'New York Times' Friedman proposes "endgame" bloodbath in Iraq

Since well before the US invaded Iraq, Thomas Friedman, the New York Times' chief foreign affairs commentator, has been the most enthusiastic proponent of US imperialism's neo-colonial conquest of the country.

Early on he served as a conduit for the right-wing ideologues in the civilian leadership of the Pentagon - putting their phony pretexts for war into print, while embellishing them with noble aims of bringing "democracy" and "liberation" to the Iraqi people.

That the newspaper identified with an erstwhile American liberal establishment published Friedman's exhortations to war played no small role in poisoning public opinion on the eve of the US invasion. It helped pave the way for the ongoing tragedy that has cost the lives of over 100,000 Iraqis and nearly 2,000 American soldiers.