Hello, is there anybody out there?

I admit that I’m stealing from Pink Floyd on the title of this post. The name of the song is “Comfortably Numb,” and it’s an appropriate theme song for the American public. Nearly every day now I’m picking up the same pattern of misinformation on Iran that was fed to the American public about Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion. I can’t figure out if the American people are just plain stupid or if they are completely desensitized. Either way, the American people certainly have become comfortably numb and the administration likes it this way. It’s like they put something in the kool aid.

In case you do not know what the photo is, it’s a Google Earth photo of Minuteman Missile silos (yellow dots) positioned in Montana. This is but one ‘field’ of silos, for lack of a better description. Montana is littered with these fields. Keep in mind that, even though we have a Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) that dates back to the seventies, precious little has actually been done to disarm (and destroy the missiles). It has taken too long and, in my opinion, the international community should be putting pressure on both the U.S. and Russia to pick up the pace. The American public is amazingly laid back when the subject of Israel attacking Iran is raised. Let’s remember that, while we will no doubt blindly stand behind Israel, Russia is likely to stand blindly by Iran. That’s not a good equation.

North Korea recently destroyed the tower at it’s Yongbyon nuclear facility, and George Bush was quick in attempting to take the credit. Know why it worked, asked King George? It worked because we took a firm stand. No, George, it worked because the United States didn’t handle it unilaterally. The process of getting North Korea to disarm involved negotiations with the U.S. as well as South Korea, China, Russia and Japan. I’m absolutely sure that they were ‘firm’ with North Korea (whatever that means), but there wasn’t any of this ridiculous ‘cowboy diplomacy’ that the Bush administration resorts to when it’s left to its own devices. The same cannot be said about Iran.

Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and there isn’t any evidence that they are working on one. Iran received its first nuclear reactor from the United States, yet today we are absolutely paranoid about what they are doing. However, the United States doesn’t seem to worry about the fact that Pakistan and India both have nuclear weapons. Rather than fixate on Iran, perhaps the U.S. should start thinking about what will happen in Pakistan should Musharaff be removed from office and a pro-Taliban government is put in place.

Iran is absolutely not in violation of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. The NPT states that non-nuclear states have the right to develop and use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Yet, the Bush administration distorts the truth by stating that Iran is in violation of the NPT. By denying Iran the right to develop and use nuclear technology and agreeing to transfer nuclear technology to India, it is we who are in violation of the NPT.

Americans are once again ill informed by this administration and are remarkably uninterested in informing themselves.