Welcome Fareed!

Hello Fareed. We look forward to your first Post in Swampland.

“Zakaria self-identifies as a “centrist”,[6] though he has been described variously as a political liberal,[7][8] a conservative,[9] or a moderate.[10] George Stephanopoulos said of him in 2003, “He’s so well versed in politics, and he can’t be pigeonholed. I can’t be sure whenever I turn to him where he’s going to be coming from or what he’s going to say.”[11] Zakaria wrote in Feb. 2008 that “Conservatism grew powerful in the 1970s and 1980s because it proposed solutions appropriate to the problems of the age”, adding that “a new world requires new thinking”.[12] He supported Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic primary campaign and also for president. In January 2009 Forbes referred to Zakaria as one of the 25 most influential liberals in the American media.[7] Zakaria has stated that he tries not to be devoted to any type of ideology, saying “I feel that’s part of my job… which is not to pick sides but to explain what I think is happening on the ground. I can’t say, ‘This is my team and I’m going to root for them no matter what they do.’”[6]
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Fareed Zakaria at World Economic Forum 2006, Davos, Switzerland (second from the right)After the 9/11 attacks, in a famous Newsweek cover essay, “Why They Hate Us,” Zakaria argued that Islamic extremism had its roots in the stagnation and dysfunctions of the Arab world. Decades of failure under tyrannical regimes, all claiming to be Western-style secular modernizers, had produced an opposition that was religious, violent, and increasingly globalized. Since the mosque was a place where people could gather and Islam an institution that was outside the reach of censorship, they both provided a context for the growth of the political opposition. Zakaria argued for an inter-generational effort to create more open and dynamic societies in Arab countries, and thereby helping Islam enter the modern world.[13]
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Zakaria initially supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[9] He said at the time, “The place is so dysfunctional… any stirring of the pot is good. America’s involvement in the region is for the good.”[9] He argued for a United Nations-sanctioned operation with a much larger force—approximately 400,000 troops—than was actually employed by the administration of President George W. Bush. After the invasion, he frequently criticized the occupation of Iraq.[14] He has often written that he believes that a functioning democracy in Iraq would be a new model for Arab politics but that the costs of the invasion and occupation were too high to justify the action. He opposed the Iraq surge in March 2007, writing that it would work militarily but not politically. Instead he advocated that Washington push hard for a political settlement between the Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs, and Kurds, and begin a reduction in forces to only 60,000 troops.[14] In January 2009, he stated flatly that the surge “succeeded”.[15] He elaborated this on a later article in Newsweek.[16]
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More recently, Zakaria has also criticized the “fear-based” policies employed not only in combating terrorism, but also in framing immigration laws and pursuing trade, and has argued instead for an open and confident United States.[17]

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fareed_Zakaria
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Yea!!! Joe Kleinistan has another self described “centrist” liberal to pal around with. God I am so excited for Joe Klein.
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Mr Fareed Zakaria: “I was for it before I opposed it”. Welcome to the unabashed newly crowned ragazine, TIME.com.

Any chance he’ll be dipping his toes into the Swamp?

http://www.cfr.org/bios/150/fareed_zakaria.html

Does the CFR have a secret handshake, Mr. Klein?

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/as-wall-street-is-transformed-a-reminder-from-aaron-russo/

Last US combat forces left Iraq this morning. Next stop(s): Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/19/iraq-last-combat-troops-leave

seconded…

Welcome Fareed. More “1000 Words” please.

Given that Newsweek sold for a dollar, Time probably got Fareed for a song. Grover Norquist really put Fareed in his place this morning on C-SPAN. Time would be wise to steer him away from discussing tax cuts and the economy in general.

Rusty,
New thoughts on the name Cordoba?
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The mosque [in Cordoba, Spain] was indeed begun in the wake of a Muslim conquest—just not the conquest of the Christians. Rather, it was ordered built by the Umayyad emir Abd-ar-Ramman I, probably in part to commemorate his successful conquest of Cordoba in the 750′s, fought against other Muslim chieftains loyal to the rival Abbasid Caliphate, and his successful repulsion of subsequent Abbasid attempts to dislodge him by force throughout the 760′s. This is, incidentally, probably why the Great Mosque—unlike almost every other Mosque in the Muslim world—is built facing south. Usually, Mosques are built facing Mecca, as Muslims are meant to pray towards the holy city. But the Great Mosque is oriented as if it were actually built in Damascus, the original capital of the Umayyads and the city from which abd-ar-Ramman had had to flee in exile when it was conquered by the Abbasids. Damascus is north of Mecca, while Cordoba is much further west. By pointing his Mosque south, Abd-ar-Ramman I was telling his Muslim rivals, “This exile to Iberia is a temporary thing; you may hold Damascus for now, but in the eyes of our god, my family still controls it. Carl Pyrdum
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Owing to the peace which the Christians of Cordova then enjoyed [...] the citizens of Cordova, Arabs, Christians, and Jews, enjoyed so high a degree of literary culture that the city was known as the New Athens Catholic Encyclopedia

http://economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/08/ground_zero_mosque

Exiled, If you continue to insist on bringing facts into the conversation you’re going to ruin everything. You liberals are all alike. You put far too much stock in the truth. Why do you hate America?

Excellent news! Zakaria’s pretty much the only reason I even both going to Newsweek anymore, good to know I’m free to cut it out of my bookmarks once and for all

He hasn’t even posted yet, but I see the wingnut hazing is already in progress….

Thanks for this information, Rustydog.

Zakaria left (i.e., was given his walking papers) from a worthless political advocacy group (i.e., Newsweek) that just sold for a whopping $1 to join an identically minded political advocacy group (i.e., Time magazine) that would sell for what? A penny? Zakaria must be proud ….

Calling me a liberal is an understatement, Sacred. You should know better.

Exiled, it always makes me laugh when you get called a liberal. You’re one of the few sane conservative/libertarian voices we have on this site. You deserve kudos for taking on some of the more outrageous claims made by the wingers. Personally, I think it’s like arguing with Terry Shiavo.

You’re gonna make me all teary-eyed, Sacred.

Wow! That might be the most cogent post you’ve ever made! No rambling about all those “biased” news networks and their nefarious agenda either. Those new meds must really be working for you.

Do what I do. Just say you have hay fever and then turn on the faucets.

Why?

Here is a bit of info:
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‘Cordoba’ is spanish for ‘Cordova’.
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‘Cordoba House’ simply means ‘House of Cordova’.
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No more and no less…

Good Luck Fareed Zakaria…

How in the world are you, an Indian Conservative, going to survive on the staff of TIME surrounded by that gaggle of libby lefty elitists?

Watch your back, because they are neither accurate nor honest most of the time. They find the facts are easier to bend and distort than face the truth.

A wonderful addition. WELCOME. Your “The Post-American World” was one of my best read in the past year and one of the most realistic views on the new world economy and the U.S. ignorance of it.

This is great news. I’m a faithful watcher of GPS on CNN, and think Zakaria is one of the few great minds in journalism today. What a catch for Time, and what a mistake for Newsweek. Guess this shows which way the wind is blwong.