It's not that Americans are selfish but that they are stupid.  The IQ curve is bell-shaped.  Half the population falls below 100, and 100 iss hardly distinguished.  They believed in Bush enough to give him the necessary electoral votes in 2000, and they elected him again in 2004.  It would seem that Americans will believe anything if an authority figure is there to pronounce something  Believing that homosexuals want to take over the world, they vote for Propsition 8 in California while they are willing to pour bucketloads of money into a military apparatus that wastes it recklessly.  As George Carlin said, "Military intelligence is an oxymoron."  President Obama should pull out of Iraq immediately and put the money that's left ino health, energy, and the rest of his program.  I'm not against defense against real aggression, but offense for no good reason is stupid.