Theocrats, autocrats want Iraq to fail

The Deseret News ^ | 5/27/2006 | Thomas L. Friedman

[Utah Girl]

I am often asked why I don't just give up on Iraq and pronounce it a lost cause. It would certainly make my job (and marriage) easier.

What holds me back are scenes like the one related in last Sunday's New York Times story from Baghdad about the Iraqi parliament's vote to approve the country's new Cabinet. The story noted that during the Iraqi parliamentary session, the Sunni party leader Saleh Mutlaq, a former Baathist, stood up and started denouncing the decision by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to have parliament vote on the new Cabinet even though he hadn't yet filled the key security posts.

At that point, another Sunni politician, Mithal al-Alousi, told Mutlaq to sit down. "Iraqi blood is being spilled every day," al-Alousi said. It was time to move forward. When Mutlaq pressed on with his denunciations, al-Alousi "pulled him down into his chair," The Times reported. That was a gutsy move — live on Iraqi TV. Many Sunni insurgents may not like what al-Alousi did, but he did it anyway.

As long as I see Iraqis ready to take a stand like that, I think we have to stand with them. When we don't see Iraqis taking the risk to build a progressive Iraq, then it is indeed time to pack and go. That moment may come soon. It's hard to tell. I won't hesitate to say so — but not yet.

[claudiustg]

---That was a gutsy move — live on Iraqi ---

Bullies and actors, with all the subtlety of professional wrestlers.

[nathanbedford]

President Bush may have moral clarity when speaking about freedom and democracy in the Arab world, but he has no moral authority. He lost it all by coddling Arab oil regimes and by tolerating the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons, which should be closed down immediately.

Perhaps Mr. Friedman would explain how one loses one's moral authority by preventing the West from lapsing into another dark age from the absence of oil products. Without oil we have no food, no transportation, no heat, no light, no civilization. We will live literally in a dark age. Nothing can be more moral than to make war over oil. Any American president who is not willing to make war over oil represents a profound danger to the republic.

Perhaps Mr. Friedman would explain how prosecuting the individuals responsible for the "excesses" at Abu Ghraib amounts to "coddling?"

Perhaps Mr. Friedman would explain what he proposes to do with terrorists who presently languish at Guantánamo prison? Would you move into a new prison? How would that solves his moral dilemma? Would he release them? How would Mr. Friedman then excuse their subsequent depredations?

All of this is so typical of Mr. Friedman's writings, he consumes practically his entire column supporting Bush policies, but always saves a few paragraphs at the end to take gratuitous slaps at Bush, thus protecting his liberal credentials, and keeping open his chances for the next Pulitzer.

[Liberty Valance]

Great post!

[Darkwolf377]

That was great!

(I just noticed someone else said the same thing, but so what. Can't add to that.)

Freidman supports what Bush does but doesn't like that Bush is the one doing it.

[Allegra]

Excellent post.

I have more bad news for the "failure-spinners."

Iraq has never been a failure. Free elections were held in spite of massive terrorist threats and that new government has now been inaugurated.

I don't know what to make of this part: Since the government was announced and subsequently inaugurated, Baghdad has been much calmer. The incident rate has dropped considerably. It's been QUIET out there, except for normal city noises.

I don't know if these two events are tied together or not. We've had lulls before and this just may be another one.

I hope not. I hope we're seeing the beginning of the end.

[Jeff Chandler]

Well put.

[Allegra]

When we don't see Iraqis taking the risk to build a progressive Iraq, then it is indeed time to pack and go. That moment may come soon.

No it won't. They've been taking risks all along. They risked their very lives to vote and some lost their lives trying. They're not going to stop now.

[dschemmer]

Great post! That paragraph by Friedman was very sloppy indeed!

[tobyhill]

Thomas Friendman needs to get back in his little cave over there at the near extinct NY Slimes. He has done nothing but slam this President on every move in Iraq. Yea, start changing the tune when things look like they're going better? The big "Civil War" didn't happen but these journalist Slimes still managed to keep calling it a "low level civil war". WTF is a low level civil war compared to a civil war besides more distorted references? How about the body count war? These low life idiot writers have done nothing but try to make their case that this is another "Vietnam" by putting a daily body count out there but they fail to ever mention in their comparisons that the loss of life in this combat is still one of the lowest in terms of past conflicts. Now it's going to be the "evil" Marines that killed innocent Women and Children to try to explain in their opinion how they were so right and they've already convicted them without even a full report much less a trial. I HATE Friedman and the rest with a passion and they can all go to hell for all I care.

[thomaswest]

re 10: Your rant is noted.

Tom Friedman has a lot of respect from both conservatives and liberals, because he is honest and presents important ideas. Not always right by me, but always worth considering.

The NYTimes, like it or not, is going to exist long after you and I are gone. It is amusing--much hated by some Freepers--it is still the most quoted source.

[tobyhill]

He's a leftist partisan hack that has very little if any credibility with conservatives. It's only been somewhat recent that he's gone a tad closer to center and that's because he's trying to sell a book and he knows that all the liberal smut pieces are on the clearance racks the second day they come out. He's been begging for failure in Iraq and for this President since day one and he hasn't been worth considering yesterday, today and certainly won't be tomorrow.
The NY Slimes, Washington Compost, USA Yesterday and others may still be here tomorrow in name but I guarantee they won't be the same companies as today at the rate they're losing subscribers. I'm just not sure exactly which stand they'll be on, either on the tabloid stand or the porn stand but they won't be on the newsstand.

Being he's so "honest and presents important ideas", has he been to Iraq?

[ken5050]

Good morning..Tactically, one would expect the bad guys to try and stage a couple of huge events....that gives them much more exposure and publiity in the media, which is what they want..

[Allegra]

re 10: Your rant is noted.

Noted and appreciated.

The media's outright distortion and lies about Iraq is a hot-button issue with me.

[Allegra]

Tactically, one would expect the bad guys to try and stage a couple of huge events....that gives them much more exposure and publiity in the media, which is what they want..

We don't know what to expect. Sometimes lulls have led to bigger attacks by the terrorists.

Nobody's celebrating yet, by any stretch of the imagination.

But we certainly are enjoying the quiet and the lack of disruptions to our work.

[ken5050]

Be safe.....

[tobyhill]

I've spoken to you before while you were there and I want to thank you because it's been people like you that have given us the facts and not the runaround, repeat spin cycle news rooms.

[ClaireSolt]

I agree that he is inconsistent, almost schizophrenic because when he gets through with facts he often lapses into pure Dem ideology. Just another journalist whose quest for influence far outstretches his knowledge and understanding.

[Raycpa]

The NYTimes, like it or not, is going to exist long after you and I are gone.

Really?

[tobyhill]

He has to revert back to his liberal ideology after he tries to quote facts because the facts he quotes turn out to be nothing but crapola and the way a liberal tries to cover for their lack of factual knowledge is skew the issue. Start putting out real facts about Iraq to a liberal of a point they can't dispute then they will always revert back to the,"well there was no WMD" while crying like a little baby. The WMD issue is the only issue they even have a chance to hang their hat on but they forget about all the other issues raised before the war.