Customer Reviews

On the Justice of Roosting Chickens: Reflections on the Consequences of U. S. Imperial Arrogance and Criminality

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Before 9/11 I had read practically nothing in the area of politics, but afterwards, as I assume most Americans were, I was terribly interested in the question "Why do they hate us so much?" Unlike most Americans, I began to seriously look for an answer to this question in the writings of Noam Chomsky, Chalmers Johnson, Samantha Power, William Blum, Ramsey Clark, etc., etc., etc., and most recently Ward Churchill. By presenting two chronologies Churchill demonstrates that a more appropriate question following 9/11 would have been "How could `they' possibly not hate `us'?" followed up with "Why did it take `them' so long to arrive?" and "Why, under the circumstances, did they conduct themselves with such obvious and admirable restraint?" The first chronology debunks the myth propagated by Woodrow Wilson that America is the "most peace-loving of nations." As the chronology shows, the U.S. "has after more than two centuries yet to evidence a single year during which it was not making war upon someone, somewhere, for some reason". The second chronology lists obstructions, subversions, refusals, and violations of international law by the U.S. since 1945. Upon reading this chronology it becomes painfully obvious that, contrary to the claim made by Justice Henry Brown, there are not "certain principles of natural justice inherent to the Anglo-Saxon character". Rather, it would seem that former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark was closer to the truth when he said that the "overriding purpose" of U.S. foreign policy is to "maintain the capacity to coerce everybody else on the planet, nonviolently if possible, violently if necessary, and once in a while just for kicks." Readers should be cautioned however. Those Americans with a shred of decency are likely to come away from this book rooting for the other side, the other side being for the most part the rest of the world. Holding such an opinion in a country where the average citizen, as defined by Churchill, is sanctimonious, smug, duplicitous, hypocritical, and ignorant could be unpleasant for those who'd prefer to avoid controversy. As for myself, in the immortal words of the Chief Ignoramus, "bring it on".

It seems that due to the highly inflammatory atmosphere surrounding the author in the media right now that many ill-informed customers have been posting reviews. As someone who has read the book cover to cover I can say that it is a highly valuable tool in placing US foreign policy in context. As for the outrage the book supposedly has caused amongst conservatives, Churchill's social criticism is aimed at liberals and "radicals" in the US who seem confused as to the nature of state violence and have failed to force the government's hand to comply with International Human Rights Standards. The assembled chronologies are truly breathtaking and warrant serious reflection. Whether or not readers agree with every aspect of Professor Churchill's analysis they should decide for themselves as they will get a much different picture than the one that has been painted over the last week or so.

This book is a chilling 172-page "chronology of criminal comportment" documenting the true underpinning of US legalistic pretentions between 1945 and 2003 and exposes the lethal, mind-numbing efficiency with which the US has repeatedly violated international law in the past, and continues to do so in the present. A steller and eye-opening book, to put it simply.

In the media furor that has swirled around this book, one thing has become increasingly clear: few people have read the darn thing. Most people seem to be quoting the distorted newspaper articles that have appeared in the last few weeks. This book, based on Churchill's essay "Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens," is not an attempt to "excuse" the 9-11 attacks. Rather, it tries to figure out why they happened, and why Americans seem unable to understand why there's so much global anger directed our way. Using two detailed chronologies, Churchill recounts a long and sordid history of U.S. military assaults on other nations, millions of foreign civilians slaughted by our tax dollars, as well as countless violations of international law perpetrated by our government. Given this well-documented litany of abuse, Churchill's argument that some sort of response was--and is--inevitable makes perfect sense. Read the book!

Ward Churchill's opinion is shared by many in the CIA, and that is the US will experience "blowback" for its policies. It shouldn't surprise us that this country has some people who behave like "little Eichmanns," after all, US policy planners hired 1500 Nazis through "Operation Paperclip." We also have a mainstream media that is shaped and censored by the Pentagon (NBC is owned by the weapons contractor GE) which feeds us endless stories of how the empire is "liberating" the world. Ward Churchill documents the reality we often divert our attention from. Fortunately, the controversy around Churchill has sent his book sales skyrocketing, proving that the minds of "Good Americans" aren't as closed as they've been trained to be.

Churchill's thoroughly researched public indictment of the fraudulent United States government is accurate and long overdue. Many delusional Americans led by the agents of hate currently known as "neocons", "conservatives" and ironically the "far right", refuse to accept the truth for what it is despite overwhelming evidence partially because, these people have been subtly trained to harbour superiority complexes exemplified by a dysfunctional sense of entitlement.

After reviewing the disgusting historical record of the United States one is hard pressed to dispute an assertion that there is no society more deserving of the nuclear fate that awaits it than the corporation masquerading as a nation known as the United States of America. Which not only exploits it's own ignorant hacks who feel priveleged to live there but those peoples of the world who are to weak to "Ward" them off, all in the name of freedom and liberty.

Only upon further rational review does one realize that "freedom and liberty" are relative and there is very little of either in the fraudulent nation that supposedly champions it.

Churchill is a national treasure because of his encyclopedic documentation of the crimes of this "civilization". Don't read if you are prone to clinically significant depression. For the rest of us - we need strong medicine; sometimes strong medicine is bitter.

Reviewer Logan 3 failed to refute ANYTHING Professor Churchill states in his book and asserted that he has engaged in criminal activity without presenting any evidence. The use of illogical ad hominem arguments by "conservative" (reactionary is a better term) extremists is a typical response-- you boys do not have the facts on your side any more than did the religious authorities who imprisoned Galileo for asserting that the Earth goes around the sun.

May I change my rating to 10 stars?

I'll make an admission up front: until the recent brouhaha regarding an out-of-context quote by Professor Churchill, I had never even heard of the guy. That's not uncommon, as most of us in the academic world toil in relative obscurity and rarely know much about what other academicians are doing outside of our own narrow specialties. Suffice it to say, with the issue of academic freedom on the line I felt compelled to at least read the original essay that caused so much disdain among America's right-wingers and to follow that up with some reading of his more scholarly work. Hence, I chose to pick up "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" and find out for myself what all the fuss was about.

Having now read this book, I'm willing to give it a top rating. The essays are well-written and thoroughly documented, and the chronologies of US military interventions since the Declaration of Independence and of US double-standards and outright violations of UN resolutions since its inception are invaluable. Those features of the book give the lie to the commonly held myths that ours is a "peace loving nation" and a nation dedicated to "upholding laws". Historically, we've been neither, it pains me to say.

Reading this book will not make you feel good. It will likely leave the reader angry, frustrated, and/or depressed - and that is the point. If this book can convey to its readers even an inkling of the pain that has been inflicted upon both our own people and those in developing nations by our own government in our own names, then the author has done his job. The one hope we have as a society of averting a state of perpetual war is to increase the level of empathy that US citizens have towards their counterparts elsewhere. Alternative histories such as Churchill's (along with of course Chomsky and Zinn) are important precisely because they do invite readers to challenge their assumptions and to see our potentially great nation through others' eyes.

I just know that the right wingers are going to jump on this guy as evidenced by the post below. Before you reject this book out of hand please go to the Counterpunch website for Feb 4th and read the authors' own explanation of this Tempest in a Teapot. I did and now I want to read the book. Until I stumbled on his article I thought, based on news reports, that this guy sounds a little unbalanced. But the article was very logical and lucid and made sense so I decided to investigate further.
The bible tells us that the truth will set us free. What it doesn't tell us is that first the truth is probably going to piss us off. Challenging ones basic assumptions is not an easy task which would account for the fact that so few people do it. Don't bother me with the facts, please ; I have my opinions to guide me through life! Sound familiar? EPISTEMOLOGY: (n.) The study or theory of the origin, nature, methods and limits of knowledge. ( or: HOW WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW)
TRY IT FOR A WEEK. YOU'LL BE SURPRIISED AT WHAT YOU FIND OUT!
AND NOW I'M GOING TO ORDER THE BOOK. . .
UPDATE: FEB 6. . . There is now a video of professor Churchill being interviewed by CNN. It is on the Crooks and Liers website. The befuddled interviewer is a good example of the typical american response to the opportunity to confront the truth.
I have the Fox Sunday propagandists on as I type and it's an interesting contrast. Professor Churchill is a model of integrity compared to these prostitutes. It would be interesting to see the professor interviewed by Juan Williams. But the foxholes doen't have the courage for that!!!!!!!!!
UPDATE FEB 26:
Well I've finally received the book and have begun reading it. The first part of the book,(pgs 43-79) is a chronoligical listing of all US military action either against It's own citizens, indigenous peoples or soveriegn states identified as dangerous to American interests which often means American business interests. It's a long list and presented, for the most part, without editorial comment so there is not much to argue about regarding facts. All of what's listed is pretty much accepted historical data. What is most striking is the the sheer volume of our governments violence against humanity. I've never seen it laid out like this before and it would take a large dose of denial not to be horrified at this part of our history. It's no wonder that the right wingers are up in arms. this stuff is not open to debate. . . it really happened. you just can't spin our history away and claim left wing bias.
The second part (pgs 104-269), which I am about to begin, is a monthly breakdown for the years 1945- 2003. Subtitled " U.S. Obstructions, Subversions, Violations and Refusals of International Legality Since World War II.
No doubt that the Professor is really rubbing our noses in it, as it were, and if any of you have ever attended an intervention for a friend who couldn't admit to a drug problem then you will recognize that this is an intervention for a violence addicted society. Witness Hannity O'reilly Coulter Wiener style of beating opposing viewpoints into submission and thinkin that by silencing dissent they have proved themselves RIGHT.
President Cheney, don't you think it's time for you to check into a clinic? Don't worry, you can bring your puppet to play with.
A humble Liberal Veteren wishes a creative day to all those on the path!

This is the first time that I have commented about a book without having read it. The reasons are these:

1) First of all, I am sick of people giving a book one star when they obviously haven't read it. Their motivation is to smear an author because they oppose him or her politically. All the people that actually read the book gave it 5 stars. I have given this book 5 stars only to offset the others who gave it one star without having read it They have joined in a vendetta against Mr. Churchill. I intend to read the book. I am not sure if I agree with Mr. Churchill, but I will decide after I give him a fair chance and read his book.

2) I listened to Ward Churchill on C-Span the other night. He was passionate and I did agree with a lot of things he said. I also notice that he inspired students the way people of my age were once inspired by Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. (I also remember how Martin Luther King was hated by many people and unfairly attacked.) It's been a while since I have seen students inspired to think for themselves instead of just conforming to the propaganda of the government. I was very proud of those students!

Those are my reasons for my comments without having read the book first. I have written a number of reviews, but I first read the books. I appreciate those who write honest reviews because I do use them to determine whether or not I will buy a book and take the time to read it. People who cheat because of some politically motive and a desire to unfairly influence what ideas others read... well, I just think they would have made great Nazis!