Ahmadinejad: Why The Right Is Wrong

The man whose name you can't pronounce is landing in New York. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address a select group of Columbia University faculty and students on Monday as part of the school's annual World Leaders Forum.

Reactions to Columbia University's decision to invite him have been mixed, and right in line with expectations. McCain, Giuliani and groups including The Anti-Defamation League have come out swinging against the Columbia-Ahmadinejad coupling, armed with terms like "Holocaust denier," "Persian Hitler" and "state sponsor of terrorism." They also make note of what they see as Columbia's other failings: lack of an ROTC chapter, the decision to let Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist speak last year and Columbia Dean John Coatsworth's recent remark that he would also invite Hitler to speak "if he were willing to engage in debate and a discussion."

Supporters, including Columbia President Lee Bollinger, have for their part expressed concern about the dangers of curtailing free speech. In a prepared statement, Bollinger wrote: "That such a forum could not take place on a university campus in Iran today sharpens the point of what we do here."

Once again, the American right is going about things all wrong. Ahmadinejad is their best tool. Rather than working to shut him down, they should sit back and let him speak. Here's why: Sound bites from Ahmadinejad's Columbia appearance will inevitably produce more "evidence" the administration and its hawks can use to push the need for this regime's elimination -- like his incendiary remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations last year. It is Ahmadinejad's words the administration consistently cites as supporting evidence for its cause. If Ahmadinejad wasn't afforded the opportunity to speak, and to offer up more inflammatory remarks, then the right would be without this easy ammunition in its ongoing campaign to invade Iran.

As leading campus free speech and first amendment scholar Robert O'Neil rightly notes: "If you suppress a viewpoint by disallowing or barring a controversial speaker, you make the speaker a martyr."

While all eyes are on Manhattan, precious few are watching what's happening in Washington. On Thursday, Senators Jon Kyl and Joseph Lieberman filed an amendment to the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill that would make it official U.S. policy to "combat, contain and roll back" Iran and its surrogates in Iraq. Section 5 calls for the United States to formally designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. If passed, this amendment would open the door even wider for military action against Iran.

Why hasn't this bit of news sparked similar debate?

Comments

[notyourproblemYET]

We are returning to a frightening age.Histor­y is repeating itself..be­cause too many want it to.
I'm glad Columbia allowed Ahmedinejad to visit.
I'm sorry so many are dissapointed in Columbia for making it more difficult for the warmongers to gain a greater support base.
I'm so ahamed to be American sometimes.

[Dirck]

"If you suppress a viewpoint by disallowing or barring a controversial speaker, you make the speaker a martyr."

This is a bit of a canard, no? They INVITED him to speak. Its not like he asked to come, or was already a student or member of the faculty.

http://tinyurl.com/yrxbsr

[ang4ever]

I heard enough from Mr. Silver, GWB, Rice and Cheney, and the Republicans how bad this guy is (you're right, I do have a problem with his name). They have forced-fed us with so much lies, that I need to hear the other side.
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I would like this man to face us - to hear him speak, and engage in a robust discussion with average Americans. I want him to admit, or deny, explain all that has been lodge against him by this administration.
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Mr. Ahmadinejad, (that wasnt so bad), sir, Welcome to America.
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Then, I will respectfully grill him till I am satisfied. Then and only then will I decide.
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That simple.

[pcthiker]

Parallels. Ahmadinejad in Iran, Sarkozy in France, Putin in Russia, Bush in the United States. Right-wing, nationalistic, uncomfortable with freedom, uncomfortable with the separation of religion and the state. The parallels among these leaders and the parallels with dysfunctional nationalism in Europe between world wars one and two is alarming.

[Sundialsvc4]

It is well known to the world, and certainly to Mr. Ahmadinejad, that the United States IS GOING TO militarily invade Iran, probably with overwhelming conventional force, and that it will probably also take this opportunity to wage similar force against Iraq ... striving to end the embarrassing stalemate there.

Let us not kid ourselves: World War Three is coming.

And yet, a University invited Mr. Ahmadinejad to speak, and although the directors and officials of that University wasted no time trying to turn his words ... Mr. Ahmadinejad's words will go down in history. His point of view, which is strikingly Arab (and I do not say that in disrespect), is strikingly different from the words of the United States.

It is apparent to the World community, that the United States, while begrudgingly giving Mr. Ahmadinejad "the right to be heard," does not want what he has to say to be heard. Irrationality, as we well know, is always afraid of reason. Yet today it is Reason that we need most, and the World knows this.

Reason is not afraid to disagree. Reason does not always promulgate an opinion that is even similar to yours. But Reason will respect all opinions and give a forum to them, precisely because Reason knows that there is good value in "that alone."

There are, I am sure, millions of Arabians who love their ancient homeland, which they have inhabited for many thousands of recorded years. It would behoove this bully upstart, the USA, to listen to the wisdom of those years. But I do not expect it to do so. It loves its "big bombs" far too much.

The Arab peoples have Survived. They Survived the Romans and the Greeks. They will Survive us, too.

[coastcontact]

Of course we all support freedom of speech. We also do not allow someone to yell “fire” in a theater when the real purpose is to cause panic. I suspect Ahmadinejad’s purpose in speaking at the U.N. and Columbia University is to convince us that he really has no ulterior motives. It is the same methodology used by Hitler before WWII.
I believe Iran’s objectives are 1) to destroy Israel and 2) to gain control of all the oil producing nations in the middle east. Ahmadinejad has already said that Israel should be shipped from the map. Iran has already been proven to be the supporter of Arab Terrorist groups in many other Arab nations.
Giving Ahmadinejad a platform to tell lies has no value but it does legitimize his nation.

[CoyoteMan]

While Pavlov's Pundits salivated, hyperventilated, dangled participles and split infinitives over Ahmadinejad's Columbia University speech , Bush's Trolls added that cute little declaration of war on Iran section into the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill.
I think PT Barnum was right there's "A sucker born every minute"!
I got $20 the DAB passes as written including the declaration of war on Iran without a peep from the Democrats.
Come on suckers, I need the money!

[gingershot]

Forget Ahmadinejad at Columbia - let's ask the NEOCON Israeli Firsters these hard questions on what serves as our political talk shows - Why won't Chris Wallace, Bill Russert, Jon Stewart ask the CRUCIAL one or two followup questions of the Neocons and throw the magic water on these damn witches and watch 'em melt? Are we such cowards? - then we deserve the destruction of America these neocon nazis have visited upon us

Like Osama the neocons have already warned us - they make history - they act again on Iran - while we are trying to get out of their last war. They've got us all excited about getting out of our disaster in Iraq we are MINUTES away from assaulting Iran. We have got to get ahead of these war Neocon war criminals - they must be savagely discredited and destroyed.

Why do the Neocons want us to assault Iran as as Phase II of their right wing Israeli Likud party coordinated and published plan to secure the ISRAELI realm? Because once we do America will have fused her fate to Israel - we will have participated in the war crime of the 21st century and will deserve any relation visited upon us for a thousand years

We will have allied ourselves forever to the UN Sec Council-sc­offlawing, Geneva Convention-defying, international war crime committing Israelis - a fact on the ground worthy of a Sharon or other facist madman with their Israeli-Palestinian final formaldehyde solutions

We've been used with Iraq and Palestine and now with Iran we will be forever framed. We might as well all get dual Israeli-American citizenship after Iran.
That's the two-fer Israel and the Neocons get as destroy the Arab/Persian Middle East with our blood, our treasury, and our war crimes

The Neocons, AIPAC, and Israel wants none of this - it doesn't want the other side of the Palestinian to even exist. This is who these Neocons are

Ahmadinejad wants cooperation with the US - time to end our Iraqi occupation and break the strangehold Israel has with it's occupation of Palestine

[citipearl]

The inflammatory remarks made about President Ahmadinejad have made me want to further investigate what he actually said -- rather than taking the words of the corporate-owned media's filters/prejudice. What I am finding is that it is possibille that he has been either misquoted and/or mistranslated.

We regularly refer to people in the Middle East as if they are homogenous -- and, of course, they are not.

Although "Westerners" may not approve of the return to more traditional morees within Iran, if we were honest, we would see that there are parallels in our own culture (the Christian right and its expanding political influence trying to turn back the clock on abortion, women's rights, immigration, gay rights, etc.)

Ahmadinejad may disagree with the spin that passes for news about the Middle East, however, he is not the same as Kim in N. Korea, nor Saddam Hussein and does not sound the same. Ahmadinejad is suggesting that we open up a dialogue -- is that so unreasonable? The last time we refused to do engage in diplomacy, we ended up in this horrible war (occupation?) in Iraq.

Ahmadinejad actually had some reasonable points -- to paraphrase: If the Europeans wanted to oust the Jews and give the Jews a homeland, why did they give away middle eastern land that the Europeans took over and divided amongst themselves during an early 20th century colonial land grab -- which was, therefore, not really theirs to give?

I'll accept all of the hateful replies this post might generate -- however, having grown up in New York City and, being neither Jewish nor Middle Eastern, have heard both reasonable and unreasonable arguments about possible solutions to the problems. It is time to let the leaders in the Middle East, including Ahmadinejad, take over the peace process. Nearly 60 years of doing things our way has not worked!

[Rancholady]

No question it is best to hear Amadinejad than to silence him. Last night, in his interview with Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes on CBS, he was interrogated by Pelley as if being held as an "enemy combatant". What gave Pelley the right to insinuate that Iran is "walking toward war with the United States"; that Iran is building nuclear weapons; that Iranian weapons have been found in Iraq and are killing our soldiers? These were not questions, they were stated as FACTS! If the Bush administration is walking us toward war in Iran, CBS and 60 Minutes seems to be leading the way. How dare they?

[Changeizgood]

It is just disgraceful and disprespectful for Ahmadinejad to be insulted this way. Everybody that doesn't represent the quasi (""European Presidential Flavor") has got to be a terrorist or dictator despite the fact that this country's hypocritical equality history is rampant.
If any country wants respect and civility they must first show how to imply it.
I am embarrassed that the country of freedowm of speech, preaching equality and democracy will not respect another country's president when the questions of 911 have not been answered in six years of how the Middle East feels about Bin Laden and a host of other issues. Ignorance is previlant in America.
First Katrina, Then Jenna, now a Middle Eastern democratically elected country's president has to be tormented into trying to speak freely to the American people instead of relying on this Lying Regime we have in our Capital today. Can you actually believe any of the Republican and Media Spin Machine after it is proven to be linked with Right Wing Propaganda?

Grow up America, the Middle East is tired of fighting too. Their dead are also important to them. Their future in the world for their children has been in jeapardy ever since OIL was discovered on their land and they realised Oil Corporations would do all that they can to dislodge the region for their resources.
Wake Up America. You are being reamed again.
Let the man talk for God's sake. The Supremacy must end.

[DisplacedAfrican]

In response to this article regarding President Ahmadinejad and the america right, which in my opinion is just zionist "Poppycock":
The statement made by President Ahmadinejad, regarding the Holocaust, and the oblitertaion of the illegal Zionist state, is in my opinion a deliberate and gross misinterpetation by the jewish and christian zionist.
Listeing to "MOSAIC"' a programme that gives a Middleast point of view,President Ahmadinejad did explain, that the Palestinians hadn't anything to do with the German genocide of WWII. Why should the Palestinians be burdened with THAT! That is what he said! I am interjecting here, even the most stupid and easily led would agree with that fact. Not only were Jews,slaughtered, but,the Romany people,whose deaths by the nazis, exceeded those of the Jews. Additionally,there were also dissidents who were against the Third Reich, homosexuals and any oth! er person who fit the aryan sterotype. How, ironic, that one testicled psychopath Hitler and his cohorts didn't have the physiognomy of the ideal aryan either; he was SHORT, DARK, and certainly not blond. He was a self-hating Semite, wbose grandmother happend to be of Jewish descent.
President Ahmadinejad's comment about the obliteration of the illegal state of isreal, once again out of context. The illegal state of isreal is stolen land. So is the united HATES of america, australia and new zealand. As birds of a feather flock together,it is not surprising that the afore mentioned countries would have the same mind-set and RACIST ATTITUDES towards those whose land they STOLE!
Mr. Ahmadinejad aslo gave an historical account of how Palestine, with the meddeling of the brits,who had political sway before 1948 in the Middleeast,(Balfour Doctine), forcebaly removed the Indigenous Palestinians,to relocated europeans Jews,who weren't wanted on the continent of europe. One can only surmize that this was europes'and the yankees' way of easing their guilty conscience for not acting sooner to avoid the homocidal travesty of these unfortunates in modern europe.
Iran is a sovereign state, and if attacked, they have the right to protect themseleves.

[CharliePfromHB]

If Iran is pointing missiles at Israel, let Israel do something about it. If Iran's Radical Islam mentality is so self delusional
that they would invite their own self destruction in the name of Armageddon, well, let it be. Isreal will intercede when the threat is to close, as they have in the past. The US doesn't need to intercede with military support. They need to systematically eliminate the need for Middle East oil and work with the region on using its energy resources for fresh water generation, and world health. No, I'm not at all advocating abandoning Isreal. If the Middle East doesn't think the world can
change its energy sources, all this radicalism will just persist, in the name of religious fundementalism, or what ever. The Middle East is just a placeholder for what extremes can develop from the world's dependency on fossil fuels. It is supply and demand running out of control. Sure, we have to get the world to work together, including the Middle East, to evolve our/their economies and stabalize a situation that has evolved out of world war II. OPEC was formed out of the Irael/Palestinian conflict, but quickly evolved as a Cartel that believes the supplier can rule the consumer. So the biggest weapon the consumer has is their choice of purchases. Adam Smith can still rule the day, if we, the consumer, demand the changes that will really effect the "balance of power". Military power will only hasten the destruction that will follow us home. Yes, the world is a nasty place. But who is naive?

[amamomofsons]

I HAVE A SON WHO LIVES IN EUROPE AND WHO HAS A DEAR FRIEND FROM IRAN. WHEN I ASK THIS YOUNG MAN WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT AHMADINEJAD HE POLITELY TELLS ME THAT THE MAN IS ARROGANT AND A RELIGIOUS ZEALOT. HE SAYS THAT AHMADINEJAD TOTALLY BELIEVES THAT HE IS RIGHT ON EVERY AND ALL ISSUES REGARDLESS OF WHAT ANYBODY ELSE SAYS. HE SAYS THAT HE SEES HISTORY THROUGH BLINDED AND BIAS EYES. HE IS A MASTER AT MANIPULATION AND LIES. MUCH LIKE PRESIDENT BUSH. ENOUGH SAID.

[Bflobaz]

Here's the deal about why there is so much opposition to Columbia University's decision to host the President of Iran at a Forum: Most Americans only give lip service to the First Amendment. They couldn't find it on a placemat at the Cracker Barrel and have so little appreciation about our Bill of Rights and so-called most cherished values; it is enough to make a sane person scream.
We're off to war, in part because of our self-righteous posturing to advance our great values; yet, we don't truly understand or appreciate them. Push comes to shove; we'd throw the original copies of the Constitution and Bill of Rights off the train. And we have -- witness the "Patriot Act" and the "Gitmo" treatment of detainees and about every abomination foisted upon the American public by -- yes, the Bush Administration, the cowards and fellow travelers in Congress and doubles yes -- the rest of us.
Oh, and Capitalist don't believe in competition, either, witness how they'd pay anything to create a monopolistic situation so that the money (and power) flows like the waters of Niagara towards them.
And Christians (and followers of most philosophies, religions or 'isms' don't hold to their core values and principles, either. In times of stress or of practical application in a given situation, principles be damned. And the reasons are always so heart-felt, aren't they.
Welcome to the human race and watch the drama unfold. We'll never be disappointed in our short-comings or fail to be entertained by it. Heck, I’ve a few of my own which others are better equipped to note than I am. I’m not letting myself off the hook in my criticism.