Thursday, November 06, 2003

The following is excerpted from a speech by former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski at the recent "New American Strategies for Security and Peace" conference in Washington, DC:

"Since the tragedy of 9-11 which understandably shook and outraged everyone in this country, we have increasingly embraced at the highest official level what I think fairly can be called a paranoiac view of the world. Summarized in a phrase repeatedly used at the highest level, 'he who is not with us is against us.' I say repeatedly because actually some months ago I did a computer check to see how often it's been used at the very highest level in public statements.

The count then quite literally was ninety-nine. So it's a phrase which obviously reflects a deeply felt perception. I strongly suspect the person who uses that phrase doesn't know its historical or intellectual origins. It is a phrase popularized by Lenin when he attacked the social democrats on the grounds that they were anti-Bolshevik and therefore he who is not with us is against us and can be handled accordingly."

The full speech can be found on the Prospect's web site. (Found via Bartcop.)

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