Noam Chomsky: The US and its Allies Will Do Anything to Prevent Democracy in the Arab World

Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the national media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, world-renowned political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky analyzes the US response to the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. "Across the Middle East, an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests. The reason is very simple: Plainly, the US and its allies are not going to want governments which are responsive to the will of the people. If that happens, not only will the US not control the region, but it will be thrown out. The US and its allies will do anything they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab world. The reason is very simple. Across the region, an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests. In fact, opposition to US policy is so high that a considerable majority think the region would be more secure if Iran had nuclear weapons. In Egypt, the most important country, that's 80 percent, and there are similar figures elsewhere. Only 10 percent regard Iran as a threat. Plainly, the US and its allies are NOT going to want governments which are responsive to the will of their people. If that should happen, not only will the US not control the region, but it will be thrown out!