Doing Like We Say, Not Like We Do

TRUMP'S NEW BUT PROBABLY NOT FINAL Secretary of State, Mr. POM PAY OH, while traveling, launched what will likely be a long lasting verbal assault on Iran, asserting that the former Persian Empire fully intends to dominate its part of the world, that it is already seeking to greatly extend its influence in the middle east, and that since signing the nuclear bomb treaty last year, has been behaving much worse than ever, in terms of supporting terrorism and meddling in the affairs of its neighbors. He made it clear that all this will not be tolerated, and that the treaty will almost certainly be thrown out by the Trump administration, since, according to wacko American conservatives, the treaty virtually guarantees that Iran will eventually have nukes. The logic behind that "reasoning" is, at the least, dubious, but that's another matter. For an American government official to accuse another nation of seeking domination beyond its own borders, engaging in terrorism, or meddling in the affairs of other nations is, most of all, rich. Other possible terms include "ironic" and "hilariously hypocritical". If there is any nation on the planet which has meddled in matters beyond its own borders, in other countries, it is these old United States, and its been that way for a long time, since the Monroe Doctrine. The history of the extension of American military and economic power into the middle east is well known in detail, and its disastrous consequences equally well known. The current condition of Iraq and Afghanistan, and their terrible circumstances are, almost entirely, the product of American foreign policy. It is worth remembering that even if we Americans cannot see our own blatantly hypocritical behavior and attitudes, the rest of the world does.