[Mr.Clark]

Not the biggest fan of Friedman's, but his recent columns have been great. His book, "From Beirut to Jerusalem," is a wonderful starting point for those interested in the Middle East.

[FReethesheeples]

mega-bump!

[FReethesheeples]

mega-bump!

[mdittmar]

The White House has asked U.S. networks to limit broadcasts of statements by Osama bin Laden. I wish that instead of censorship, the president would respond to him

First sentence is total BULLS$%T,that tells me I need to read no further!

[eclectic]

I know that who rules Jerusalem is a deeply important part of your heritage, and every Arab-Muslim leader must address it.

What is this supposed to mean? Mr.Friedman sending some hidden messages?

[Cicero]

Thomas Friedman backed clinton to the hilt while he bombed Belgrade and while, over a number of years, clinton armed Muslim terrorists and inserted them into Bosnia and Kosovo. As far as I'm concerned, Friedman should issue a big, fat apology before venturing to give Bush any advice, no matter how good it may sound.

The man bears a heavy responsibility for enabling clinton to destabilize the Balkans and fill former Yugoslavia with hordes of Muslim drug-running thugs. All in the name of sweet modernism.

[Pray4USA]

bin laden - your days are definitely numbered!

Uncle Sam wants YOU!

WANTED: DEAD or ALIVE
.

[samtheman]

In this time of troubles many writers who in the past have written questionable material are coming around to write great stuff. The NewRepublic is an example of that. It's pages are suddenly full of patriotic, pro-American pieces calling us to arms to win the war against the global scourge of Islamic extremism. Freidman is now an example of that: a liberal who is shocked into rationality and clear-thinking by the horror of the events of September 11. Writers like these stand in stark opposition to those liberals and leftists who learned absolutely nothing from September 11 and continue down the road of the Big Lie, that everything wrong in the world is the fault of the USA.

I think this piece is excellent, even with its questionable assertion that Mao and Stalin had a "vision" for their society. I guess it doesn't hurt to use that as sort of a throw-away line, since those two have been essentially cast on the trash-dump of history, even by their own countries (even in China, where the "communists" are still in power). I'm sure the point is arguable, but in the context of the more pressing problems of today, I'd be willing to let the statement be made. It does serve to isolate the Islamic ideology. And the fact is, Russia has moved forward to some sort of political democracy and China to some sort of economic freedom. In the Islamic world, in contrast, there is movement towards absolutely nothing. If they didn't have oil, they would monkeys-in-robes-playing-in-the-sand. Only their oil-money gives them any stature at all.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Just once it would be nice to hear these pundits mention the Constitution when discussing what makes our country great. We can no more export mob rule (Democracy) as a foundation for a stable government than we can get our own leftist press and pols to read the document that gives us stability or understand the moral base required for a free society.
FR Scalia thread, U.S. Constitution makes our country great.

[Theresa]

Wonderful article. Thanks.

[beckett]

Friedman is mostly annoying. But he does have strong writing skills and a lot of passion. Sometimes it all comes together well, as it does in this column.