Understanding

Riverbend dissects Thomas Friedman:

[. . .]

One thing I found particularly amusing about the article- and outrageous all at once-was in the following paragraph:

"Religiously, if you want to know how the Sunni Arab world views a Shiite's being elected leader of Iraq, for the first time ever, think about how whites in Alabama would have felt about a black governor's being installed there in 1920. Some Sunnis do not think Shiites are authentic Muslims, and they are indifferent to their brutalization."

Now, it is always amusing to see a Jewish American journalist speak in the name of Sunni Arabs. When Sunni Arabs, at this point, hesitate to speak in a representative way about other Sunni Arabs, it is nice to know Thomas L. Friedman feels he can sum up the feelings of the "Sunni Arab world" in so many words. His arrogance is exceptional.

[. . .]

I know Gord likes Friedman, but he suffers from the same problems our leaders do. You might be able to take an American out of the country, but it's damn difficult to take the country out of the American. I'll believe River's assesment of the situation long before I'll accept Friedman's.

Thanks to tena at First Draft for the link.