I say this because recently Mr. Friedman tried to argue that the sun was in the president's eyes (dreamy though they are, to be sure!) during the Syrian crisis. Friedman actually argued that the problems of the Middle East today are unprecedented since that Golden Age of 1978-2010:
Obama is dealing with an Arab world that no modern president has had to confront. Until 2010, the Arab Middle East had been relatively stable for 35 years. The combination of the cold war, the rise of oil-funded dictators who built strong security states and the peace between Egypt and Israel imposed order.
I described the relative stability and order prior to the Obama era that Freidman went on about at length.
But more to the point, President Obama appears to totally reject that since he thinks we live in the Golden Age:
Together we’ve also worked to end a decade of war. Five years ago nearly 180,000 Americans were serving in harms way, and the war in Iraq was the dominant issue in our relationship with the rest of the world. Today, all of our troops have left Iraq. Next year, an international coalition will end its war in Afghanistan, having achieved its mission of dismantling the core of Al Qaida that attacked us on 9/11.
Mission accomplished! The soothing balms of hope and change have made the Middle East a better place.
Sure, the tide of war receded into Syria, Egypt, Boston, and Kenya. But we are retreating from the world after burying Osama bin Laden at sea, so what more can we expect of our president? Let the freaking good times roll!
What a double fail. Both The Dignified Rant and President Obama judge Friedman a fool without a clue about the difficulties of the Middle East.
