He would have us believe that Israel's occupation and harsh actions against the Palestinians, its invasions and undeclared 20-year war on Lebanon, and its arming of murderous regimes in Central America and Africa during the Cold War, has been done as a client state in the service of US interests. In Chomsky's worldview, that absolves Israel of responsibility and has become standard Chomsky doctrine. --Jeffrey Blankfort, May 25, 2005 [205]
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Chomsky views Israel's actions as serving US interests rather than Israeli responsibility.
- In plain terms
- He believes Israel acts as a US client state.
- What can you take from it?
- Foreign policy analysis often involves assessing client state relationships.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is Israel a client state or independent?
- Who bears responsibility for state actions?
Another view
This view is contested and may overlook internal Israeli motivations.
More from Noam Chomsky
[Bush Administration neoconservatives are] the ones who broke nearly every precedent of foreign policy in the post-Cold-War world. They're the ones who chose p…
Permalink to quote #223 The best thing about Chomsky is that he raises the blood pressure anti-Lefties far more than he deserves. Still, Chomsky's about as challenging as Mr. Rogers. …
Permalink to quote #225 Regarding his personal character traits the most outstanding is that he is absolutely faithful, which is something very few people possess... Professor Chomsky…
Permalink to quote #222
Related quotes
Israel is an embattled country. They rely very heavily on U.S. support. So they have developed a very sophisticated system of propaganda. They don't call it pr…
Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky quote #142 The Oslo agreements did represent a shift in U.S.-Israeli policy. Both states had by then come to recognize that it is a mistake to use the Israel Defense Forc…
Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky quote #143 US President Bush is a great leader, great friend of Israel and a source of inspiration.
George W. BushGeorge W. Bush quote #441