''9-11'' is a collection of essays by and interviews with

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

first published in November 2001 in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The revised edition of 2011, ''9-11: Was There an Alternative?'', includes the entire text of the original book, together with a new essay by Chomsky, "Was There an Alternative?"

Content

''9-11'' (first edition of 2001)

In the original edition of ''9-11'' from November 2001, Chomsky places the September 11 attacks in context and traces the history of American intervention in the Middle East and throughout Latin America as well as in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

– at the same time warning against America's increasing reliance on military rhetoric and violence in its response to the attacks, and making a critical point that few other commentators were making, that any escalation of violence as a response to violence would inevitably lead to further, and bloodier, attacks on innocents in America and around the world. The first edition of ''9-11'' was published in more than two dozen countries and appeared on several bestseller lists, including those of ''

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'', the ''

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'', and ''

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''. An article about it in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' stated, "''9-11'' was practically the only counter-narrative out there at a time when questions tended to be drowned out by a chorus, led by the entire

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, of '

God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature son ...

.' It was one of the few places where the other side of the case could be found." Louis Menand, "Faith, Hope, and Clarity: September 11th and the American Soul," ''The New Yorker'', September 16, 2002

''9-11: Was There an Alternative?'' (extended edition of 2011)

The extended edition of the book, published in September 2011, includes a new essay by Chomsky which examines the impact and consequences of

US foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

up to the

killing of Osama bin Laden On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was shot several times and killed at his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, by United States Navy SEALs of the U.S. Naval S ...

in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and reflects on what may have resulted if the crimes against humanity committed on 9/11 had been "approached as a crime, with an international operation to apprehend the likely suspects."

References

External links

Interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! "Noam Chomsky on the 9/11 Decade and the Assassination of Osama bin Laden: Was There an Alternative?" September 13, 2011

Excerpt on TomDispatch.com, "Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, The Imperial Mentality and 9/11," September 6, 2011

Excerpt on Truthout.com, "Not Since the War of 1812," September 13, 2011
{{Authority control 2001 non-fiction books Books by Noam Chomsky Seven Stories Press books