Responding to a Das Spiegal interview question regarding Iranian government sponsored terrorism, Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi made this irrefutable observation:
Don't forget, the US also justified its war against Iraq with falsified evidence.
Iran is accused of attempting to acquire nuclear weapons. They are also accused of sponsoring an attempted assassination of Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's ambassador in Washington. They deny both charges.
It would be helpful if accusations by the United States were not compromised by the dishonesty of the Bush administration.
Everything we claim is now suspect. The Downing Street memo, Colin Powell's admission that some of his testimony to the UN was "intentionally misleading", lies about collaboration between Iraq and al Qaeda leading up to the 9/11 attacks, falsified reports about attempted purchases of yellow-cake uranium, other information, and common sense all support accusations that claims by the United States are not credible – on anything.
This country gave up a lot during the Bush years: peace, a budget surplus, a viable economy, commitment to the principles of habeas corpus, human rights, and civil rights; concern for the environment, and last, but certainly not least, our credibility among nations.
President Obama has done a fair amount to restore our nation's credibility, but much more could be done. We could close Gitmo, end the practice of extraordinary rendition, stop executing people by way of Navy Seals and drones, undo the Patriot Act, ratify the Kyoto Protocol, and abolish capital punishment.
That would be a good start.