Chomsky: from nuclear weapons to Iran, Trump's worst threats are dangerously ignored

Pushback with Aaron Mate

Pushback with Aaron Maté

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4.7 • 594 Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2020

⏱️ 45 minutes

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Summary

Noam Chomsky warns that the Trump administration poses a unique threat to humanity, but its most reckless policies are receiving far too little attention. Chomsky discusses the White House's threats to the New START treaty, the last remaining accord limiting the US and Russia's nuclear weapons arsenals; its latest round of crippling sanctions and threats against Iran; the bipartisan US refusal to accept a Middle East Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, which would terminate Israel's nuclear weapons program; and the silencing of former OPCW officials who challenged a cover-up of findings that undermined Trump's 2018 bombing of Syria. Guest: Noam Chomsky, renowned linguist, author and political dissident. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to pushback. I'm Aaron Mate. Joining me is Noam Chomsky. Noam, thank you for joining me today.
0:10.6	Glad to be with you. You have been warning that Trump and the people around him pose a unique threat to
0:20.3	humanity. On this front, you've gotten a lot of attention for your
0:24.0	warnings about Trump's policies on climate change. I want to focus today on other aspects of
0:29.4	your warnings that have not gotten as much attention. Starting with nuclear weapons, an issue
0:36.4	that you've been involved with your whole life,
0:39.5	Trump has greatly exacerbated the threat pulling out of the INF Treaty with Russia,
0:45.4	pulling out of the Open Skies Treaty, and now looking like he will sabotage the New START treaty,
0:52.8	the last remaining accord that limits the nuclear weapon
0:56.3	stockpiles of the U.S. and Russia. As we are speaking, Russia has said that there's no chance
1:01.9	of an agreement between the U.S. and Russia before the election, which leaves a very short window
1:07.5	to renew new start before it expires in February. Your thoughts on the Trump
1:13.4	administration's nuclear policy and what it would mean if it manages to kill the New Start Treaty?
1:21.0	Well, the New START Treaty will be the last of the remaining treaties on arms control.
1:30.3	Trump has actually George W. Bush eliminated the first one, the ABM treaty.
1:39.3	But Trump, ever since he's come into office, has systematically destroyed one after the other.
1:47.9	The INF Treaty, which goes back to Reagan Gorbachev, the Open Skies Treaty, actually was initiated by Eisenhower.
1:59.6	He's threatened to carry out new nuclear tests. That hasn't been done for almost
2:07.3	30 years. The new start is the last one. As you said, it's due to be renewed in February.
2:18.3	The Trump administration has been delaying and delaying and delaying.
2:23.3	The Russians have been pleading for negotiations to renew it.
2:29.3	Washington's been producing very frivolous objections.
	...

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