Agreement Quote by Noam Chomsky
![“[Mikhail] Gorbachev complained. He was told look, there's nothing on paper. People didn't actually say it but the implication was look, if you are dumb enough to take faith in a gentleman's agreement with us, that's your problem. NATO expanded to East Germany.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/860/noam-chomsky-42_agreement_mikhail-gorbachev-complained-he-was-told_2212618.jpg)
“[Mikhail] Gorbachev complained. He was told look, there's nothing on paper. People didn't actually say it but the implication was look, if you are dumb enough to take faith in a gentleman's agreement with us, that's your problem. NATO expanded to East Germany.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Lecture on NATO Expansion, Noam Chomsky, 1990
Political rhetoric can mask power plays, using vague language to justify expansionist policies that affect smaller nations.
In simple terms: Political language hides power motives.
Key Takeaway
Question official narratives.
Themes
politics
power
expansionism
Mood
skeptical
analytical
Type
critical
historical
When to use this quote
- policy analysis
- academic debates
- media critique
Key Concepts
geopolitics
diplomacy
propaganda
Questions to Reflect On
- What are the hidden costs of NATO expansion?
- How does language shape public consent?
A Different Perspective
Complex geopolitics may oversimplify.
![“There are very complicated issues here [about NATO], and I don't want to give them short shrift.” quote by Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/21c/jill-stein-660_complicated_there-are-very-complicated-issues-here-a_2174687.jpg)
![“[Mikhail] Gorbachev said that he would agree to the unification of Germany, and even adherence of Germany to NATO, which was quite a concession, if NATO didn't move to East Germany. And [George] Bush and [James] Baker promised verbally, that's critical, verbally that NATO would not expand "one…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bd2/noam-chomsky-42_adherence_mikhail-gorbachev-said-that-he-would-agr_2235252.jpg)
![“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)
