Friedman: Postcards From Iraq (He's back to naive on Iraq)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/opinion/21friedman.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

Of all the images I saw on a short visit to Iraq last week, two stand out in my mind. One was a display that the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, in the Sunni Triangle, prepared for the visiting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers. It was a table covered with defused roadside bombs made from cellphones wired to explosives. You just call the phone's number when a U.S. vehicle goes by and the whole thing explodes. The table was full of every color and variety of cellphone-bomb you could imagine. I thought to myself that if there is a duty-free electronics store at the gates of hell, this is what the display counter looks like.

The other scene was a briefing by Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the Marine commander in Falluja. General Sattler was explaining how well the Marines, Army, Air Force and Navy Seabees had worked together in Falluja as a combined task force. As General Sattler was speaking, I looked around at the assembled soldiers in the room. It was a Noah's Ark of Americans: African-Americans and whites, Hispanic Americans and Asians, and men and women I am sure of every faith. The fact that we can take for granted the trust among so many different ethnic groups, united by the idea of America - and that the biggest rivalry between our Army and Navy is a football game - is the miracle of America. That miracle, and its importance, hits you in the face in Iraq when someone tells you that the "new" Iraqi police unit in a village near Falluja is staffed by one Iraqi tribe and the "new" National Guard unit is staffed by another tribe and they are constantly clashing.

<snip>

Readers regularly ask me when I will throw in the towel on Iraq. I will be guided by the U.S. Army and Marine grunts on the ground. They see Iraq close up. Most of those you talk to are so uncynical - so convinced that we are doing good and doing right, even though they too are unsure it will work. When a majority of those grunts tell us that they are no longer willing to risk their lives to go out and fix the sewers in Sadr City or teach democracy at a local school, then you can stick a fork in this one. But so far, we ain't there yet. The troops are still pretty positive.

So let's thank God for what's in our drinking water, hope that maybe some of it washes over Iraq, and pay attention to the grunts. They'll tell us if it's time to go or stay.

[autorank]

1. This guy truly is "A Douche bag of Liberty"

[pretzel4gore]

2. let's pretend friedman doesn't exist

he's an operator and his job is disinfo etc....iggy him and he go away maybe (another couple are bob woodward and gerald posner; all 3 are agents of the enemy)
btw air america radio is airing ads from nytimes now....

[The Zanti Regent]

3. Tom of Finland Friedman is back

and he's back to his old PRESSTITUTE ways.

Just wait, I bet next week he starts the Iran Disinformation assignment given to him by the Neoconstipated elite!

[rooboy]

4. Hey Tom...

How about asking THE FUCKING IRAQIS about how effective the occupation is instead of letting the invaders decide for you?

Dickhead.

[MADem]

5. There is a disturbing correlation

...between TF's decreasing intellectual skills and the increasing size of his rather fully-fleshed wattle. He looks like one of those birds that blows up their neck to attract the opposite sex.

Brain droop, perhaps?

[KG]

6. he's totally inchoherent.

and a tool.