And it becomes critical for the Iranians to remember their great past, their great past when they fought Iraq and won.

In some ways, the country simply ignored their past and moved forward.

Candidates were vetted in a procedure that included thorough background investigations.

Just as countries might want to wipe out their debt and start anew, individuals might like to erase their electronic past in a dramatic act of liberation.

If those leaders could disavow their own violent pasts and take practical steps toward peace in the region, why can t Hamas?