An Article from CCE

A few days ago, CCE sent me a link to an article by a Thomas L. Friedman. The title of the article is "On the Eve of Madness", and it's an editorial about the current state of affairs in the Middle East. It was published in the New York Times, but you can read it here I'm assuming, based on past experiences, that CCE won't mind me posting our dialogue on the article. The two of us are living proof that conservatives and liberals/moderates can have productive dialogue.

[CCE],

I finally got a chance to read the article you sent. As you predicted, I did enjoy reading it. I certainly don't agree with everything it has to say; for example, I'm not sure what the author would expect Dr. Rice to say. "The official position of the administration is that this is an opportunity for positive growth in Lebanon. The unofficial positon of the administration is that we wish that international politics would allow us to join in and help the Israelis smite Hezbollah and turn southern Lebanon into a 'buffer zone', which is to say, 'smoking crater.'" I don't think she could get away with that.

I also disagree with the author's belief that Iraq is a colossal failure, and that it has anything to do with President Bush or Dr. Rice. General Patton would sell his soul to have had his campaigns go as well as Iraq has gone. The problem isn't the plan, the problem isn't the leadership; the problem is that Americans have been disillusioned by Vietnam and spoiled by brief, poorly-consolidated victories in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo during the 1980's and 1990's. A true military victory with lasting consequences takes time, and that's something that recent presidents, Clinton in particular, have avoided.

I completely agree with the author on the state of international politics. State sponsors of Islamist terrorism, which is the most pervasive and dangerous form of terrorism there is, are not being held accountable by the international community. There's hard evidence that when the Coalition was getting ready to enforce a U.N. mandate that the U.N. refused to enforce itself, Russian special forces were systematically smuggling illegal weapons out of Iraq. The French and the Germans tried to block the invasion both for political reasons, and because high-ranking government officials and their allies were making millions from Oil-for-Food and illegal arms sales. Major nations like Russia and China are willing to enjoy the stability and prosperity provided entirely by American muscle, but they're always using it to their own advantage, never assisting us in maintaining it. It's pretty tough to make a unanimous coalition when everyone's circumventing and blocking your efforts for their own immediate interests.

It would be nice if moderate Muslims got passionate about reclaiming their culture and politics from the extremists, but it's not happening, and it's unlikely to happen. And the dividend? More corruption, more violence, and all of it blamed nebulously on "the Infidels".

Do you have a link to the article? I wouldn't mind discussing it on the blog, but I don't want to just post the entire thing. Thanks again for sending it; let me know your thoughts.

[Fly]

To which CCE replied:

yeah - i actually fwded the article before i read the part about this admin's role in the affairs. i was mainly interested in his take about the culture of islam (as you said - no moderate voice).

the original op-ed is on the NY times website and unless you have a membership you're not going to be able to access it. i finally found it on this guys blog - http://www.pekingduck.org/archives/003942.php

talk to you soon bro.

If you have any thoughts or questions about the topic, feel free to post them in comments. It's been quite a while since we had a good, long discussion on TSTF about anything other than picture that Father Time has posted in my absence!