David Barsamian > Quotes

“The kindest thing you can say about Reagan is that he may not have known what the policies of his administration were...”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“Also in the background is a long-standing US hatred of the European social system, which provides decent wages, working conditions, and benefits. The United States doesn't want that model to exist, because it is a dangerous one. People may get funny ideas.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“The Times was a cheerleader for the coup in Guatemala and also applauded the coup in Iran in 1953. Thomas McCann, ... says, "It is difficult to make a convincing case for manipulation of the press when the victims proved so eager for the experience.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“In fact the entire political leadership should face the death penalty under U.S. law for these actions. They're all eligible for the death penalty, according to the War Crimes Act passed by the 1996 Republican congress.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“The embedded journalists are talking about the suffering of the marines, who are so hot and are being fired on all the time.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“President Kennedy was trying to organize the hemisphere to support his terrorist attacks against Cuba, which were very severe. ... the Mexican Ambassador said, "If we publicly declare that Cuba is a threat to our security, forty million Mexicans will die laughing.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“Bernays said that the more intelligent members of the community can direct the population through "the engineering of consent," which he considered "the very essence of the democratic process.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“Reagan's regime was one of murder, brutality, and violence, which devastated a number of countries and probably left two hundred thousand people dead in Latin America, with hundreds of thousand of orphans and widows.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“Reagan was an incredible coward. Somebody who could believe that an air base in Grenada could be used to attack the United States does not even reach the level of a laughingstock.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“If you want to learn about patriarchal families, you don't ask the father, you ask the mother; then maybe you will learn something.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“I should say, though, to my amazement, the occupation is not succeeding. It takes real talent to fail at this.

[On the American invasion of Iraq]”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

“To a large extent, that's the way empires work. Internal class war is a significant element of empire.”
― David Barsamian, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World