The U.S. and Its Allies Will Do Anything to Prevent Democracy in the Arab World

Prominent American academic Noam Chomsky said the US and its allies will spare no effort to prevent democracy in the Arab World, as they fear losing their clout in the region.

During the 25th anniversary celebration of the national media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting in New York, Chomsky drew up his views about the popular revolutions sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa, expressing doubt that the US would allow authentic democracies to flourish in the region, reported Democracy Now on Wednesday.

“Across the [Middle East], an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests,” Chomsky said. “The US and its allies will do anything they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab world.”

“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 Jewish-American political analyst added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Chomsky turned the spotlight on the ongoing anti-government protests in Bahrain, where people have been demonstrating since February 14 to put an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty and urge sweeping reforms.

He maintained that if ongoing movements correspond to the United States’ strategic and economic goals, officials in Washington would be quick to throw their weight behind any uprising, otherwise they would show scant enthusiasm to advocate any change that might run counter to their interests.

“If actions correspond to our strategic and economic objectives, that’s OK. We can have elegant rhetoric, but what matters is facts,” Chomsky noted.

“Actually, the most interesting case in many respects is Bahrain. Bahrain is quite important for two reasons. One reason, which has been reported, is that it’s the home port of the US Fifth Fleet, major military force in the region,” he said.

“Another more fundamental reason is that Bahrain is about 70 percent Shia, and it’s right across the causeway from eastern Saudi Arabia, which also is majority Shia and happens to be where most of Saudi oil is,” the 82-year-old senior academic noted.

He went on to say that as for oil-rich countries such as Libya, the US and its allies are more inclined to “get a more reliable dictator” and banish an “oil-rich dictator who’s not reliable, who’s a loose cannon. That’s Libya.”

Chomsky argued that the United States fears that it will eventually be forced out of the region if governments springing from the sovereign will of the people emerge in the region.

Source: Democracy Now