Acidus wrote:
] ] I realize that we have enemies and they need to be
] ] confronted. But I do not want this to be all that America
] ] is about in the world anymore, and that is what has
] ] happened under this administration. I don't want the rest
] ] of my career to be about an America that exports fear,
] ] not hope, and ends up importing everyone else's fears as
] ] a result. I don't want it to be about explaining to young
] ] Chinese why my government can't give them student visas
] ] anymore. I don't want it to be about visiting U.S.
] ] Embassies around the world and finding them so isolated
] ] behind barbed wire, they might as well not be there at
] ] all. Defeating "them" has begun to define "us" in too
] ] many ways.
]
] I'm enjoyed Thomas Friedman's analysis of Iraq for a while
] now, and he makes a good point about where this "War on
] Terror" is taking us.

I find it interesting that Friedman has changed his tune so much lately. His original response to September 11th was that it confirmed all his theories from his ridiculous pro-globalization manifesto The Lexus Branch and the Olive Tree and that questioning the attacks as a possible response to US Foreign policy in the middle east was "dangerous and fatuous." (quote from a lecture at my college.) His new articles have been a lot more palatable to me, but I wonder if he's starting to question the rest of his free-trade fantasy world.

Tom Friedman wrote:
] I realize that we have enemies and they need to be
] confronted. But I do not want this to be all that
] America is about in the world anymore ...
] Defeating "them" has begun to define "us" in too
] many ways.

Acidus wrote:
] I've enjoyed Thomas Friedman's analysis of Iraq for a while
] now, and he makes a good point about where this "War on
] Terror" is taking us.

tina wrote:
] I find it interesting that Friedman has changed his tune so
] much lately.

Friedman's latest wisdom follows directly from Rumsfeld's Rules, which I blogged in December 2003. See http://www.memestreams.net/thread/bid9836/ for the thread. In particular:

Don’t divide the world into "them" and "us."

If you haven't read them, they are worth a look. Of course, like many "wise" things such as this, they are easier said than done.

You might also wish to consider Robert McNamara's Rule #1:

1. Empathize with your enemy.

There are ten more at

http://www.memestreams.net/thread/bid10638/