No, the point is that had the US done nothing and allowed the Taliban and al-Q to remain in power (something a fair number of lefties supported), chances are that many more would have starved than did. And if the US was so intent on killing massive amounts of Afghans, why allow record amounts of wheat through?
Chomsky said what he said because he's being saying pretty much the same thing for years (and in many cases with good reason). It's just that in this context, he was wrong. And he made that "silent genocide" statement around the time that it was reported by relief agencies that famine had been averted. Maybe he missed those reports. But he hasn't, to my knowledge, ever owned up to how wrong he was.
DP