MIT Professor of Linguistics Noam Chomsky attacked U.S. foreign policy as intentionally exploitative of Third World countries in a speech at Emerson Hall last night.

Speaking to a crowd of 150 students and faculty members, Chomsky said the U.S. and European powers had historically subjugated Third World countries to advance racist ideology and economic concerns.

"This has been the story of the past 500 years, ever since the European conquest of the Middle East 500 years ago," he said.

Chomsky, who focused his speech on the Middle East, said the U.S. initially became involved in the region because of the vast oil reserves there. The speech, entitled "The Middle East After the Cold War," was sponsored by the Society of Arab Students.

"We wanted control of oil, not because we needed it but to estab- superpower wanted to prevent the rise ofnationalism in the Middle East, according toChomsky.

The scholar said U.S. foreign policy was andstill is based on the belief that Third Worldcountries need to be controlled by Europeanpowers.

Chomsky quoted from a memo written by anAmerican secretary of state in the lish a monopolyon power over the richest area of strategic andmaterial resources for leverage in world affairs,"said the author of Deterring Democracy.

"Control of oil gives it veto power over theentire international community," he added.

But access to oil was not the sole aim of U.S.manipulations in the region. The superpower wantedto prevent the rise of nationalism in the MiddleEast, according to Chomsky.

He said U.S. foreign policy was and still isbased on the racist belief that Third Worldcountries must be controlled by European powers.

Chomsky quoted from a memo written by anAmerican secretary of state in the 1940s, whichsays, "[The U.S.] must prevent the threat of therising tide of aspirations all over the worldamong common man aspiring to rise to widerhorizons."

And currently, the U.S. is using Israel toprevent national aspirations from developing inthe Arab states. Chomsky claimed that the U.S. hashistorically directed Israel in its invasions ofneighboring Arab countries.

This policy was a vestige of the MonroeDoctrine, he said. Efforts to control of theMiddle East paralleled earlier efforts to controlthe Latin American countries.

Speaking on the current Middle East peaceprocess, Chomsky said the new move for detente inthe region is to maintain the status quo andpreserve U.S. political and economic interests.

The U.S. and Israel intentionally blocked peaceefforts for more than 20 years, Chomsky said,remarking that he is suspicious of current U.S.efforts to promote peace