"He started it" or "She hit me first." It's an excuse we all learn in childhood. By portraying oneself as the target‹or potential target‹of an unprovoked sneak attack; all bases are covered. As President Bush explained on March 17, 2003, the night he gave Saddam Hussein a final ultimatum, "The United States and other nations did nothing to deserve or invite this threat, but we will do everything to defeat it."

More (Groucho) Marx: "Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?"

Our history books and newspaper headlines portray an ever-benevolent U.S. as minding its own business yet incessantly awakened by surprise events and unprovoked threats that test its celebrated patience, e.g. the sinking of the Maine, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and too many others to detail here.

Now we have Iran‹a nation with the audacity to make decisions without first asking for U.S. permission. We are faced with the spectacle of America‹the only nation to have used nuclear weapons on civilians‹warning the world about how nuclear weapons might, well, be used on civilians. We can't allow just anyone (except our allies) acquire such technology. We can't let the Chinese arm men so evil they might, well, use nuclear weapons on civilians. Before you know it, Iran will be using depleted uranium and white phosphorous, abusing prisoners, setting up interrogation centers in Eastern Europe, spying on its own people, and fixing elections at home and abroad.

As (Groucho) Marx explained: "Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms."

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.

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