What maybe Friedman should have writen

Spencer did a nice job pointing out the stupidity of Friedman's column on Mon to prevent what would have been the blog equivilant of watching my head explode, but just to make it even more apparent how idiotic the colum was I thought the contrast between what old TF chose to turn out, and what DangerRoom produced from the same press trip was worth a look.

TF's big takeaway from a trip to see a girls school opened?:

Indeed, Mortenson’s efforts remind us what the essence of the “war on terrorism” is about. It’s about the war of ideas within Islam — a war between religious zealots who glorify martyrdom and want to keep Islam untouched by modernity and isolated from other faiths, with its women disempowered, and those who want to embrace modernity, open Islam to new ideas and empower Muslim women as much as men. America’s invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were, in part, an effort to create the space for the Muslim progressives to fight and win so that the real engine of change, something that takes nine months and 21 years to produce — a new generation — can be educated and raised differently.

Nathan Hodge uses the same event to discuss:

The relatively secure environment of the Panjshir means that the PRT can undertake and oversee more reconstruction projects than any other team. Burns said his team had done 80 site visits in three months; sometimes they can visit a dozen project sites in one day. In Kabul, by contrast, he was lucky if he got out once a week...

Not everyone is fan of the military’s embrace of the humanitarian mission. Since their inception in late 2002 as “Joint Regional Teams,” many in the aid and development community have worried that the PRTs were encroaching on a traditional humanitarian space, blurring the line between civilian aid work and military operations...

In the Panjshir, however, the aim seems to be keeping this mission as low-key as possible. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t risks. In late May, a convoy carrying members of the Panjshir PRT was hit by a suicide car bomber while it crossed through neighboring Kapisa province; four members of the team were killed, including the commander, Lt. Col. Mark Stratton.

Hmmm... you mean you can report on things that the public may not know about? particularly when you write for one of the most widely read periodicals in the world? Interesting...