I've already noted one Tom Friedman article analyzing Iraq. This is another one of Friedman's op-eds. I missed this one by Brooks until it was published in my local paper. The contrast between the two is significant. 

Reminds me of the story of President Kennedy sending two envoys to Vietnam to get an assessment of the situation there. One of the envoys went to Saigon and got briefings only from the Puzzle Palace flunkies. His was a positive assessment. The other envoy went out to the field and got briefings from down where the rubber met the road. His was a negative assessment. When they got done with their reports (which did not initially reveal where they got their information from), Kennedy is reported to have asked, "Did you two guys visit the same country?"

Let me know what you think.

Here is the article by Brooks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/opinion/24brooks.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

And here is the one by Friedman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/opinion/25friedman.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin