#316 Noam Chomsky: Putin, Ukraine, China, and Nuclear War

Anyone who doesn't worry about nuclear war doesn't have a gray cell functioning. Of course, everyone is worried about nuclear war, or should be.

A war between the US and China would destroy the possibilities of organized life on Earth. In fact, we can put it differently: Unless the US and China reach an accommodation and work together and cooperatively, it's very unlikely that organized human society will survive.

The United States can certainly harm itself severely. That's what we're doing right now. Right now, the greatest threat to the United States is internal. The country's tearing itself apart.

How do we find the truth? That's what you have a brain for. It's not deep; it's quite shallow. It's not quantum physics. Put a little effort into it.

The United States is the only country outside of war [where] life expectancy is declining, mortality's increasing. It doesn't happen anywhere. You take a look at health outcomes, generally, they're among the worst among the developed societies.

What motivates [Vladimir Putin]? I presume what he's been saying all along—namely establishing his legacy as a leader who overcame the extensive destruction of Russia ... There is a theory in the West that he suddenly became a total madman who wants to restore the great Russia.

Human civilization will not survive unless the United States takes a lead, a leading position, in dealing with and overcoming the very severe crises that we face.

We see the same individuals speculating about Putin's grandiose plans to become Peter the Great and conquer, start attacking NATO powers. On the one hand saying that; on the other hand gloating over the fact that his military power's so minuscule, he can't even conquer the towns a couple miles from the border.

The China threat is that China exists. It exists; it does not follow US orders. It's not like Europe; Europe does what the United States tells it to do, even if it doesn't like it. China just ignores what the US is.

The invasion, Putin's invasion of Ukraine, is on a par with such acts of aggression as the US invasion of Iraq, the Stalin/Hitler invasion of Poland, other acts of supreme international crime under international law.

I don't regard the media as a source of inaccuracies and lies. They do exist, but by and large, media reporting is reasonably accurate.

It's very hard to be in a position of leadership of a violent aggressive power without carrying out evil acts.