Tom Friedman gets it right, and then completely blows it

A must read here.

In quoting VDH, he gets it totally correct, but then blows it with his hopes about how the USA can avoid all the errors of our previous ways and ‘lead’ the middle east to some kind of new world in which they create MIT, and the Baylor School of Medicine, and not King Abdul Aziz’s Univ. School of Islamic studies and prevent the results of that dichotomy.

So I have a new thought for him to ponder, though I am sure he will never see the words, or scoff at them if he ever did.

The people of the middle east in their obstreperous reactions to our invasions, ignorances, nation building, letting them on their own, saber rattling, fibbing to ourselves and each other, and meddling, are actually expressing what they want as peoples, just the way that Jefferson wanted.

This is what Huntington by vote and revolution looks like.

The American way of life and the Islamic way of life as defined by the ascendant forms of Islam today ARE in conflict. It doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do. We will never ‘lead’ them or inculcate in them a desire to have a society in which women can crow over a government, or partisan ‘war on women’s reproductive rights’. It’s an absurd thought. Freedom of speech will never trump blasphemy, freedom of conscience will never trump the Quran, and Temple Beth Israel from Orange County is not going to get on a tour of the historic sites Mecca (and if the current trends keep up, not Luxor either)

Our problem is that we just don’t fight a real war so we are desperately looking for a middle way which does not exist.

We may be able to hang on without that war until representative governments become responsible enough to avoid it altogether, or not.

But it is not under our control.

We tried a lot of things. Nothing worked. Nothing will.

They are not us.

Bill Maher and Rush Limbaugh would BOTH be dead over there.

If we are attacked, if our intelligence reveals an attack forming, or imminent, the people there will simply have to suffer the natural and complete consequences. 

The real consequences of minding our own business, and providing leadership by example.

And that’s the GOOD news.