Howard Friel is author of The Lomborg Deception: Setting the Record Straight about Global Warming.
"Declining civil liberties in the U.S. is a direct result of long
U.S. support for violations of international law and human rights,
including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, argues Yale scholar
Friel. Using the works of intellectuals Alan Dershowitz of Harvard
and Noam Chomsky of MIT as metaphors, Friel considers how attitudes
and public policy on international law have changed since the
terrorist attacks of 9/11. He argues that Dershowitz has not
honored his commitment to international law and human rights, while
Chomsky has remained steadfast in his challenge to any nation,
including the U.S. and Israel, to threaten or use force in
intervening in the affairs of other nations. He explores the
40-year rivalry between the two men and how their viewpoints have
diverged. Drawing on the work of both men, Friel examines their
positions in the broader context of U.S. domestic policy on civil
liberties from the 1960s onward and foreign policy since the
Vietnam War. Friel cautions that Dershowitz's support of the war on
terrorism threatens American civil liberties, while Chomsky's
viewpoint shows the way toward more peaceful resolution of
conflicts at home and abroad."-Booklist--Richard Falk, Albert G.
Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law and Practice,
Princeton University
Friel (an independent scholar) conducts a comparative exegesis of
the intellectual productions of frequent antagonists Harvard
professor Alan Dershowitz and MIT professor Noam Chomsky on
questions of international law, human rights, and civil liberties
over the course of their careers. Chomsky, by far, comes off as the
more principled and consistent of the two, holding to a universal
morality for assessing the actions of states and maintaining an
opposition to violations of human rights and civil liberties no
matter who is carrying them out, while Dershowitz is found to
frequently compromise his own stated commitments to human rights
and civil liberties principles in an effort to excuse, justify,
and/or minimize the various crimes of Israel towards the
Palestinians and of the United States as it prosecutes the
so-called 'War on Terror.', Book News--Marcus G. Raskin,
co-founder, Institute for Policy Studies
Howard Friel has drawn a fascinating contrast between the
scholarship of MIT's Noam Chomsky and Harvard's Alan Dershowitz.
Friel traces Dershowitz's transformation from a civil libertarian
in the 1960s and 1970s to a supporter today of national ID cards,
preventive detention, roving wiretaps, extra-judicial killing, and
torture in extreme cases. This book is a must read for those who
seek to understand some of the most critical issues of our time.,
Marjorie Cohn, professor, Thomas Jefferson School of Law and former
president of the National Lawyers Guild--Vijay Prashad, George and
Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of
International Studies, Trinity College
Howard Friel has written with courage and conviction about two
major figures in American intellectual life- Noam Chomsky and Alan
Dershowitz. Friel's constructive polemics provide nuance and detail
that could surprise readers into re-thinking the positions they
hold on crucial concerns, from the Israel-Palestine conflict and
human rights to perpetual war and civil liberties., Robert F.
Barsky, Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Vanderbilt
University
Howard Friel presents a superb depiction of the adversarial
encounter between Noam Chomsky and Alan Dershowitz, two iconic
figures of American intellectual life for the past many decades.
Friel brilliantly assesses their contradictory political ideas and
values, and their influence on our country and the world., Richard
Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law and
Practice, Princeton University--Marjorie Cohn, professor, Thomas
Jefferson School of Law and former president of the National
Lawyers Guild
Howard Friel's Chomsky and Dershowitz is a forensic dissection of
the intellectual complicity of one American intellectual- Alan
Dershowitz- and the courage and conviction of another- Noam
Chomsky. The book provides a full assessment of building careers on
behalf of power (Dershowitz) and askance of power (Chomsky). The
test cases here are U.S. foreign policy, Israel-Palestine,
international law, and civil liberties., Vijay Prashad, George and
Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of
International Studies, Trinity College
With unfailing accuracy, Howard Friel has shown why he is nearly
without peer in analyzing the ideological conflicts of the day,
from the news media's coverage of war-making to climate change.
Here he examines the Chomsky-Dershowitz rivalry and a myriad of
important issues with the eyes if a teacher and a journalist who
seeks truth., Marcus G. Raskin, co-founder, Institute for Policy
Studies--Robert F. Barsky, Professor of French and Comparative
Literature, Vanderbilt University
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