May 05, 2003

More re: Iraq Statehood

Tom Friedman, probably the most influential American commentator on the Middle East, today declared Iraq the 51st state. I still think it should be made official and am slightly miffed that he didn't credit me with the idea.
Says Friedman:

Friends, whether you like or hate how and why we got into this war, the fact is America — you and I — has assumed responsibility for rebuilding Iraq. We are talking about one of the biggest nation-building projects the U.S. has ever undertaken, the mother of all long hauls. We now have a 51st state of 23 million people. We just adopted a baby called Baghdad — and this is no time for the parents to get a divorce. Because raising that baby, in the neighborhood it lives in, is going to be a mammoth task. If both Republicans and Democrats don't start looking clearly and honestly at what is evolving in Iraq, we're all going to be in trouble.

See http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/04/opinion/04FRIE.html?8hpib, but hurry because the NY Times charges for stories after a week or so. Posted by Vernam at May 5, 2003 03:02 PM

Comments

Another bandwagon jumper, this one at the Sierra Club: http://www.sierratimes.com/jneil.htm.

Posted by: Vernam at May 16, 2003 10:38 AM