Common Sense from an Uncommon Source

Today's NYT OpEd page has a couple of interesting columns:

• Jean-Claude Shanda Tonme, a Cameroonian consultant on international law and journalist, writes about the well-intentioned, but ultimately misguided focus of the recent Live 8 concerts. He suggests that it would have been less insulting (and more helpful) if westerners would have focussed less on debt forgiveness and increased aid to Africa and more on calling for democracy on the continent and questioning the moral legitimacy of the corrupt, tyrannical and incompetent governments that keep Africa poor.
  
  
• Tom Friedman spotlights the danger posed by radical Islamist preachers who tap into Muslim feelings of inferiority, humiliation and rage to create Sunni suicide bombers who are willing to murder innocents in pursuit of their twisted interpretation of Islam.

Of course, perhaps to maintain a balance of sensible versus misguided opinion, the editors also included a reckless proposal by former Clinton administration defense and intelligence offical John Deutch for establishing a timetable for pulling our military out of Iraq, regardless of its impact on Iraqi stability or democracy. Some things never change.