The myopia of Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman is a big deal. He’s the guy all the top guns in the Canadian punditocracy have to read to make sure they’re onside with the latest slant on US Exceptionalism.

Friedman’s insights trickle up here to the boonies a little late. The column that appeared in my “New York Times International Weekly” today actually showed up in the NYT five days ago, but better late than never.

Thomas is keen to have us know that he’s hound-dogging his way around the continent on his NYT expense account, having dinner parties with various government and international experts, “trying to understand the refugee crisis that is fracturing the EU, much of which originates in Italy.”

We’ll call this the first Tommywhopper of the piece. The refugee crisis primarily originates in countries where the US and the gang of toadying me-too nations have been busying themselves spreading freedom and democracy. Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan…

It doesn’t take Thomas long to come up with Tommywhopper 2; there was nothing wrong with the illegal destruction of Libya other than the small detail that the destroyers failed to hang around and “build a new order.”

Really?

Friedman does notice that on his current frolic through Italy, “unassimilated migrants are now visible in the streets, squares, and train stations.” Is this the result of America having destroyed their countries?

Gosh no! It’s because we haven’t provided the migrants with “legal pathways for immigration,” nor have we, the always-virtuous West, come up with “a strategy to “improve effective and accountable governance in Africa.” As if that should be our job.

We’ll call that Tommywhopper 3. All EU countries have legal pathways for immigration. Having legal pathways for immigration is a condition of EU membership. What those legal pathways never anticipated was the over-whelming flood of refugees created by US foreign policiy.

That’s America’s responsibility, not Italy’s. Or Hungary’s or Spain’s or Germany’s or Sweden’s. There is not the slightest whiff anywhere in these 800 words ‘o wisdom that remotely hints that America bears any responsibility whatsoever for the refugee crisis.

The latter half of Friedman’s rant is, predictably, all about Putin and his bumboy in the White House, although Steve Bannon makes an extended cameo. If those guys get their way, “who will write the new rules for the 21st century?”

Well Thomas, I guess that remains to be seen.

Folks who love peace and democracy just hope it won’t be the same people who wrote the rules for the the last century… you know, the century that brought us Hiroshima, Korea, Vietnam, Timor, Suharto, Pinochet, the Shah, Rios Montt… and so much more!