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Top American philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky at Harvard Memorial Church. |
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 | PressTV
US scholar Noam Chomsky blames hostile US and Israeli actions as a major factor in a potential Iranian decision to develop a "nuclear deterrent."
Addressing the audience in Harvard Memorial Church on March 6, Chomsky opined that constant US threats of military action against Iran may lead Tehran to perceive a need to develop a nuclear weapon.
“If they're not developing a nuclear deterrent, they are crazy,” he asserted. The problem, said Chomsky, is the defiant and hypocritical insistence of the United States on holding the constant threat of military action over Iran as a punishment for its noncompliance with United Nations mandates.
“Hostile actions of the United States and its Israeli client are a major factor in Iran's decision on whether or not to develop a nuclear deterrent,” he insisted.
The United States and its major ally Israel accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, saying a military option against Iran is still on the table.
Iran says its nuclear program is totally peaceful and under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA).
The US nuclear missile submarines, stationed in the Persian Gulf region, would leave Iran no chance to use a future nuclear weapon for offensive purposes, Chomsky noted. But he warned, “The threats do have the effect of inducing Iran to develop a deterrent.”
The prominent American academician also took aim at the double-standards that US policy-makers employ towards the three nations that did not ratify the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, namely Israel, India and Pakistan.
The United States provided these three nations with the nuclear technology, in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. All these nations have built nuclear weapons, with Israel, which is in possession of more than 200 nuclear warheads in the Middle East region.
Chomsky, however, expressed regret that most Americans being 'metamorphosed' by the state media fail to realize the reality.
The American analyst remarked that the President Obama's foreign policy was in fact the continuation of the policies of former US president George W. Bush.
