10 of Thomas Friedman’s Dumbest “Big Ideas”

mehreenkasana:

Oh, this was a treat.

While conducting research for my book about Thomas Friedman, I had the pleasure of reading 17 years’ worth of biweekly dispatches from the three-time Pulitzer recipient. For the benefit of those who may lead more fulfilling lives, I’ve composed a brief list of lesser-known Friedmanian insights and policy prescriptions.

1. The Clinton administration should have dedicated itself to illegally manufacturing Iraqi currency.

2. The Cali cartel would have been a valuable partner in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

3. Thanks to NAFTA, Mexico has improved its selection of baby names.

4. If the U.S. lowers its profile in the Arab world, the Arabs will realize that their children are being outperformed academically by the children of their maids.

5. Saudi Arabia suffers from an excess of democracy.

6. Massacres of Muslims are a sign of freedom. (You have to read this for yourself.)

7. The fall of the Soviet Union was propitious for Russian wardrobes.

8. Jeffrey Sachs is African.

9. Karl Marx knew the world was flat. (No kidding.)

10. In addition to being part of a neocon strategy and anti-liberal, the Iraq war was the most radical-liberal revolutionary war the U.S. has ever launched. It had nothing, a little bit and everything to do with oil.

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Filed under: Not surprised. Also filed under: Reasons why Friedman should never be consulted for opinion on the Middle East or South Asia, let alone matters of the Muslim world.