There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
Some international law specialists compare the invasion of Iraq to the 'crimes against the peace' for which Nazi leaders were indicted at Nuremberg.
Interpretation
The quote draws parallels between historical injustices and modern military actions, suggesting moral and legal implications.
Noam Chomsky's quote highlights a significant ethical concern by comparing the invasion of Iraq to the historical injustices faced by Nazi leaders during the Nuremberg Trials. This comparison suggests that such military actions may constitute similar 'crimes against the peace', questioning the legality and morality of military interventions in contemporary politics.
In practice
During a debate on military interventions, one might cite this quote to emphasize the potential consequences of such actions.
There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, 'That person I see is a savage monster;' instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.
The Republican Party has become overwhelmingly so extreme that it's hardly a traditional political party anymore.
There is still much debate about whether torture has been effective in eliciting information - the assumption being, apparently, that if it is effective, then it may be justified.
If state, party and social policy will not be based on morality, then mankind has no future to speak of.
Thall shall keep thy religion to thy selves.
What is essential, therefore, is not that you no longer believe, but that God continues to believe in you.
A man cannot become an atheist merely by wishing it.
I am simultaneously and contradictorily both happy and unhappy: 'to succeed' or 'to fail' have for me only ephemeral, contingent meanings (this does not stop my desires and sorrows from being violent ones); what impels me, secretly and obstinately, is not tactical: I accept and I affirm, irrespective of the true and the false, of success and failure; I am withdrawn from all finality, I live according to chance.
We spend our whole lives worrying about the future, planning for the future, trying to predict the future, as if figuring it out will cushion the blow. But the future is always changing. The future is the home of our deepest fears and wildest hopes. But one thing is certain when it finally reveals itself. The future is never the way we imagined it.
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