Thomas Friedman writes in the New York Times on the progress of the Iraqi army and government:
Friedman deserves credit for accurately reporting that the Iraqis are standing up for themselves, but then he writes: “We may one day look back on this as Iraq’s real war of liberation. The one we led five years ago didn’t count.” Really? The U.S.-led war that deposed Saddam Hussein “didn’t count” as “Iraq’s real war of liberation”? Was it a fake war of liberation? Apparently Friedman thinks it didn’t count because the Iraqis didn’t liberate themselves and therefore felt humiliated. And humiliation, according to Friedman, is “the single-most underestimated force in international relations, especially in the Middle East.” But do we really know that most Iraqis view the sacrifice of Coalition troops with a sense of humiliation rather than a sense of gratitude? Moreover, why does Friedman think the Iraqis’ feelings determine whether the war was a war of liberation?
