Open Letter to Noam Chomsky (and Other Intellectuals) on the Russia-Ukraine War
Instead of relying on this letter to guess at what Chomsky says, I suggest people actually read what he said. Here&#x27;s the interview that the letter links to[1]. Chomsky says he wants Ukraine to be able to defend itself, but also wants there to be a diplomatic rather than military end to the war, and an effort to keep the war from escalating:<p>&gt;  I think that support for Ukraine’s effort to defend itself is legitimate. If it is, of course, it has to be carefully scaled, so that it actually improves their situation and doesn’t escalate the conflict, to lead to destruction of Ukraine and possibly beyond sanctions against the aggressor, or appropriate just as sanctions against Washington would have been appropriate when it invaded Iraq, or Afghanistan, or many other cases. 
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&gt; However, I still think it’s not quite the right question. The right question is: What is the best thing to do to save Ukraine from a grim fate, from further destruction? And that’s to move towards a negotiated settlement.<p>Chomsky is also quite critical of Russia:<p>&gt; Well, two questions, points of fact: You’re quite right, that the overwhelming mass of the war crimes, the ones that we should be considering, are carried out by the Russians. That’s not in dispute. And they are major war crimes.<p>Saying that Chomsky isn&#x27;t anti-imperialist because he disagrees with the method of ending the conflict in Ukraine reminds me of how people who opposed the war in Iraq were said to be friends of Saddam and against Iraqi people getting freedom and democracy. Whenever war fever grips the establishment, even disagreements on tactics coming from people who share the same general goals gets treated as abhorrent heresy.<p>It would be nice if open and honest debate was possible before we made major geopolitical decisions.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;theintercept.com&#x2F;2022&#x2F;04&#x2F;14&#x2F;russia-ukraine-noam-chomsky-jeremy-scahill&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;theintercept.com&#x2F;2022&#x2F;04&#x2F;14&#x2F;russia-ukraine-noam-chom...</a>