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I think murdering Iraqi union leaders is criminal, for example. And a lot of what the insurgents have done is criminal. But, you know, you rank the priorities. Our priority is to stop major war crimes, like Fallujah for example. So yeah, what the resistance is doing, one can also criticize, harshly in fact. But in any kind of ranking, even if we're on Mars, and certainly if we're in the United States, what vastly more important is our own crimes, which are much worse, and they're ours.

Noam Chomsky#117

WarPowerHuman rightsAccountabilityPriorities

About this quote

What does it mean?
Chomsky acknowledges Iraqi resistance crimes but prioritizes stopping major US war crimes like Fallujah.
In plain terms
Both sides commit crimes, but US actions are worse and take priority to stop.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize stopping the worst abuses, even if not all are perfect.

Where it applies

  • conflict resolution
  • human rights

Putting it to work

  • monitoring war crimes
  • advocating for victims

Questions to consider

  • How do we rank human rights violations?
  • Who holds power accountable?

Another view

It risks minimizing non-US violence by comparison.

More from Noam Chomsky

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  3. The big debate in Washington is totally pointless. And the media, about whether Bush downgraded terror in order to invade Iraq. There's nothing to debate. He i…

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