Melvin Goodman
Thomas Friedman,
the New York Times’ most influential columnist, has comprehensively recorded
his dreamscape for the Middle East. It
tells Donald Trump that “you have a chance to reshape this region in ways that
could fundamentally enhance the peace and prosperity of Israelis, Palestinians
and all the region’s people, as well as the national security interests of
America.” Friedman believes that
Benjamin Netanyahu is “ready to complete Israel’s withdrawal and finalize the
border” with Lebanon, and that the United States has an “enormous opportunity
to truly end the civil war [in Lebanon] and put the country back
together.” Finally, he produces a
threat: Iran’s nuclear program and malign regional strategy need to be eliminated,
and if Trump can’t do this through “peaceful negotiations,” it needs to be
“done kinetically.” That’s right:
Friedman is willing to commit the United States to a war against Iran.
