Chomsky: Britain has failed US detainees

Britain has failed in its duty to stop the US from committing "shameful
acts" in the treatment of suspects detained during the war on terror, one
of America's most respected intellectuals warns today.

In an interview with The Independent, Professor Noam Chomsky calls on the
Government to use its special relationship with Washington America to
secure the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

Claiming that he has heard only "twitters of protest" in the UK , the
emeritus professor of linguistics also asks British "thinkers" to be more
conspicuous in their opposition to the erosion of civil rights since the
9.11 attacks on the US.

In the wake of the invasion of Iraq, Prof Chomsky, a leading opponent of the
Vietnam conflict, has been the most prominent among US intellectuals
critical of the war with the Iraq and the treatment of terror suspects sent
to Guantanamo Bay and other prison camps around the world.

Professor Chomsky's comments now call into question Britain's political and
intellectual will to stand up for the rule of law in the face of actions
that have been repeatedly condemned by courts on both sides of the
Atlantic.

While a small number of British writers, artists and philosophers continue
to voice their concerns about UK involvement in America's rendition
programme and its refusal to close Guantanamo Bay, a concerted opposition
among the so called liberal intelligentsia has failed to materialise.

"A country," says Prof Chomsky, "with any shred of self-respect will be
vigilant to ensure that it does not take part in this criminal savagery.
Because of the "special relationship," Britain has a particularly strong
responsibility to bar these shameful crimes in any way it can. [And] In
whatever respect the relationship is "special", the UK can use it to bar
these shameful crimes."

Asked whether Britain should be doing more to seek the closure of the
Guantanamo Bay, Professor Chomsky answered: "Definitely. I've seen only
twitters of protest."

Naom Chomsky has been a fearless critic of US foreign policy since the 1960s
when he became one of the leading opponents of the Vietnam War with the
publication of his essay, "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" in 1967.
And his reputation as an outspoken American dissident has made him many
enemies in his own country where he requires police protection.

Professor Chomsky believes that the case against Guantanamo needs to be made
more forcefully.

"We hardly needed evidence (although there is more than enough) that Gitmo
was going to be a torture chamber," says Prof Chomsky. "Otherwise, why not
place "enemy combatants" in a prison in New York? The security argument is
not serious. Taking a step back, does the US have the right to hold these
prisoners at all? Hardly obvious. In brief, there are plenty of grounds for
protest (and action), at varying levels of depth."

His comments have met with broad support from those who have been
campaigning for the British government to take a more critical position in
its relationship with the Bush administration.

Clive Stafford Smith, the lawyer representing British Guantanamo detainee,
Binyam Mohamed, said: "Professor Chomsky is right. To borrow from President
Clinton, the world is much more impressed by the power of America's example
than the example of American power. Likewise, the world is more impressed
by British principle than the pretense of Britain's special relationship. A
true friend to American would not stand by while President Bush squanders
America's birthright."

Andrew Tyrie MP, chairman of the all party parliamentary group on rendition,
said: "The UK Government's reaction to the US programme of rendition: a
policy of kidnapping people and taking them to places where they may be
tortured, has been inadequate, to say the least. It is scarcely credible
that now, despite all we know about rendition and the UK's involvement in
it, the British Government still refuses to condemn this illegal, immoral,
and counterproductive policy."

He adds: "As an Atlanticist, I believe that a strong transatlantic alliance
is an essential part of combating dangerous extremism. But this does not
mean turning a blind eye or, as the High Court recently found in the case
of Binyam Mohamed, facilitating America's deeply damaging rendition
programme. We cannot afford to undermine the values we are seeking to
export. The UK must use its influence to convince the United States that
rendition does precisely this."

But Peter Hitchens, political commentator and author, argues that many of
the so called liberal intelligentsia, who might have been expected to
oppose the Iraqi war and other US policies, have placed too much faith in a
Labour government: "I think perhaps Chomsky has been looking in the wrong
place. The Mail on Sunday and I have certainly been trenchant in our
criticism of some this â the war in Iraq and Guantanamo. For example, we
were one of the first to run pictures of the orange jumpsuits alongside
stories about Guantanamo."

Mr Hitchens says Prof Chomsky is right in the sense that many of the writers
on left have either supported the war or made no protest.

"In some respects there has been a failure of the modern left, where
traditional leftwing writers have been supporting the 'war on terror' as
some sort of liberal crusade. That is partly because of the Labour
government which made the left believe they have had friends in office.
Chomsky needs to look in other places if he wants to find voices of
criticism."

Professor Chomsky, professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technolog, says that the US must now hand Guantanamo Bay back
to Cuba.

"The region was taken by a 'treaty' that Cuba was forced to sign under
military occupation. The US has been violating the terms of this outrageous
treaty for decades - e.g., using it for holding Haitians who were illegally
captured when they were feeling terror in Haiti (for which the US bore
ample responsibility). Current use also radically violates the terms of the
outrageous treaty. "

Rise of a libertarian socialist

Noam Chomsky, 79, rose to prominence in the field of linguistics during the
1950s by positing new theories on the structures of language. His
naturalistic approach to the study of linguistics deeply influenced
thinking in both psychology and philosophy. But it was his strident
opposition to the Vietnam War which brought him to the attention of a wider
American public.

Through his adherence to libertarian socialism he became a cheerleader for
the dissident left in opposition to many aspects of US foreign policy.
Later he described his belief as "the proper and natural extension of
classical liberalism into the era of advanced industrial society".

Professor Chomsky, who lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, has been an
outspoken critic of the war in Iraq and the "war on terror". In 2005 he was
voted the leading living public intellectual in the Global Intellectuals
Poll run by the magazine Prospect. His characteristic reaction to the news
of his achievement was: "I don't pay a lot of attention to polls."
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Facts are sacred ... but comment is free

date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 08:05:13 GMT author: Robin T Cox