Posted by Sadie from ? (160.129.27.22) on Monday, August 25, 2003 at 12:47PM :
In Reply to: Beware of Thomas Friedman posted by Sadie from D007232.N1.Vanderbilt.Edu (129.59.7.232) on Monday, August 25, 2003 at 10:43AM :
: Anyway, he's saying that the liberals were not wrong in opposing the war in Iraq, as the "case against Iraq" was based on lies. However, his argument is that the U.S., now that it is "committed" to building Iraq, needs to build up more troops in Iraq because the U.S. is now fighting "World War III," against a group of people fighting for a religious ideology (he doesn't outright say it, but Islam), which has its base in central Iraq.
xxx He's making the claim that Muslim fundamentalists are now based in central Iraq (not northern or southern Iraq). I'm NOT saying that - he is.
: Second, he is saying that the U.S. is not rebuilding Iraq, but *building* Iraq, which needs a stronger U.S. military police presence....
xxx HE is claiming that Iraq needs a stronger U.S. military presence. I am not saying that. I think the opposite.
: Again, the implication is that Iraqis can't do it themselves - that they NEED the U.S. to "build" their country (which must have never really existed before now).
xxx I am being sarcastic when I say "which must have never really existed before now" - that is what Friedman is implying. Of course, I believe that Iraq was capable of maintaining itself well before the dawn of the industrial era, or even modern "civilization."
-- Sadie
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