recently i heard a little interview of gore vidal who may not be one of your favorites. he defined u.s.a. as the united states of amnesia, so your historical perspective that you gave to justify foreign intervention in my opinion is part of that, you know. basically there were lots of problems in 1991 in 92 when he said there was an attack. some of the old problems with the israeli-palestinian problems were festering for could there were other interventions in this afghanistan problem that we are talking about now, the whole incubation of the terrorist in that area was funded thanks to the united states and the cia. then the russians were in afghanistan, so those are the elements that have now turned on the united states, so i guess i don't know what to elaborate on it too much but there is a history there. >> well, i guess really, this is my recollection one that gore vidal is not even sure we should've been in world war ii so they are people who have a very different view of world history. i don't share that view. >> we really appreciate you up been so kind and so gene

upon a time been a staunch supporter of israel can now publish an article by novelist and critic gore vidalwhich have been described as a predatory nation busy stealing other people's name in the name of an alien theocracy. and in which he denounced all american jews as an israeli fifth column. it was bad enough that a major liberal periodical like the nation could play host to this naked invocation of two of the classic themes of anti-semitisim. the jew as a disloyal alien and the jew as a conspiratorial manipulator of maligned power dangerous to everyone else. but what was even worse was that vidal's article elicited no more than a weak peep of protest from the magazine's sponsors and readers. the vidal affair provided powerful confirmation for the arguments some of us had been making since 1967 that anti-semitisim had found a new home on the left. and then by a lucky coincidence, the nation's opposite number on the right, national review, became embroiled in a similar controversy of its own that provided powerful evidence for the argument we had also been making since 1967 that anti-semi

gore vidal called mr. podhoretz a fifth columnist for israel. he has acquired most of his enemies or ex france by a we of startling political metamorphosis. i haven't checked the biography of everyone speaking at the book fair but i am fairly certain that the only speaker to have both written forhe

recently i heard a little interview of gore vidal who may not be one of your favorites.he defined u.s.a. as the united states of amnesia, so your historical perspective that you gave to justify foreign intervention in my opinion is part of that, you know. basically there were lots of problems in 1991 in 92 when he said there was an attack. some of the old problems with the israeli-palestinian problems were festering for could there were other interventions in this afghanistan problem that we are talking about now, the whole incubation of the terrorist in that area was funded thanks to the united states and the cia. then the russians were in afghanistan, so those are the elements that have now turned on the united states, so i guess i don't know what to elaborate on it too much but there is a history there. >> well, i guess really, this is my recollection one that gore vidal is not even sure we should've been in world war ii so they are people who have a very different view of world history. i don't share that view. >> we really appreciate you up been so kind and so gener

recently i heard a little interview of gore vidal who may not be one of your favorites.a. as the united states of amnesia, so your historical perspective that you gave to justify foreign intervention in my opinion is part of that, you know. basically there were lots of problems in 1991 in 92 when he said there was an attack. some of the old problems with the israeli-palestinian problems were festering for could there were other interventions in this afghanistan problem that we are talking about now, the whole incubation of the terrorist in that area was funded thanks to the united states and the cia. then the russians were in afghanistan, so those are the elements that have now turned on the united states, so i guess i don't know what to elaborate on it too much but there is a history there. >> well, i guess really, this is my recollection one that gore vidal is not even sure we should've been in world war ii so they are people who have a very different view of world history. i don't share that view. >> we really appreciate you up been so kind and so generous in sharing

my recollection is gore vidal is not even sure we would have been in world war ii so there are peopleeen so kind and generous in sharing some of the views with us today. this has been a tremendous opportunity for exchange and also to get a preview of what's available in your book which we hope everyone will go out and purchase for a low price available at all best bookseller's. >> and amazon.com. [laughter] >> thank you secretary chertoff were coming and thank you all for coming. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] this is a live look at the u.s. capitol as a blizzard hits the nation's capital and most of the east coast. the weather service of spreading conditions with wins over 40 miles per hour and why that conditions, the third day in the role the federal there remains closed, the u.s. house out until the or 20 seconds. not in session today but the senate does plan to convene tomorrow for general speeches at to 30:00 p.m., democrats also caucusing tomorrow to talk about jobs legislation. that is the plan out anyway schedule coverage to market to 30:00 p.m