Comments on Iraq from an Israeli colleague

I work for a medical services company in the Deep South (think ... Fort Sumter). My company has a close relationship with a company in Israel that is supplying software components for a new product we are developing. For the last 10 days one of our Israeli colleagues has been working with us at our home office. Today, during our usual casual lunch, one of our people asked our Israeli friend about his take on the situation in Iraq, and what the typical Israeli thinks about the situation.

Please keep in mind that most of those in our company are conservative Republicans who have already named their mail boxes, bird baths and toilets after Strom Thurmond.

My Israeli friend said these things:

1 - The United States has been drawn into a trap.
2 - The government of Israel warned the United States, at the highest levels, about the trap.
3 - We blundered our way into the trap because of our bravado.
4 - The terrorists in Iraq have more suicide bombers than we have soldiers.
5 - The United States now has a Middle East problem as serious and deadly as Israel's Palestinian problem.
6 - By occupying Iraq we have weakened the cause of freedom and democracy in the Middle East by alienating a huge Arab population.

The only sounds during the next few minutes of our lunch were those of forks clinking against plates. A few more moments went by and then my Israeli friend said the obvious to my colleagues: "You have fucked up our part of the world."


On Edit - This was intended for the General Discussion Forum but ended up there due to the general high density of my brain.

On Edit - I mean due to the general lack of neuronal density of my brain.

On Edit - Please, dear Moderator, move this to a more appropriate forum.