Iran's Rafsanjani tells Muslims to 'kick' Americans out of region

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050114/wl_mideast_afp/iraqiranus&cid=1514&ncid=1473

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's influential former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, told Muslims in the weekly sermon to "kick" Americans out of region. snip

"The United States cannot mislead people any more and claim that they want to bring about freedom and the democracy... the shame of Abu Gharib and Guantanamo still trails the US and it cannot claim to speak about human rights," said Rafsanjani, now the head Iran's arbitration body.

He also asked Iraqis to resist and not "to be afraid of the American and British soldiers and the terrorists who attack the leaders," referring to assassination of an aide to Iraq (news - web sites)'s top Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Wednesday.

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[leftofcool]

1. I think Dubya is getting his ass bit...........

Sounds like people are beginning to see the hypocrisy.

Left of Cool

[murray hill farm]

3. Guess the jig is up, monkey boy!!

Bout time someone said that..good for him!

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Well then tell us how Abu Ghraib (etc...) advances America's image

as a beneficent and just champion of democracy.

[Wisc Badger]

5. Never said it did

and don't think that it does a bit of good.

But letting Rafenjani (SP) lecture us to me is aking to having Hitler/Stalin give us advice.

[NNN0LHI]

13. Your mistake was incorrectly assuming Rafsanjani is speaking to you

He is not. He is speaking to fellow Muslims living in Iraq and the region and encouraging them to do whatever it takes to get America and its paid stooges to leave. I thought he was pretty clear on that? Hope this clears up any confusion you may have had.

Don

[htuttle]

11. Rafsanjani is not an Ayatollah

You have no idea what you are talking about.

The Ayatollah that's likely to run us out of Iraq is Ayatollah Sistani, once we finally piss him off enough.

[Wisc Badger]

6. To the extent that people here sympathize

with Rafensanjani to that extent I am dismayed.

This man is not in favor of robust democracy or anything this nation stands for or believes in (Bush not with standing) and to support him is to me just short of an obscenity.:wtf:

[Skidmore]

7. Where is it written that all the peoples of the world need to

embrace what "we" stand for or our culture? I don't think the US has an unblighted record for practicing democracy or civil rights, nor is our nation stellar in its guarantees of rights and freedoms for our own citizenry at the present time. In fact, we sure has heck not doing it now. I support these peoples' right to autonomy and, if their choice is then a theocracy, then it is THEIR choice.

We have no right to dictate to the peoples of the world what their cultures or governments should look like.

[neweurope]

8. Applause!

-----------------

Remember Falluja

Bush to The Hague!

[Dr.Phool]

10. I just finished reading a GOOD book

On this subject. "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins.

He talks about all the shit we've been pulling in the mideast and the rest of the world for the last 50 years. And exactly why we're so hated in the region. In all Muslim countries.

I heard the author interviewed by Amy Goodman a couple of weeks ago, and it sounded very interesting.

He should know. He worked in the field for 30 years.

I jusr finished the book this afternoon, and haven't checked out his web-site yet, but it's www.johnperkins.org.

[Tempest]

9. Bush is in favor of democracy?

B.S.

Bush has no intention of letting democracy take hold in the Middle East.

It would mean allowing the people to vote in an Islamic form of government and asking the U.S. to remove all the troops from their countries.

And it would mean the end of cheap oil to the U.S.


We are not supporting him, we are supporting his right to oppose the U.S. in the Middle East.

How much more democratic can you get?

[QC]

12. There's lots of binary thinking here, so anyone who doesn't like Bush is

automatically good, as is anyone Bush doesn't like.

It doesn't seem to occur to some people that *both* Bush *and* the people he doesn't like might be assholes.

[NNN0LHI]

14. robust democracy = Republican talking point n/t

[htuttle]

15. Ironically enough,

Rafsanjani was the DEMOCRATICALLY elected leader of Iran.

Guess that's not good enough. They're supposed to agree with us on everything too, I imagine.

:shrug:

[NNN0LHI]

16. I imagine... n/t

[Karenina]

18. You know little to NOTHING

about the man. His comments were NOT directed to you and may those to whom his comments were directed give them a fair hearing. What YOUR nation "stands for or believes in" is quite well known around the world.
x( ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. x(

[eridani]

20. Normal humans call that 'empathy,' dude

They imagine what they would feel like if a foreign army set foot in the US for the purpose of establishing a permanent military presence. It doesn't require that the person you empathize with be otherwise admirable in any way.

[adigal]

17. We can no longer speak from the moral high ground

after Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and the fact that no real heads will roll over the torture (which may still be going on as we speak.) Gonzales will be our new Attorney General, and the rest of the world now has the right to ignore us when we call for humane treatment of their citizens or prisoners. And they will be supported by the vast majority of the worlds' citizens, who see that we are complete hypocrites.

And if we really cared, we would be out in the streets, just like they were in Ukraine.

[Spinzonner]

19. Sounds like a militaristic 'Monroe Doctrine' to me

So, how's it good for us and not good for them ?