Text Of Iranian President's Letter
Here's what is supposed to be the text of the letter from Iranian President Ahmadinejad to President Bush that's in the news today. It looks like he's been reading Democratic Underground or Daily Kos too much; I'm wondering if some of the liberal leaders are concerned that this nutjob shares their concerns regarding the evils of Zionism and the theory that 9/11 was an inside job:
"All governments have a duty to protect the lives, property and good standing of their citizens. Reportedly your government employs extensive security, protection and intelligence systems – and even hunts its opponents abroad. September eleven was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services – or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren’t those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?
"All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens. For some years now, the people of your country and neighbours of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After 9.11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people – who had been immensely traumatised by the attacks – some Western media only intensified the climates of fear and insecurity – some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic?
"American citizen lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could come at any moment and in any place. They felt insecure in the streets, in their place of work and at home. Who would be happy with this situation? Why was the media, instead of conveying a feeling of security and providing peace of mind, giving rise to a feeling of insecurity?
"Some believe that the hype paved the way – and was the justification – for an attack on Afghanistan. Again I need to refer to the role of media. In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest reporting of a story are established tenets. I express my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain Western media for these principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was the existence of WMDs. This was repeated incessantly – for the public to, finally, believe – and the ground set for an attack on Iraq."
Sounds like it comes straight out of some far-left talking points. Of course, there's really only one response that President Bush can make to this letter: "You want better relations? Apologize for taking our diplomats hostage, then we'll talk".
4 Comments:
Believe it or not, President Ahmadinejad might actually mean what he is saying. The man is a teacher as well as the democratically-elected leader of Iran. Sometimes we all forget that it's not all ugly politics and posture (though we see enough of it). Pause to consider that the letter could be sincere.
It might be even harder for you to believe that many patriotic Americans also follow the logic of this letter, and look forward to the President's response.
5/09/2006 12:15 PM
Carol, I wonder how aware you are of exactly how President Ahmadinejad was "democratically-elected." First, the mullahs disallowed all candidates from the opposition parties and offered him as their candidate. Then, in the face of a massive national election boycott the government kept the polls open hours past closing time and went door-to-door "encouraging" citizens to vote. Consider that only ~40% voted in a country where voting is a legal obligation and you begin to understand just how non-democratic it actually was.
The "logic" I see in this letter ammounts to little more than "these are not the droids you are looking for." If the United States should have learned anything from the '90s it is that continually ignoring someone who says "my religion tells me to kill you and that's what I'm going to do" is not a good idea. I see a natural corallary to be that we should neither ignore someone who continually says "my religion tells me to kill your regional ally and that's what I'm going to do once I get my nuclear weapons."
5/09/2006 1:47 PM
If President Ahmadinejad is so convinced that "All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens" perhaps he should address some of the "less than pleasant" living conditions for women in Iran.
As to WMD, Madeleine Albright recently agreed there were WMDs in Iraq, albeit with the caveat they weren't enough to warrant a threat.
5/09/2006 4:58 PM
Carol, I've found that a good rule of thumb is if your reading something, and you find yourself saying, "Except for the Holocaust denial, this guy makes sense", maybe it's time to rethink some of your other beliefs.
5/09/2006 11:21 PM
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