Via Lindsay Beyerstein, here's a rather bizarre story, as reported by Newsday:
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Some cadets at the U.S. Military Academy are getting a taste of what Iraq will be like by taking a field trip -- to New Jersey.
Army Maj. Rebecca Patterson says cadets taking her "Winning the Peace" class will spend this weekend in Jersey City, 45 miles south of West Point and across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
Patterson's class provides lessons on opening schools, fixing infrastructure, running elections and training police. She says the course shows cadets that the military is only one factor involved in bringing peace to Iraq.
Jersey City was chosen for its urban setting and diverse population that includes a large Muslim community. Cadets will shadow politicians, police and religious leaders to learn how the city works.
Gosh. I don't want to be too cynical, here. I applaud Maj. Patterson for seeking to teach her class about how local government works. After all, we are "nation building" in Iraq. But this reminds me of Ann Coulter's comment that Iraq is "just like California, with Baghdad as L.A.," or those baseless comparisons between the murder rates in Washington, D.C. and Baghdad.
How about a field trip to an Arabic lesson instead?
--Dana Goldstein
