Child custody

An American TV actress refused to return her children to their father, who has physical custody, after she spent the summer with them, as per custodial agreement, in the States.  The father is German and lives in Monaco.  The mother lives in America.  Her line is that children should live with their mother.  Fine, if that's what she thinks, but that isn't what the court decided and her behavior could be construed as child abduction.  (She has since produced the children to their paternal grandmother and they are en route home.)

The US media, who should really butt out, simplistically paints the ex-husband as 'bad' and the actress as 'good'.  The sense I get from listening to TV blurbs about this case is that because the kids are American, like their mother, they should live in America with her and not be 'trapped in Monaco' as if they were being held hostage.  The reasoning seems pretty rudimentary.  To be fair, the children are legally entitled to hold both American and German passports.  Why they have only an American passport is confusing. 

I should think that the children should live where, overall, they would have the best quality of life.  No offense, USA, but I think I like the sound of Monaco better.  Imagine: the kids will be, at least, bilingual in English and French.  The father speaks German, so, I'd imagine, they'd learn that language as well.  The children will benefit from a stellar education, be connected to the world in a way that, sadly, they would not have a chance to were they to be raised here.  To be fair, growing up with privilege in tony Manhattan, where the mother lives, has its perks.  It would not be as if they'd be devoid of culture and rich experience in New York City.  However, I'd still vote for the children to be raised in Europe.  As US passport-holding kids, they are always welcome to come back and live in America as soon as they turn 18.