On becoming a "Good American"

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is convinced that Iran has no intention to produce nuclear weapons. "The latest activities of the Iranian side are convincing Russia that Iran really has no intention of producing nuclear weapons."

So Russia plans to continue working with Iran and its neighbors to arrive at a peaceful solution in the Middle East. "That means we will continue our cooperation with Iran in all spheres, including the nuclear energy sphere," said Putin, announcing that he is preparing to visit Iran, "I received the Iranian leadership's invitation to visit your country and we are preparing for this visit."

Meanwhile, George W. Bush continues his war in the Middle East, threatening any who oppose his regime. Yesterday he dramatically broadened the criteria he will use to decide which sovereign nations to invade and occupy, now reserving the right to attack any nation where he might find "terrorists who target innocent civilians and continue to seek weapons of mass murder."

For a guy who likes to think of himself as plain-spoken and a straight-shooter, he sure raises a lot of questions with ambiguous pronouncements like that.

Was he really talking about Syria or Iran? Perhaps both? Does he mean that you need to both target civilians and seek weapons, or is one or the other enough? How does he reconcile the documented U.S. targeting of Iraqi and Afghani civilian parties using the latest high-tech robot drones? Why is he changing the terminology to "weapons of mass murder" instead of "destruction?" Does he really believe that the world will soon forget that he lied about his reason for invading Iraq when claimed that he had proof that it possessed "weapons of mass destruction?"

In the aftermath of World War II Americans eagerly blamed the German people for the crimes committed in their names by the Nazi regime. It wasn't so much what the individual German citizen had done themselves, rather we held individuals accountable for what they had allowed to be done. Soon the term "Good German" became an epithet used to deride those who turn a blind eye to horrors being committed in their name.

By that same logic, the world must be wondering what it means to be a "Good American."

MOSNEWS (Russia) - Russia Convinced that Iran Will Not Produce Nuclear Weapons