court's judgement with contempt," Chomsky argues for adherence to international agreements and conventions. He recognizes the Sisyphisian task this presents, but hopes good reporting to the wider public will result in international pressure to bring it about. He knows the American public must be led away from the political rhetoric. These interviews are designed to provide help with that first step to better knowledge and understanding. The format of this book, a collection of interviews taken over a brief period after the attacks, inevitably result in brevity and repetition. Chomsky is not given opportunity to present resources, although his contentions are ably supported by material in the bibliography. These recount acts and policies undertaken in your name and using Amerikan tax dollars. While the change of approach he recommends entails an epic change in mind-set, the revision is neither impossible nor impractical. He stresses that we all need to live together, and unilateral policies will result in greater expense and increased loss of lives. Neither result is practical nor desirable. It takes only political will, supported by the population of the world's
greatest democracy, to enable it.
Rating:
Summary: typical chomsky for the most part
Review: This is another one of those Chomsky books that comes from a number of interviews done with Chomsky. It only has interviews conducted in September and early October so there's not much in it in regards to the "war on terrorism." It has a lot of the usual information that Chomsky gives out about America's role in different areas of the world and how that could easily be seen as "blowback" in what happened on 9-11.
He discusses a lot of the legal ways we could go after terrorists, but as we all know, that hasn't been done. He points out all the things Nicaragua tried in attempts to alleviate American terrorism on their soil (Nicaragua went to the World Court, which ruled in their favor, ordering the US to desist and pay substantial reparations, but of course the US dismissed the court judgement and responded with an immediate escalation of the attack. Nicaragua then went to the Security Council, which considered a resolution calling on states to observe international law. The US alone vetoed it. Then they went to the General Assembly, where they got a similar resolution passed with the US and Israel opposed two years in a row).
He brings up one issue that I hadn't heard about and that's how humanitarian aid was being affected very early on. In quoting the NY Times he stated,"Washington has also demanded (from Pakistan) a cutoff of fuel supplies...and the elimination of truck convoys that provide much of the food and other supplies to Afghanistan's civilian population." He brings up numerous reports from NGOs that called the "humanitarian airdrops" things like "a propaganda ploy rather than a way to get aid to Afghans who really need help" and that air strikes "had halted the only means of getting large volumes of food to Afghans--overland truck convoys" of the WFP.
One other interesting point he brings up is America's attempts to censor the Arab-speaking world's only uncensored news source--Al-Jazeera.
It's not a book full of new information (although some of it may well be for some--it is full of stuff that isn't often discussed in our mainstream press, but stuff that you'll have probably read if you've read much of Chomsky), but basically presents the case for a peaceful way to fight terrorism and what America's done to receive this "blowback."
Rating:
Summary: Flawed and irritating.
Review: In this series of interviews conducted by fawning journalists, Chomsky does the following things: (1) lambaste the US incessantly for past military interventions, (2) analyze the causes of the attacks of 9/11 and (3) suggest that the US seek justice by proper, legal means instead of by military action. (1) doesn't really need to be discussed here; that can be discussed in reviews about his other books. Suffice it to say that Chomsky claims that US foreign policy is completely driven by corporate interests (weapons manufacturers, oil companies, etc) who influence the federal government to commit atrocities and prop up tyrants in foreign countries. Regarding (2), Chomsky notes that Osama bin Laden has communicated to us via his camcorder that he wants the US completely out of the Middle East. Bin Laden wants the US to remove its troops from Saudi Arabia and stop supplying aid to the "not properly Islamic" government of Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other nations. Chomsky correctly mentions that these demands are religiously motivated; however, this point is easily lost when Chomsky rips the US for its military campaigns in Third World countries, leading one to believe that the attacks of 9/11 were a desperate act of retaliation by members of an oppressed nation. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth: bin Laden's suicide pilots were all well-to-do Saudis. The attacks were motivated by a fundamemtalist and militant strain of Islam, not by poverty and oppression. Point (3) is completely off base. Chomsky suggests that the US seek to find and apprehend the perpetrators and sponsors of the attacks by proper, legal means (under the aegis of the UN). Chomsky tries to draw an analogy with the activities of the IRA, noting that the UK doesn't drop bombs on Boston when the Irish Republican Army attacks. However, this analogy is fatally flawed for the simple reason that the Taliban neither had the ability nor the inclination to capture al-Qaeda forces. (Incidentally, the conclusion above holds if one replaces "US" with "Israel," "Taliban" with "PLO", and "al-Qaeda" with "Hamas".) It is true that the US could have done more to minimize civilian casualties (e.g. send in its own ground troops instead of relying exclusively on bombing and Northern Alliancs proxy troops), but it's ridiculous to think that there might have been a completely civil method of administering justice to al-Qaeda. Finally, it's quite obvious that all of the journalists conducting these interviews are huge Chomsky fans, and that makes reading this book very irritating.
Rating:
Summary: As Important As Books Can Get
Review: Chomsky's material is always both pleasant and shocking, but always informatively fulfilling. The only thing that makes this more urgent is that it relates itself to the largest terrorist attack on the US, but it is no more neccesary than his other writings. Chomsky is also able to show no age. The most-quoted living man of today is good as ever in his most recent book.
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