Feign Surprise -- Tom Friedman is Conflicted Again... The U.S. operation in Iraq is hanging by a thread. If it has any hope of surviving this Hobbesian moment, we need three conversations to happen fast: George Bush needs to talk to his father, the Arab leaders need to talk to their sons — and daughters — and we need to talk to the Iraqi Governing Council. President Bush, please call home. You need some of your father's wisdom right now. The old man, Bush 41, may not have had the vision thing, but he did have the prudence thing. He understood that he could not expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait without a real coalition that included Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other key Arab states, not to mention all the NATO allies and the U.N. America would not have had the legitimacy to operate in that theater for the length of time required without Arab and European cover. If it is America alone against the Iraqi street, we lose. If it is the world against the Iraqi street, we have a chance. And such thoughts were not his alone Tom "Where's the Rest of My Barbershop Quartet?" Friedman. This was the demand of most Democrats, like say, John Kerry. And what was the response from the drum beaters on the right? That they were not patriotic enough. How about a little reflection Mr. Friedman and put the blame for the situation upon where it lies? The bulk of the Republican Party, particularly its occupant of the White House.