Chomsky: US decided in 1945 to put an end to all economic nationalism

The United States is the dominant hegemonic power in the world and decided back in 1945 to eliminate economic nationalism - meaning the use of a country’s resources for its own people – from the face of the Earth, according to American writer, academic and political analyst Noam Chomsky.

Chomsky made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Canada-based Pakistani journalist Syed Haider Mehdi, published on Tuesday. 

The renowned US academic commented on US imperialism, sanctions against independent states like Iran and Cuba, and meddling in Pakistan, where the Biden administration carried out a regime change operation in April this year against the democratically-elected government of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan has accused the United States of funding a "conspiracy" to topple his government. He said the "foreign power" – an obvious reference to Washington - sent millions of dollars to opposition parties to launch a no-confidence vote against him in the parliament.

The former Prime Minister had formed a coalition government after winning the election in 2018 and said he was the subject of a "foreign conspiracy" aimed at dislodging his government and that "funding was being channeled into Pakistan from abroad.” 

"We have been threatened in writing but we will not compromise on national interests," said Khan, who met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 24, the same day the Russian leader ordered a military operation in neighboring Ukraine.

Chomsky said, “The US plausibly believes Khan is not the right person to run Pakistan. The dictators will be more forthcoming. Maybe that’s an error. Countries make errors.”

“But it’s not an irrational policy. It’s normal rational imperialism, which is, over time, played out very well. To run the world since 1945 is not a small achievement,” he sarcastically observed.

America's 'terrorist war to overthrow the Cuban government'

Professor Chomsky said that the “United States since 1945 happens to be by far the most dominant hegemonic power in the world, in fact, the greatest in history. So it’s more characteristic of the United States than others.”

“In February 1945, before the war was even over, the United States called a hemispheric conference, brought all the countries of the Western hemisphere together in Mexico for a conference in which they pretty much were compelled to accept what was called an economic charter for America, and in the economic charter, if you look back at the documents which are available now, the commitment was to put an end to all economic nationalism.  Economic nationalism meant, spelled out, if the country is committed to using its resources for its own people, we have to end it – the first priority of a country is to leave its resources open to exploitation by US capital, not for their own purposes,” he stated. 

“Cuba in 1959 - the first time it was liberated. It had been a virtual colony of the United States. It was liberated by the Castro revolution in 1959.  Within a few months, Cuba was being bombed from Florida, from US territory. By March 1960, the year after liberation, the Eisenhower administration secretly – now it’s public – formally determined to overthrow the government. John F. Kennedy came in, and immediately invaded. When the invasion was defeated, he instead authorized a major terrorist war to overthrow the government, along with very harsh sanctions that been continued since - 60 years of brutal, harsh sanctions, sabotage, terrorism,” he explained.

“And the reasons are formally stated that - the US is a quite unusually free society, so we have unusual access to internal documents, a lot of them are declassified - go back to the State Department documents in the 1960s where Kennedy and Johnson, in English, say very frankly the problem was Castro and Cuba’s successful defiance of US policies going back to the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, which declared the US intention to dominate the hemisphere. Cuba was and is defying - and successfully defying - them, therefore it has to be destroyed. Same everywhere,” he noted.

The legendary leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, ruled Cuba for five decades, until 2006 when he temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul because he had to undergo surgery. The transfer of power became official in 2008.

During his revolutionary life, the United States’ spy agency, the CIA, attempted to assassinate him numerous times.

Castro himself said he survived 634 attempts or plots to assassinate him, mainly masterminded by the CIA or US-based exile organizations. Such attempts may have included poison pills, a toxic cigar, exploding mollusks, and a chemically tainted diving suit, among other things.

Chomsky also said that the United States is a “very insular country.”

“And all the information and educational system is designed to keep people from knowing and understanding what’s happening in the world,” he said.

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