Breaking! Iraq War and Surge Supporter (Friedman) Declares Surge A Failure

[kpete]

Breaking! Iraq War and Surge Supporter Declares Surge A Failure
By Big Tent Democrat, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Sun Aug 19, 2007 at 02:35:29 PM EST

When Iraq Debacle And Surge Supporters Ken Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon dishonestly labelled themselves war and Surge critics, their endorsement, in a NYTimes Op-Ed, of the Surge was falsely treated as big news. Now we have an Iraq War and Surge supporter declaring the Surge a failure in an Op-Ed in the NYTimes. His name is Tom Friedman:

Ditto with Iraqi surges. If it takes a Middle East expert to explain to you why it is working, it’s not working. . . . There’s only one thing at this stage that would truly impress me, and it is this: proof that there is an Iraq, proof that there is a coalition of Iraqi Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds who share our vision of a unified, multiparty, power-sharing, democratizing Iraq and who are willing to forge a social contract that will allow them to maintain such an Iraq — without U.S. troops. . . . The Bush team will say the surge is a “partial” success and needs more time. But that is like your contractor telling you that your home is almost finished — the bricks are up, but there’s no cement. Thanks a lot. My answer: If I saw something with my own eyes that I hadn’t seen before — Iraq’s Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders stepping forward, declaring their willingness to work out their differences by a set deadline and publicly asking us to stay until they do. That’s the only thing worth giving more time to develop. . . . Only Iraqis living in Iraq can prove otherwise. So far, I don’t see it.

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/8/19/153529/395
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/tsc.html?
and:
http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/friedman-and-rich/
or:
URI=http://select.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/opinion/19friedman.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=10d0c19dQ2FbQ7BQ5EQ27bEQ3Fg55EbkAABbAMbQ3CQ3Ab5ZF1F51bQ3CQ3AKgFQ5EQ2FWe1o!EWi

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I thought he wanted to give it another six months,

like he always has. Just another six months.

Tommy, you're a tool.

[Warren Stupidity]

2. Hidden behind the NYT's "select" idiocy, but I will guess:

Uncle Tom would like another Friedman Unit to pull something or other together.

[annabanana]

3. His feelings must have been hurt by the online acceptance of the

"Friedman Unit". . or "just give it six more months"..

Sorry Tom.. You're stuck with it.

[scarletwoman]

4. Ah. The Mustache Of Understanding has spoken. Actually, the only "breaking" news I ever want to see

about Thomas Friedman is that he has committed seppuku in remorse for all the unmitigated bullshit he has been ladeling out all these years.

FU, Friedman, and FU to all the FUs you rode in on.

sw

[Peace Patriot]

5. It's important to ask WHY a fascist genocide-enabler and lying sack of

spoiled birthday cake like Friedman would be saying this. On the surface, its just purveyance of the Bush Junta "talking point" that "it's the Iraqis' own fault" that we smashed their country to pieces and now they can't get it together to pull off civil order. That would point to a situation in Iraq that is so bad that they're going to have to explain something like the hasty, chaotic exit of U.S. troops from Vietnam.

OR it could be something deeper, for instance, last plank in the plan to divide Iraq up--among the Shias, the Sunnis, the Kurds and Chevron (with Chevron & buds, of course, getting the lion's share). AND/OR, now that Iraq is all smashed to pieces, the fascists are itchy to get moving on trying to smash its neighbor Iran to pieces: need to re-group, need to find some more cannon fodder; need to re-propagandize the whole thing, and need to put a 'Democratic' brand on it (already begun with the Diebold II Congress; next the presidency). The war profiteer, corporate predator and Israeli makers of U.S. foreign policy are now tired of this planned chaos in Iraq and just want to leave them all to fight among themselves and kill each other off, while these hijackers of the U.S. military move on to greener pastures (so to speak).

Not sure I've nailed it. But, whatever you think of Friedman, he's still got a platform in the NYT and speaks for the War Party, and we should ask WHY he makes this point, at this particular time? What other war or fascist goals is it serving?

Don't just rave at him. Figure out what he's doing. Think strategically.

[Connie_Corleone]

6. Friedman's six months finally over after 4 years.

[Jacobin]

7. This craven MFer

His November 2002 column was entitled: "Just Give War a Chance"

That bloviating, self-important, poobah can kiss my ass

[bemildred]

8. Nobody cares what Friedman thinks any more. nt

[Gabi Hayes]

9. somebody here mentioned having to READ one of TF's idiotic books for

a college class!

I'd have dropped the course, contacted the admin, and demanded the teacher resign

can you imagine a lousier teacher?

ok, sure, at Liberty U, or whatever that law school Robertson has, etc.

[Arugula Latte]

11. I had to read "From Beirut to Jerusalem" but that was back in about '91

when he seemed to have a shred of credibility ...

[Arugula Latte]

10. No one could have foreseen Friedman would be wrong ... again.

:eyes:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

12. Wow, Frank Rich kicked major ass in his column. K/R