Eschaton: When the Friedmans Come Due

[BurtWorm]

Atrios has invented the FU, the Friedman unit of time. It almost always equals six months, the amount of time Thomas Friedman always posits for the major corner to be turned in Iraq when everything will start to come up roses or else. Even Friedman seems to have lost faith in the FU, but not everyone has:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/54425339/2006_11_26_atrios_archive.html

At some point I started keeping track of various Friedmanesque predictions/deadlines. For those who wish to follow at home here's what we have coming ahead. The dates posted are the dates the predictions/deadlines are due.

11/30/06 Zalmay Khalilzad sez Maliki has a window of a couple of months.
11/18/06 Joe Klein says we should give Iraq "One last shot." Time ambiguous, so I gave him a Friedman.
11/19/06 Lee Hamilton says next 3 months are critical.
12/31/06 Joe Lieberman says significant troop withdrawals begin.
1/06/07 Senator Warner sez "In two or three months if this thing hasn’t come to fruition and this level of violence is not under control," Warner said, "I think it’s a responsibility of our government to determine: Is there a change of course we should take?"
03/05/07 General George Casey says "This is a decisive period for everyone and everyone knows it. The next six months will determine the future of Iraq>"
05/20/07 Obama says reduction should start in 4 to 6 months.
05/26/07 Cornyn says we need another 4 to 6 months to get this right.
05/26/07 McCaffrey says the next 4 to 6 months are crucial.
06/12/07 McCain sez we're going to win or lose this thing within the next several months.
12/31/07 Joe Lieberman says half the troops will likely be home, with full withdrawal possible.

[Demeter]

1. Cute! But You Forgot The Relativistic Effects

As we get closer to Election 2008 (the speed of light), time goes faster. Already 6 months is more like 6 weeks!