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The quote directly addresses your point. What should U.S. citizens do about the crimes of other governments? By contrast, what should U.S. citizens do about crimes that are the doing of their own government, regardless of what proportion they are of the total state-level crimes in the world?

This is what he means by ethical value of these judgments.

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Well I think the US was more justified than Pol Pot, Stalin et. al. when it engaged in violence.

Talk about damning with faint praise.

You're arguing a different point from the one being discussed.

The argument from the beginning was not about where the U.S. ranks in goodness vs. evil compared with other countries.

Many people say Chomsky is full of it when he focuses his criticism on the U.S. for actions he believes to be state-level crimes because, these people say, other countries are the true evil ones.

Chomsky's response is that even if you think the U.S. government is responsible for only 2% of the crimes in the world, it is this 2% that falls on his shoulders (and yours, and mine) as a U.S. citizen. His efforts on that 2% can have meaningful impact that can't be had on the other 98%.

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