The Face of Stupidity

Tom Friedman has a typically stupid column in today's NYT arguing for the purity of evil embodied in some gunmen murdering two election workers in Bagdad. As usual, TF is blinded by his predjudice and complicity in the Iraq disaster. His point seems to be that the Iraqis committing this crime know they are fighting against their countrymen's freedom and interest.

No Tom, this does not compute. Suicide bombers and murderers of election workers are almost certainly both convinced that they are fighting to free their country (or city or tribe) from a foreign oppressor by killing those oppressors and their collaborators.

Friedman is smart enough to figure this out, but he doesn't, and won't because he played such a big role in drumming up this disaster. Very few Iraqis believe that the US has their interests at heart. Those who do have plenty of cause to doubt the competence of the US to accomplish any good on Iraqs behalf.

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