Report From The Front

Memo to Paul Krugman: Don’t mess with the Ledeen kids. They’re smarter than you, braver than you, and unlike yourself, they actually know what they’re talking about. Simone Ledeen’s too-brief memoir about her time in the Coalition Provisional Authority is required reading:

I question Mr. Krugman’s implied premise that these were highly desirable jobs for which one needed political connections. He should try telling that to my friend and colleague Scott Erwin, who was ambushed several weeks ago returning from teaching a pro-democracy program he created at Baghdad University. Scott nearly died after having been shot multiple times. He is currently recovering from numerous surgeries and undergoing physical therapy.

The kind of political “reward” Krugman describes doesn’t put you in a flak jacket and a Kevlar helmet and expose you to roadside bombs or rocket attacks. Nor can I imagine any parent celebrating the arrival of his child in a war zone.

Stick to regurgitating the petty bigotries of the faculty lounge, Krugman. You’ll still look like a jackass, but you won’t prove yourself an utter fool quite so often.