The destruction was mutual

Barack Obama, 2009:

For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is in fact a tumultuous history between us.  In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government.  Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians.  Rather than remain trapped in the past, I've made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward.

Jimmy Carter, 1977:

The destruction was mutual.  We went to Vietnam without any desire to capture territory or impose American will on other people.  I don't feel that we ought to apologize or castigate ourselves or to assume the status of culpability.

Yes, it's true that I killed your family and stabbed you in the lung, but you gave me a seriously nasty scratch while you were wrestling the knife away from me.  Rather than remaining "trapped in the past," can't we just agree that "the destruction was mutual" and "move forward"?

TUMULTUOUS HISTORY, DEFINED: Just in case you're wondering what constitutes "tumultuous history", here's a sample of what the U.S. was supporting in Iran:

Formed under the guidance of United States and Israeli intelligence officers in 1957, SAVAK developed into an effective secret agency. […]

Over the years, SAVAK became a law unto itself, having legal authority to arrest and detain suspected persons indefinitely. SAVAK operated its own prisons in Tehran (the Komiteh and Evin facilities) and, many suspected, throughout the country as well. SAVAK's torture methods included electric shock, whipping, beating, inserting broken glass and pouring boiling water into the rectum, tying weights to the testicles, and the extraction of teeth and nails. […] The head of the SAVAK agents in the United States operated under the cover of an attache at the Iranian Mission to the United Nations, with the FBI, CIA, and State Department fully aware of these activities.

In 1978 the deepening opposition to the Shah errupted in widespread demonstrations and rioting. SAVAK and the military responded with widespread repression that killed thousands of people.

But in all fairness, we should keep in mind the tremendous quantities of broken glass and boiling water inserted into God-fearing American rectums by Iranian-backed secret police over the years.  And you can't really blame the U.S. anyway; after all, the Iranians left us no choice but to subject them to decades of torture and murder when they committed the unpardonable sin of establishing their country on top of our oil.