This song is about how both the U.S. government and the religious extremists from the Middle East used propaganda to get both sides to want to go to war against each other (“God versus God, the undoing of man”). The title is a combination of America and the suffix -stan, which is Persian for ‘land’ and is part of the name of many Central Asian countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The song takes neither a liberal nor a conservative stance. On the one hand, there is a line that describes “property of the USA, a subsidiary of Halliburton” tattooed on the Statue of Liberty, but this is then contrasted by the line “Hey, Jihad Joe? Guess what? We’re coming to get you”.

I think being able to see something through a kaleidoscope instead of a magnifying glass is so much more beautiful in the long run because it’s not always my opinion or perspective that’s right. There is more than one way to approach things.

—Dave Mustaine