I have to say, Thomas Friedman (New York Times) has come a long way from being one of the many Bush Iraq War supporters, then apologists and now dissenters. Friedman has a lot to answer to for his blind support of all things Bush over the years, but he has finally pulled off the blinders and is bringing some much-deserved heat on the Decider in Chief.

For a long time, I let my hopes for a decent outcome in Iraq triumph over what I had learned reporting from Lebanon during its civil war. Those hopes vanished last summer. So, I’d like to offer President Bush my updated rules of Middle East reporting, which also apply to diplomacy, in hopes they’ll help him figure out what to do next in Iraq. Rule 1: What people tell you in private in the Middle East is irrelevant.