“Your Shah is buying arms and kills his own people”, was the sort of comment we students abroad, had to hear in the 70’s.
On Sundays, we all used to go to Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, and see guys from “Confederation” blast the Shah.
None of us, really cared about what the radical or Communist students said. But everyone, including the far right, listened to Noam Chomsky.
Noam Chomsky, led the battalion of “Human Rights” advocates for Iran, when the Shah wanted to buy weapons.
This is what he said in 1975:
“We are told by the Western press that the Shah of Iran is buying the most sophisticated weapons and that he is handing out loans and aid to developed and underdeveloped countries. But very little is known about the Shah’s torture chambers, death sentences and the Savak, the secret police who rule the country.”
As you all know, nowadays, there is a lot of worry about the potential of the Shi’ite regime, getting very potent nuclear weapons.
Unfortunately, we all have to hear about the regular daily killing of nearly 200 people.
Yet Noam Chomsky white washes what Shi’ite regime is doing by saying:
“Though the Iranian government is no doubt a threat to its own people, it regrettably breaks no records in this regard, not descending to the level of favored US allies.”
He uses the very mild phrase “no doubt a threat”. He refuses to admit, that the Shi’ite regime is far worse than the Shah, as documented every day.
But perhaps more important, is that he did not report on the horrendous human rights situations in Saudi Arabia, in the time of the Shah.
We all know, that the Shah thought that Iran was in the front line against any Soviet incursion into the Middle East. Any form of Communist dissent was clamped down on. But the likes of Chomsky never explained the full story.
All in all, in Chomksy, we have the Holy Grail” of the US left wing, that will twist any collection of news, to show even US itself is worse than any other country. His form of analysis might look like a very open minded and fair attitude which he can judge regimes with. But he fails to compare what he has said in the past to the present.
For years Iranians in opposition to the Shi’ite regime are told, that the US is the worst country for human rights by the likes of Chomsky. They will not criticize the Shi’ite regime because they say US is far worse.
Unfortunately high standing universities like MIT have outspoken political commentators who get away with making derogatory comments and unfortunately influence public opinion.
Will the likes of Chomsky ever lead a campaign for regime change in Iran? I doubt it. He was the man who got rid of the Shah. He would look like a hypocrite if he criticised this vile regime, with much worse torture chambers. Or maybe he can at least write a piece on the economic benefit of more freedom for women such as getting rid of the veil.
These reports brought all that on:
