This is something liberals should care about -- because liberating the captive peoples of the Mideast is a virtue in itself and because in today's globalized world, if you don't visit a bad neighborhood, it will visit you.
...Isn't Yakov Smirnov still doing this routine in Branson?
And today:
One of the most troubling lessons of the Iraq invasion is just how empty the Arab dictatorships are. Once you break the palace, by ousting the dictator, the elevator goes straight to the mosque. There is nothing in between — no civil society, no real labor unions, no real human rights groups, no real parliaments or press. So it is not surprising to see the sort of clerical leadership that has emerged in both the Sunni and Shiite areas of Iraq.
I keep looking at the 2003 column for this obvious wisdom even to those of us allegedly living in the "Pre-9/11" world -- but it seems to be missing.
Funny that Tommy and his great wisdom.
Perhaps Tommy could invite all residents of inner Washington, D.C. to visit the Friedman estate, it's big enough to hold you all and I'm guessing Tommy hasn't visited them lately.