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In "Evil, Inside Human Violence And Cruelty," Roy F. Baumeister writes that people maintain their self-esteem by blaming their troubles on external factors and on other people.(1) If this is the case, then can nations try to also bolster their importance and preeminence by blaming their problems and crises on outside events and other countries? Lately, it appears the U.S. has done just this to Iran.

What comes to mind is how Washington and the Pentagon, along with its obedient press corps agents, have repeatedly blamed Iran. For example, they recently accused Tehran of blocking reconciliation efforts between the Fatah and Hamas groups of the Palestinian Authority. By deflecting years of failed policies between Israel and Palestine onto Iran, the point is very clear: the U.S. is not to blame and thus, it escapes complicity.

When U.S. Secretary of State visited Saudi Arabia, she accused Iran of moving towards a military dictatorship. While General David Petraeus was announcing that Iran was a "thugocracy," other military personnel were blaming Iran for influencing elections in Iraq and for destabilizing the war in Afghanistan. Recently, Iran's president said the attacks on Sept. 11 were a "big lie" and that Washington was using the attacks as pretense to invade other nations. Will it only be a matter of time before Iran is linked to Sept. 11 too?

Blaming Iran and sensationalizing stories about its "technical violations" are more patriotic and spectacula... >>>