[Verginius Rufus]

The flaw in Friedman's reasoning is that he assumes that Kerry will put the national interest ahead of his own political advantage. No chance of that. From now until election day, it's in Kerry's interest to have the Islamofascists make the situation in Iraq as messy as possible for the U.S., and the terrorists have a vested interest in a Democratic victory. If the Democrats win, they win.

[e_castillo]

it's in Kerry's interest to have the Islamofascists make the situation in Iraq as messy as possible for the U.S

That pretty much sums it up.