Chris Hedges « Antiwar Radio with Scott Horton and Charles Goyette

Charles Goyette Interviews Chris Hedges

Charles Goyette, March 10, 2008

Email This | Print This | Share This | Comment

Chris Hedges, veteran war reporter and author of War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning and many other books, including the brand new I Don’t Believe in Atheists, discusses the myth of the “surge” in Iraq, the temporary bribing of the Sunni insurgency (aka: “concerned local citizens”), the danger of arming all three major ethnic/religious groups against each other, the lack of ties between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda and the genocidal madness of the new fundamentalist atheists.

MP3 here. (23:06)

Chris Hedges has been a war reporter for 15 years most recently for the New York Times. He is author of What Every Person Should Know About War, a book that offers a critical lesson in the dangerous realities of war. He’s also author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning.

Email This | Print This | Share This | Send a letter to the editor | Letters

Comments to “Chris Hedges”

8Ball
March 11th, 2008 at 8:35 am

We have found the religious fanatics who are threateniing America…

No need to go running around the world looking for the people who “hate us because we are free”. There is an ample supply right here at home.

Brilliant interview. Too bad that Hedges’ insight and wisdom will fall, for the most part, on deaf ears.

Jeff
March 11th, 2008 at 9:09 am

Good Afternoon, Charles & Chris

Once again great interview. But, to say it’s calm down little in Irag depends on your view. We are not there but if crazy people were blowing up and killing 10 folk instead of 30 is that good day in America. We would be outrage.!! So, we do we say it calm because few die instead of 3,000? Check out what’s happening just yestersday see below, yet this is only one stat. This has been going on all the time there. And this deal that US Gov has made with Sunnis and other groups won’t last and back to blowing up there fellow citizens will continue as before. What mess!!! interesting topic about these new (american style zealots) no faith, just power driven!!!

Monday: 8 US Soldiers, 30 Iraqis Killed; 77 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 7:55 p.m. EDT, Mar. 10, 2008

Eight U.S. soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in Iraq. Overall, at least 30 Iraqis were also killed and another 77 were wounded across Iraq, during a spate of mostly suicide bombings. Even the relatively stable city of Suleimaniyah was the scene of violence. Meanwhile, Iraqis ask themselves if the costs of war were worth it.

Five American soldiers were killed and three were wounded during a suicide bombing in Baghdad’s Mansour district. Their Iraqi interpreter was wounded as well. The soldiers were on foot patrol when a suicide bomber walked up to the group and detonated a vest containing explosives. A nearby hospital reported treating eight Iraqis, including a policeman, for injuries associated with the blast. A ninth Iraqi died from his injuries.

In Balad Ruz, another three U.S. soldiers were killed along with their Iraqi interpreter during an IED blast.

A female suicide bomber attacked the home of a sheikh in Kanaan. He was the head of a local Awakening Council (Sahwa). The bomber was able to kill him, his son, a five-year-old female relative and a bodyguard. She also injured two other people.

In Baghdad, one person was killed and five were wounded when a minibus exploded in Shaab. A bomb near a Sadr City hospital left one dead and four wounded. Two people were wounded during a roadside bomb blast in the Zayouna neighborhood. Two people were injured by mortar shelling in Kadhimiya. Also, three dumped bodies were found.

In Suleimaniyah, a suicide car bomber killed three people and wounded 30 people outside a hotel. A security chief may have been among the injured, but officials denied this.

A suicide bomber in Muqdadiyah killed two policemen and wounded 20 others when he detonated his vest.

Near the Syrian border at Ba’aj, clashes left two gunmen dead and two more wounded.

In Mosul, two policemen were killed in separate drive-by shootings. A civilian was killed in an IED attack. A doctor was injured during an attempted kidnapping. Also, security forces were able to render a car bomb inoperative and capture10 suspects.

Gunmen killed a doctor during a drive-by shooting outside his hospital in Basra.

Police in Karbala found a weapons cache after a source revealed an assassination plot against them.

In Wassit province, Iraqi soldiers discovered that the homes of displaced families hoping to return soon were booby-trapped. They dismantled some but did not give a figure as to how many home were rigged with bombs.

U.S. soldiers killed five suspects and detained 19 others in central Iraq.

Claus-Erik Hamle
March 11th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

According to Dr. Bob Bowman, who was chief of US Air Force Missile Defense, missile defense is the missing link to a First Strike. Dr. Bob Bowman thinks missiles in Poland will be very useful to shoot down surviving Russian missiles after a First Strike. Therefore the Russians will implement Launch On Warning. The terrible consequences of a mistake will be caused by the stupid Pentagon. “Bloody fools in the Pentagon”, as Brigadier Harbottle said. Dr. Bob Bowman also agrees that the Pentagon (McCain ?) will get disarming first-strike capability by 2011/12. According to the former Trident engineer Robert C. Aldridge (www.plrc.org) the US Navy can track and destroy all enemy subs simultaneously. Bob Aldridge agrees on US First-Strike Capability and the dangers, not least because the Russians will implement Launch On Warning. The madness has gone too far. Bob Aldridge resigned for that reason. The Pentagon´s drive for Nuclear Primacy and First-Strike Capability is suicidal. PS: Please read, Keir Lieber and Daryl Press, “The Rice of US Nuclear Primacy”, in the 2006 March/April issue of Foreign Affairs.

Josh
March 11th, 2008 at 8:32 pm

Good discussion, but Chris Hedges’ new book “I don’t believe in Atheists” is full of bullshit. Sorry, it just is. It lacks reason, and instead basically just begs people who don’t believe in magic to be nice and “respectful” (for no reason) to idiots who do. Apparently, if you don’t treat moronic ideas with respect, you’re evil, according to this tool.

Josh
March 11th, 2008 at 8:55 pm

Btw, Chris Hedges lied and/or exaggerated/created straw men about what Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens said.

All “New Atheism” is, is to not give instant undeserved respect to ideas which have no merit in the real world. Such as the idea that there exists an all powerful invisible magician who controls everything. It’s fucking stupid, the idea is idiotic, NOT THE PEOPLE, but the IDEA.

Williams
March 12th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

Harris, in a debate with Hedges (one in which Hedges does not represent himself well), refutes the assertion that he advocates military action, let alone nuclear war. Intellectual honesty is offensive.

Williams
March 12th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

Whoops: intellectual DIShonesty.

War is a Force that Destroyed Iraq « The Fanonite
March 14th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

[...] March 14, 2008 Charles Goyette Interviews Chris Hedges [...]

The Fanonite
March 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am

Btw, Chris Hedges lied and/or exaggerated/created straw men about what Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens said.

He does? Why not give some examples?

Harris, in a debate with Hedges (one in which Hedges does not represent himself well), refutes the assertion that he advocates military action, let alone nuclear war.

Hedges represented himself superbly and his demolition of Harris was masterful. The latter was reduced to fishing for cheap applause (and the audience duly obliged). As both the moderator Robert Scheer and Hedges pointed out, Harris disingenuously denied making claims which are in his book. Presumably for people like William above reality can be trumped through the sheer force of affirmation.

Williams
March 15th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

For someone asking for examples you provide none. If you think that Hedges “won” that debate, so be it. In the end it’s a very individualistic judgment given the subject matter. And just so we’re clear, I didn’t mean to imply that Hedges came off poorly in respect to his character, only that his arguments were less sound than those of Harris. But, again, this is generally in the eye of the beholder.

I’d would strongly encourage everyone here at antiwar.com to visit google or youtube and watch the debate themselves. It’s certainly interesting.

The Fanonite
March 16th, 2008 at 6:21 am

In other words, you have no example to give?

his arguments were less sound than those of Harris.

I don’t recall Harris making any. Still, an example would be helpful, since you are suggesting Harris did better.

P.s. No, it is not in the eye of the beholder. It is an intellectual debate, and most people are pretty well equipped to judge the merits of an argument.

Williams
March 16th, 2008 at 11:29 am

Wow. I’m not going to bother arguing on the internet with someone who is showing himself to be hostile to the issue. I agree that it’s an intellectual debate which is why I urge people to watch it for themselves. We obviously just disagree on who the intellectual is between the two.

If you’re a fan of Fanon, there’s a work of fiction that came out recently that you might be interested in. I’m not sure if his theories play a strong role in the story or not though

Abu Hatem أبو حاتم » The Best of Antiwar Radio
June 9th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

[...] Chris Hedges [...]

Highlights

Breaking News