On hegemony and disarmament - Chomsky Interview

Noam Chomsky on issues that concern South Asia at a time when the global nuclear order is in transition.

thehindu: India faces some important choices. It has made some steps towards closer relations with China, but is also tempted by the prospects of joining Britain in its role as a "spear-carrier for the pax Americana".

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Keeping in view Israel's secret nuclear weapons programme, don't you think that same standards should be applied to all West Asia nations, and not just to Iran?

Certainly. Recall that the major UN resolution on Iraq to which the U.S. and U.K. appeal, Resolution 687 of April 1991, calls for "establishing in the Middle East a zone free from weapons of mass destruction and all missiles for their delivery". The U.S. has repeatedly made similar commitments, but of course does not abide by them, and has now also violated them in the case of India. Furthermore, we should bear in mind that the Non-Proliferation Treaty commits all nuclear states to undertake "good faith" efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons. That was a core part of the initial bargain. That is a binding legal commitment, as the World Court ruled a decade ago. None of the nuclear states has abided by that commitment, but the U.S is far in the lead in rejecting it, and has even declared, under Bush, that it is not bound by it. Read more