Friedman Unit
The Friedman Unit (F.U.) is a tongue-in-cheek neologism coined by blogger Atrios (Duncan Black) on May 21, 2006.[1] One Friedman Unit is equal to six months,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] specifically the "next six months", a period repeatedly declared by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman to be the most critical of the then-ongoing Iraq War even though such pronouncements extended back over two and a half years.
Contents |
[edit] History
The term is in reference to a May 16, 2006 article by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) detailing the repeated use by columnist Thomas Friedman of "the next six months" as the period in which, according to Friedman, "we're going to find out...whether a decent outcome is possible" in the Iraq War.[9] As documented by FAIR, Friedman had been making such six-month predictions for a period of two and a half years, on at least fourteen different occasions, starting with a column in the November 30, 2003 edition of The New York Times, in which he stated: "The next six months in Iraq—which will determine the prospects for democracy-building there—are the most important six months in U.S. foreign policy in a long, long time."[10]
[edit] Impact
The Huffington Post cited it as the "Best New Phrase" of 2006.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ Black, Duncan (May 21, 2006). "The Six Monthers". Blogspot. http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_05_21_atrios_archive.html#114826445526365297. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "Friedman Finally Urges Fixed Date for U.S. Pullout". Editor & Publisher. December 7, 2006. http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003494507.
- ^ Klein, Ezra (December 8, 2006). "TAPPED". The American Prospect. http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=12&year=2006&base_name=post_2220#014758. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "Gen. Petreaus is in". Think Progress (Center for American Progress). February 28, 2007. http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/28/gen-petreaus-is-in/. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ Drum, Kevin (November 1, 2006). "Meltdown in Iraq...". The Washington Monthly. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_11/009956.php. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ Alterman, Eric (April 5, 2007). "The Politics of Pundit Prestige...". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070423/alterman. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ Froomkin, Dan (May 8, 2007). "Four More Months?". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/05/08/BL2007050800898_pf.html. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ Yglesias, Matthew (May 9, 2007). "More Friedman Units to Come". The Atlantic. http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/05/more_friedman_units_to_come.php. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ "Tom Friedman's Flexible Deadlines". Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. May 16, 2006. http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2884. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ Friedman, Thomas L (November 30, 2003). "The Chant Not Heard". The New York Times: p. WK 9.
- ^ "Media Winners of 2006: Honorable Mentions (Rapid-Fire Round II)". The Huffington Post. January 2, 2007. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/2007/01/02/media-winners-of-2006-ho_e_37571.html. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
[edit] External links
- Center for American Progress interactive timeline
