There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
Noam ChomskyRead
Romania, which had the worst dictator in Eastern Europe, Ceausescu, he was a darling of the West. The United States and Britain loved him. He was supported until the last minute.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the paradox of Western support for authoritarian regimes despite their oppressive actions.
Noam Chomsky's remark underscores the hypocrisy in Western nations' foreign policies, which often prioritize strategic alliances over human rights. Ceausescu's authoritarian regime in Romania was backed by powerful Western nations like the United States and Britain, illustrating how geopolitical interests can lead to the endorsement of leaders who engage in severe oppression, exhibiting a troubling relationship between power and morality in international relations.
In practice
In a political discussion about the consequences of supporting authoritarian regimes.
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.
Partisans fight on familiar territory with professed political objectives to conquer power. This is what distinguishes them from terrorists
You can't just have slogans, you can't just have catchy phrases. You have to have an agenda. And I think what the Republican Party has to do, if it's going to incorporate the tea party efforts in it, is to come up with an agenda that the American people can see, touch, and actually believe in, and something they believe in.
A day will come when our children and grandchildren will look back and they'll ask one of two questions. Either they will ask: "what in God's name were they doing?" or they may look back and say: "how did they find the uncommon moral courage to rise above politics and redeem the promise of American democracy?"
The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don't acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead.
We support the security of both Israel and her neighbors.
It is not the function of government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.
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