Thomas Friedman: A journalistic emperor who has no clothes

I have to admit to never being overly impressed by Friedman’s vast but shallow journalistic output. His book, The World Is Flat, published as globalization was nearing its peak and the buildup of deglobalization pressures was intensifying, is perhaps the most vivid example of an author’s simplistic attempt to reduce a complex politico-economic phenomenon to a largely one-dimensional one.

Most of his writings on the Arab-Israeli conflict, notably in recent months and years, where he unabashedly and perhaps even shamelessly presents himself as a mouthpiece for the Biden-Harris administration, with no iota of balanced and critical thinking, display an even greater lack of analytical rigor and nuance.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is depicted as being motivated by nothing but a desire to cling to power, including by helping to pave the way for Donald Trump’s reelection as US president. By contrast Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are portrayed as angelic-type creatures inspired by nothing but altruistic considerations.

There is no doubt that Netanyahu, like any other politician, places a high value on gaining and retaining political power. Yet, implying that he is completely oblivious to Israel’s national interest is an intellectual travesty. By the same token, suggesting that Biden and Harris have no personal political agendas is a position lacking any credibility.

The Biden-Harris administration has micro-managed, at a substantial cost to Israel, the latter’s conduct of military operations in both Gaza and Lebanon, while hardly exerting any pressure on Iran, the puppet master pulling the strings of its web to ensure that Israel is enfeebled by means of a war of attrition, to begin with. The obvious reason is to avoid any escalation that would minimize the likelihood of a Democratic control of the White House.

Israel’s slow military progress from North to South in Gaza is seen by some commentators as a tactical mistake. According to them, the South should have been the first target. Time will tell whether tactical factors have played a crucial role in shaping this decision. At this early juncture, however, it is abundantly clear that the Biden-Harris administration, both directly and indirectly, has heavily influenced this blueprint, as evidenced by its strategically and operationally flawed resistance to the Rafah operation and seizing of the Philadelphi Corridor.

I am not a fan of Netanyahu, who is partly to blame for the policy of containment vis-à-vis Hamas and Hezbollah for which Israel is now paying an exorbitant price. Shifting the blame to the Obama and Biden administrations is not a viable path to full exoneration. I would prefer someone like Naftali Bennett to lead Israel at this difficult point in time. Yet, I have no doubt that it would be an act of folly for Israel to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase of any Israel-Hamas agreement (it is generally overlooked that nothing else is currently seriously negotiated). After Hamas achieves most of its objectives, the second phase might never materialize and Israel would be back to square one. A sober examination of such past agreements, particularly that between Israel and Hezbollah regarding South Lebanon, arrived at with the US again laboriously playing the role of intermediary who cannot or does not want to look beyond the short-term horizon, unmistakably demonstrates that they seldom have a long life-expectancy.

There is one voice of reason at the New York Times when it comes to Israel, and it certainly is not Friedman and his similarly disposed ilk. If one wants to gain exposure through journalistic channels to the views of a writer who meaningfully engages with issues pertaining to Israel’s place in the Middle East and the world, as well as the modern Jewish experience, the New York Times continues, contrary to its nature but to its credit, to provide a platform for Bret Stephens, a jewel in a fast shrinking journalistic crown (virtually nonexistent insofar as Israel is concerned). His column makes a rewarding reading, because of its quality rather than merely the opinions he expresses.

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Dr Miron Mushkat, the author of this blog, has taught economics & finance at American, Asian, and European universities and has served in senior executive and research positions in the investment banking and investment management industries.