>>The role of a government in a free society is protection of citizens - so we would have been completely justified in a full-scale attack. The sooner the United States openly asserts a moral right to crush such thugs and bullies who seek to destroy us, the better off we'll be.
>
>Do you believe that the US and other western nations are free of any responsibility for the state we find the middle east in?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi makes for an interesting read.

Imagine SAVAK trying to replace the Secretary of State.