What, or who, was the most ridiculous basis for a Tom Friedman column

[jos]

Tom Friedman has long become a caricature of the naval-gazing columnist. But recently he has outdone himself by relying on trivial sources or events to make some grand point about how the Iraq war was justified, and how we must "stay the course." Here are some examples of his recent brilliance for which, I am sure, the New York Times pays good money.

[StandWatie]

1. that stupid skull he found

didn't know where the hell it came from and assumed it was someone killed by Saddam when it could have been an Iraqi soldier killed by us from '91, a Shia who we told to revolt and then denied them arms, or just someone robbed and left for dead in the desert.

[Aidoneus]

8. another vote for the skull

I finally got to speak to him for a short bit once after missing him twice, a few weeks after he wrote about that. I wasn't the only one on the speaker and I thought I'd be cute and asked him if he'd like to go with me to Central America to find some graves there too and ponder the meaning (as I think somebody suggested when I mentioned it here, maybe not). He didn't get what I meant, didn't have enough time to explain, the whole reference lost on him.. :(

That skull was a monumental spin, even for him.

[mountebank]

2. You read my mind.....

I had no choice but to send a letter to The Times yesterday after reading Friedman's editorial. It read as follows:

Thomas Friedman has outdone himself. He takes a break from rose-tinted vignettes of a vibrant, hopeful Iraq that is glaringly at odds with reality and Pollyanna-like expositions on the wonders of globalization to offer his latest: a combination of the two. His exultation of American trash culture invading the Middle East is an affront to the thousands of citizens from Iraq to the West Bank who are suffering through a time of heightened bloodshed. He apparently chooses this airy subject because he thinks it symbolizes something important. If anything, it demonstrates how the worst part of our culture can spread like a virus from Lebanon, Pennsylvania to Beirut, Lebanon.

Needless, it won't be printed. But glad I'm not alone in reviling his insipid columns.

[GainesT1958]

3. I think Friedman's been a bit of a whore for some time, but now...

He really IS coming close to losin' it!:crazy:

B-)

[otohara]

4. Hard To Believe This Guy is Pulitzer Prize

material. Help me understand why?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

5. I think he has deteriorated considerably the past year

I really think he is losing it. He used to be good.
He has deteriorated measurably. Kristof is now surpassing him in the credibility department.

[sangh0]

13. 9/11 blew his mind

He once was an excellent read. I used to look forward to reading him, but since 9/11, he's been out for blood in an obvious way.

[Aidoneus]

14. I don't know

his hardon for the war on Serbia was a bit disturbing in spots, and he's always been a big fan of bashing things up for the benefit of capitalism. :shrug:

[Bombtrack]

6. and how we must "stay the course." - - do you really think we shouldn't?

that we shouldn't get the job done, and not abandon another third world country to have it haunt another generation?

Just leave it like it is?

I'm sorry, but whatever you think about the decision to go to war, it's now America's responsibility to leave them in a better situation than what they started with, and not just pull out and hope for the best from god knows who.

On another note I think that whatever jounalistic nuances you can point out about Friedman, he still knows more about foreign affairs than anybody here. I'm not pro-war like he is but I can admit that

[jos]

7. Is that you Tom?

Echoes of Vietnam: "We can't leave because we've committed so much already." Bullshit. The war was unnecessary and wrong. That we're there doesn't make it right. The best thing we could do is to turn things over to a pan-Arab force and get out.

As for knowing more about foreign affairs, I think his recent columns have shown that he doesn't know jack shit.

[mountebank]

9. The main problem

with Friedman's articles of late is their apparent break with reality. For the last several months he has been obsessively focusing on the most trivial subjects, like a conversation with one person, and using that as the basis for sweeping conclusions about our policy in the Middle East.

I don't deny that the guy has a lot of knowledge about the Middle East, which is why it is so perplexing and annoying that he refuses to use any of it, prefering instead to rely on "human interest" stories - the type you might find on your local news channel.

Perhaps it's hard to see a war you endorsed turn into such a nightmare and bloodbath for both your own country and countries you claim to have an interest in.

I'm not saying we should pull out of Iraq. But we should bring the U.N. in. Friedman's vision for the Middle East is always seen through the lens of Western culture - specifically American culture. This is the truly objectionable part.

Rebuilding Iraq should be a world effort, not just an American responsibility.

[AP]

10. To justify American Imperialism you have to break with reality

the logic of more profits for fewer people, and misery for everyone else really isn't logical at all.

[StandWatie]

15. it's what happened to him in Lebanon..

He went around giving "fair and balanced" coverage (he won a Pulitzer for this) of the Israeli invasion and his balance was in that he essentially thought the Israeli's really went there to save Maronite Christians from the evil PLO but sometimes he thought they went about it the wrong way.

He never quit doing this until he happened to be there for the notorious Sabra massacres and saw what he was rooting for with his own eyes. It's just a repeat of that whole thing. He's an apologist for American and Israeli power, always believing these powers are acting for the right cause with perhaps the wrong tactics.

[Malikshah]

12. Excuse me????

He's got more foreign affairs experience???

Bush has been to more countries than many here (after becoming pResident of course) but I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks his "experience" amounts to a hill of beans.

The same stands for Tom "believe my own press" Friedman.

His "experience" means precious little--he displays his ignorance of reality on a weekly basis--

He jumped the shark with the Olive Tree Lexus book and the resulting book tour.

[Cocoa]

11. the Iraqi who said liberation was like a wet dream

I'm not kidding.