His words were more nuanced than that but you accept the most radical interpretations of his Arabic speeches.
I am accepting the translations of his Farsi speeches at face value. Have you listened to them? I have also listened to what his closest aides have been saying. The Iranians know quite well that what the aides say won't be picked up in English.
The fact is that I've seen him interviewed and watched his reactions. He made sense, he showed a sense of humor and balance and he wasn't nearly as narrow-viewed as he's been made out to be in the right wing media. Based on how he handled the interview, he has a better mind than Bush.
So I'm not too worried that he's some suicidal maniac with no grasp of reality. And I'm not convinced that he holds a grip on power in Iran.
So you looked into his eyes, and saw a good soul? Or is that only stupid when Bush says it? What you saw only proves that he was able to give an interview, in English, sounding reasonable. It doesn't negate what he says in Farsi. It doesn't negate his drive for the atom bomb, or the fatwa his spiritual mentor just issued justified the Islamic use of an atomic bomb.
For example:
In December 2006 Ahmedinijad sponsored a Holocaust Denial Conference in Tehran. Speakers including David Duke and 6 Neturei Karta nutcases, among others. If you would like to see Ahmedinijad saying "The Zionist regime will soon be wiped out" you can see it on Iranian TV here. You will also see other clips from Iranian TV, accusing the Jews of committing genocide and killing children to drink their blood for Passover:
mms://207.232.26.152/events/IRANHOLOCAUST.WMV
While Adhmedinijad was saying that at the conference, his advisor Mohammad Ali Ramin was saying this to a group of students:
"Throughout History, This Religious Group [i.e. the Jews] has Inflicted the Most Damage on the Human Race"
"On a visit to Gilan University, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s advisor Mohammad Ali Ramin said to a group of students in the town of Rasht: 'We Iranians are definitely not, and never have been, nationalistic, and we are not against any ethnic [group]. We certainly do not worship race, nor [are we] against any race, and we nave never perpetrated genocide. This is why Islam, which appeared and advanced [the notion of] equality among nations and among peoples, greatly appealed to us Iranians. We have accepted the [principle] of equality among nations since the days of the Achaemenids. [2] Antisemitism, therefore, has no place in our Iranian [culture]. I myself honestly fight for just treatment of Judaism. Ten years ago, [when] I first brought up the issue of the Holocaust in this country, my intention was to defend the Jews…
"'But among the Jews there have always been those who killed God’s prophets and who opposed justice and righteousness. Throughout history, this religious group has inflicted the most damage on the human race, while some groups within it engaged in plotting against other nations and ethnic groups to cause cruelty, malice and wickedness.
"'Historically, there are many accusations against the Jews. For example, it was said that they were the source for such deadly diseases as the plague and typhus. This is because the Jews are very filthy people. For a time people also said that they poisoned water wells belonging to Christians and thus killed them,' Ramin said.
"Ramin also pointed that powerful people also concocted other plots to mislead public opinion around the world. 'When the Islamic Revolution of Iran succeeded and attracted many people around the world, including Christians, the AIDS epidemic came about, and fear again overtook the world. After the September 11 attacks, the deadly epidemic broke out, which was destroyed when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. On the eve of the invasion of Iran, the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) illness broke out, but disappeared after the invasion,' he said."
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP139706
Your eagerness to turn Ahmedinijad into the next great "Saddam" threat would be funny if it hadn't worked last time around
So you are just going to believe Ahmedinijad's cuddly little speeches to some useful idiot of the press? Betcha believe that Yasser Arafat was a great stateman for peace too. After all, he always sounded that way...in English.
Do you really intend to ignore the atom bomb program (so obvious even the UN and Europe have acknowledged it) ignore his claims of miracles at the UN and his threats to Israel? Ignore the Nazi level anti-Semitism coursing through Iranian TV? Ignore that fact that Ahmedinijad's mentor Yazdi may very well replace the ailing Khamenei as grand Ayatollah, which would mean that the Iranian pragmatists, supposing they still hold some of the reins of power, would be out entirely?
Meanwhile, the Iranian regime is setting the whole region alight through its proxies: Damascus is now a client state: AQ and Hamas are Iranian clients, never mind doctrinal differences, Hizbullah is the A Team of terrorism, funded by 100s of millions per year from Tehran, Lebanon is burning, and Iran is funding both Sunni and Shiite insurgents in Iraq, and kidnapping hostages wherever convenient. Soon they will have an atom bomb and feel totally safe from retribution. Iran is a large country after all, with an enormous chip on its shoulder.
Do you intend to notice any of this? It's not a prediction or an estimate - it's all happening right now. You can notice it, or you can feel reassured by the occasional soothing remark in English. |
