Go, Walter Shapiro, go!

USATODAY.com - Armchair anti-American warrior aims, shoots duds

Why is anyone reading this tripe? Sure, [Noam] Chomsky's diatribe resonates with a latent anti-Americanism that endures on college campuses. But blaming a left-wing campus environment provides only a partial answer. Books like this from certified intellectuals also satisfy a youthful need to see through the news to detect a hidden subtext. The logic is that only someone as brilliant and fearless as Chomsky can unearth the concealed agenda of the American governing establishment.

It would be unfortunate if Chomsky's momentary popularity overshadows infinitely more reasoned critiques of Bush administration policies. There are serious questions that should be weighed as America girds for final war against Saddam Hussein and dispatches military advisers to nations like the Philippines. Chomsky and his camp followers do not have a monopoly on dissent. The best response to the frenzied e-mailed dispatches from this left-wing crank remains public disclosure and ridicule.