1960s Quote by Noam Chomsky
“If you look at US internal documents, they explain very clearly what the threat of Cuba was. So, back in the early 1960s the State Department described the threat of Cuba as Castro's successful defiance of US policy, going back to the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine established the US claim to dominate the Western hemisphere and Castro was successfully defying that. That's not tolerable. It is like somebody saying "let's have democracy in Greece," and we just can't tolerate that so we have to destroy the threat at its roots.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Lecture on US foreign policy, 1970s
The US viewed Cuba as a direct challenge to its hemispheric dominance, prompting aggressive containment.
In simple terms: Cuba threatened US dominance, leading to harsh response.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how geopolitical doctrines shape policy.
Themes
foreign policy
hegemony
Cold War
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
political
historical
When to use this quote
- diplomacy studies
- policy analysis
- international relations
Key Concepts
political science
history
Questions to Reflect On
- How do doctrines influence modern interventions?
- What alternatives exist to aggressive containment?
A Different Perspective
Simplistic narratives can overlook nuance.
![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
![“Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics - feel that [Kurt] Vonnegut started to repeat himself, to grow increasingly self-indulgent and meandering, and to sometimes just blather in his later work. But his books up…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ed7/michael-dirda-3414_1960s_nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-li_13506.jpg)
![“[In the 1960s]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit.” quote by Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/29a/betsey-johnson-11907_1960s_in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you_14174.jpg)
