Ahmadinejad's American friends

(... si nu numai americani. E suficient sa va uitatzi pe forumul Ziua).

Iran leader's sermons beginning to affect America's progressive intelligentsia
by Sever Plocker, ynet 02/10/2007

For 95 percent of Americans, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the US was unnecessary, ridiculous and humiliating.

It was unnecessary because his public appearances took place during the lowest viewing times and were summed up in a minute or two during news broadcasts. Ridiculous, because the Iranian president was tardy, he cancelled interviews, was evasive (the interview on CNN was stopped after four-and-a-half minutes) and he stuttered (Karnit Goldwasser - the wife of abducted IDF soldier Ehud - made him look like a fool at the UN). Humiliating, because he was forced to swallow the abusive welcome by the president of Columbia University.

So there's nothing to worry about? Ahmadinejad didn't conquer America.

But there is reason for concern. Ahmadinejad concocted his messages slyly, weaving a web of lies, half truths and truths that part of the American elite and Bush's opponents can identify with. And this is more or less what they are saying right now without deviating from political correctness (these excerpts were primarily taken from articles and columns that recently appeared in the American press):

In a way he's right, that Iranian, what's his name, Ahamadinani…whatever. Namely, we, the progressive people, reject with disgust the repression of homosexuals in his country and the executions of dissenters, but between us, on other matters, his address wasn't completely baseless.

No, we are not Holocaust deniers. The Holocaust, if we quote the president of our university, Columbia (who, between us, should not have publicly degraded him in such a manner; a bit of respect for a head of state, right?) is one of the most documented historic events. This doesn't mean that an in-depth debate shouldn't be conducted on its scope, or perhaps there is just one narrative regarding the Holocaust, the one promoted by the West?

This Iranian is right when he asks for a narrative that questions the number of Jews who perished during the Holocaust. Perhaps only three million were killed? Or two? We can check, can't we? Not that this annuls the Jewish people's tragedy, a really terrible tragedy, but no one has the right to prevent further historic research, another interpretation, another discourse.

'Bush is a greater murderer'

He is even quite right when he says that the Palestinians have paid the price for the Holocaust. If it hadn't been for the Holocaust, there would not have been a majority in the UN in favor of a separate state for the Jews. The Nazis in Europe killed the Jews; the Arabs in Palestine were forced to give them their land. Don't misunderstand us; we are against forcefully wiping out Israel. We are only asking to openly listen to what the president from Tehran said about Zionism and the Holocaust. One of his better-known sayings is that the Zionists use the Holocaust to achieve their political objectives and to justify the expulsion and repression of the Palestinian people - from 1947 up to 2007.

Yes, we are familiar with the story about wiping Israel off the face of the map and we looked into it. A delegation from Iran informed us that their president did not say "wipe Israel off the map" but only "wipe Israel's name off the map." The difference is vast. The expression "to wipe off Israel's name" was used by Ahmadinejad as a metaphor implying a change of Israel's character, for it to finally become a nation for all its citizens, including the exiled Palestinians. Ahmadinejad presents the right solution to the Jewish problem: A shared state for them and the Palestinians.

We were very impressed by the man's personal modesty. Slim (what diet could he be on?); he wore a simple shirt without a second-hand jacket and tie. A working-class man, a friend of the working class in Latin America. We understand that the Iranian people identify with him, because he doesn't lie to his people like our president George Bush does.

Okay, we don't throw journalists into jail here; however, the laws against terror passed by Bush have turned us, America, into a police state. Just like Iran. On this point Ahmadinejad is right. We are also not a partner to the terrible nuclear propaganda against him. Why should only America be allowed to do so?

And with regards to the blood toll, our own Bush is even a greater murderer. How many people did the president of Iran murder? The Amnesty organization says a few hundred; this is a harsh breach of human rights, particularly with regards to homosexuals. But let's put things into perspective, ladies and gentlemen. How many people did Bush murder in Iraq? Hundreds of thousands. Hundreds of thousands! Bush is a war criminal, Ahmadinejad is definitely not that satanic person depicted in the media, which is ruled by the Jews and Zionists …oops, that was a slip of the tongue.

Just a few days after the Iranian president's visit to the US, his sermons are beginning to seep into the minds of the progressive American intelligentsia. They are the five percent who made an effort to listen to him, and whose influence is extensive.