Anti-war activist's works banned at prison camps

Miami Herald ^ | 10/11/2009 | Carol Rosenberg

[Saije]

Professor Noam Chomsky may be among America's most enduring anti-war activists. But the leftist intellectual's anthology of post 9/11 commentary is taboo at Guantánamo's prison camp library, which offers books and videos on Harry Potter, World Cup soccer and Islam.

U.S. military censors recently rejected a Pentagon lawyer's donation of an Arabic-language copy of the political activist and linguistic professor's 2007 anthology Interventions for the library, which has more than 16,000 items.

Chomsky, 80, who has been voicing disgust with U.S. foreign policy since the Vietnam War, reacted with irritation and derision. "This happens sometimes in totalitarian regimes,'' he told The Miami Herald by e-mail after learning of the decision.***

Prison camp officials would not say specifically why the book was rejected but Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brook DeWalt, a Guantánamo spokesman, said staff reviews "every proposed or recommended library item to assess force protection issues associated with camp dynamics -- such as impact on good order and discipline.''***

A rejection slip accompanying the Chomsky book did not explain the reason but listed categories of restricted literature to include those espousing "Anti-American, Anti-Semitic, Anti-Western'' ideology, literature on "military topics,'' and works that portray ``excessive graphic violence'' and "sexual dysfunctions.''

Library staff have since 2005 described the Harry Potter series as a borrowing bestseller among the mostly devout Muslim population***

Other reportedly popular items include old World Cup soccer playoff videos, a French cuisine cookbook published in Beirut and scholarship on the Koran, prescreened to make sure they contain mainstream messages.***

DeWalt said "force protection reasons'' barred him from explaining why any title or author was banned but said as of this week there were no Chomsky works of any type at the Guantánamo library in any language.

[Saije]

I've never read this guy so I don't know if the terrorist was really missing out on anything. Interesting that his lawyer thought he'd want to read it though.

[Ronin]

Calling Chomsky an “anti-war activist” is pure, total bullshi+. He is not anti-war. He is anti-American war. Chomsky has nothing against anything that denigrates America in any way. If Russia were to nuke New York, he would be ecstatic.

[SoCalPol]

Prof. Chomsky is one of the major gods of the Marxist movement.
This and more like him are who the school kids read
at colleges.
The Terrorists would find him a delight, a real bro.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Chomsky leaves a distinct odor of sulfur everywhere he goes. Either he eats of lot of eggs, broccoli and cabbage, or it’s something else.

[piasa]

The communist ;inguist Chomsky was a die-hard supporter of the mass murderer Pol Pot.

[RoadKingSE]

Chomsky, 80, who has been voicing disgust with U.S. foreign policy since the Vietnam War, reacted with irritation and derision. "This happens sometimes in totalitarian regimes,'' he told The Miami Herald by e-mail after learning of the decision.

And were you actually living in a country run by one of the dictators that inspired your serial monkey spanking Mr. Chomsky, you likely would have been soccer turf fertilizer the first time you opened your pie hole.

[piasa]

I bet Carol didn’t bother to inquire if Gitmo’s library contained Rush Limbaugh books, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Martha Stewart magazines, or the Hornblower series.

[SunkenCiv]

Noam Chomsky