The Complete Letter from the Iranian President posted (as pdf) on-line!!!

[Up2Late]

I was just listening to them read large sections of it on NPR (Talk of the Nation), and everything that they read (and criticized) all sounded very reasonable, and almost the exactly the same questions we (as Democrats) have been asking here.

What I find very interesting is the hand written notes, marks and comments, and who's copy is this?

Save your copy NOW while it's still available!

Here's the link to the NPR page with excerpts:

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5393215>

Here's the link to the Full Letter (in pdf format, Acrobat Reader required to view):

<http://www.npr.org/documents/2006/may/ahmadinejad_letter.pdf>

Here's a link to the "Talk of the Nation" program. One word of warning though, the host Neal Conan's (who I think is a Republican, though he's never said as much), does let some of his Republican views show through at times during this interview: <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5393562>

[bananas]

1. How does it compare to this one?

Is the pdf the same?
I don't have time right now to check myself.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1137663

[tocqueville]

4. I did a preliminary check

it looks to be the same unless that Le Monde converted the "picture" into text, which is far more readable

[Up2Late]

5. The pdf link in the OP is a clean copy, but it's missing about 8 pages...

...I haven't checked the other links yet.

It definitely does NOT have the marks that someone in our Government, I think, made on this copy.

Like I said, I don't know who leaked this copy, but it looks like it could have been someone marking the parts they didn't like, to talk to the media about those parts.

[tocqueville]

2. I posted it this morning

it was published in a Major French newspaper. It's the original without notes.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1137663&mesg_id=1137663
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1137877&mesg_id=1137877

[bananas]

3. I wonder why NPR has an "annotated" one?

Who's handwriting is it?

[Up2Late]

6. Looks like it's missing about 8 pages, unless, like you said, they...

...converted it to text and compressed it a little (by eliminating a lot of the white space). :shrug:

[tocqueville]

8. I think it's a leak from the French Foreign Office

the copy of the letter has according to French media circulated to the 5 permanent members + Germany. I think that some European foreign Offices don't see the contents as "secret". BTW it was somewhat insulting to the Iranians (whatever one can think of them) to dismiss the letter without publishing it. What's the most amazing is that the US media who probably have access to the letter are not publishing it. Too late it can be found on the net.

[Up2Late]

9. Of course it was insulting, not just to Iran, but to all the people...

...of the World, and especially the American people, to dismiss this the way the Bush Cabal is doing. But that, as we say, is "Par for the course" for this administration.

They know what he wrote was the truth, but to agree with any of it, would expose everything they tell us, and everything they say to the world, as a lie.

Most of the Public education system in the U.S., on the subject of Wars and International relations (if it is taught at all) is base on jingoistic lies.

Thanks to the internet, and the ability it provides to find non-US News, many Americans are finally waking up to this fact.

[SteppingRazor]

7. Now that I've read the whole thing...

I agree with most of it, at least until the bits about the failure of the democratic system and turning to God, which seems like a call for theocracy. Of course, since that bit seems to be the conclusion of the letter, I suppose it could be said that Iran's president and I start from similar observations but arrive at different conclusions.

That said, I'm sure Ahmadinejad knew what he was doing when he wrote this, and couched his letter interms acceptable to Western thoguht. In fact, the letter is fairly hypocritical in that many of the ideals referred to by him -- human rights, etc. -- are just as imperiled in Iran as anywhere else.

[Up2Late]

11. I agree with most of what you write here, but I question what you...

...base your final statement on:

"...many of the ideals referred to by him -- human rights, etc. -- are just as imperiled in Iran as anywhere else."

Says who? Is this information that you base this on from the U.S. media, public education system or the U.S. Government?

And if directly compared to the U.S. prison system, the wealth biased U.S. Justice System, or the recent, disgraceful treatment of military held prisoners at GTMO or the dozens of other U.S. run prisons around the world, is Iran Human Rights record that much different or even worst than ours?

It might be culturally different, but is it worse? I doubt it.

[rinsd]

12. What makes the poster's statement wrong?

Are human rights imperiled in Iran or not? Does it matter whether they're worse or better than us?

http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-irn/index

http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=iran

[Up2Late]

13. No, it does not matter, that's the point I was trying to make. We are...

...probably just as bad, at least at this point in history. This letter is "The Pot calling the Kettle Black" with regard to Human Rights, but for the most part, it was a good attempt at a wake up call.

As I posted earlier this year, George W. Bush and the Iranian President are the same Politician. They use the same methods and political strategies. Here's a link to my post in February, and what I base that statement on.

Also, here's a few select quotes from the Amnesty International Facts and Figures on the Death Penalty

FACTS AND FIGURES ON THE DEATH PENALTY
(1 January 2006) <http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT500062006?open&of=ENG-USA>

(clip)

4. Death Sentences and Executions

During 2005, at least 2,148 prisoners were executed in 22 countries and 5,186 people were sentenced to death in 53 countries. These figures include only cases known to Amnesty International; the true figures are certainly higher.

In 2005, 94 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the USA. Based on public reports available, Amnesty International estimated that at least 1,770 people were executed in China during the year, although the true figures were believed to be much higher. A Chinese legal expert was quoted as stating the figure for executions is approximately 8,000 based on information from local officials and judges, but official national statistics on the application of the death penalty remained classified as a state secret.

Iran executed at least 94 people and Saudi Arabia at least 86, but the totals may have been much higher. Sixty people were executed in the USA.

(clip)

6. Use of the Death Penalty Against Child Offenders

International human rights treaties prohibit anyone under 18 years old at the time of the crime being sentenced to death....

...Eight countries since 1990 are known to have executed prisoners who were under 18 years old at the time of the crime – China, Congo (Democratic Republic), Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, USA and Yemen. China, Pakistan and Yemen have raised the minimum age to 18 in law. The USA executed more child offenders than any other country (19 between 1990 and 2003) before the US Supreme Court ruled in March 2005 that the execution of children under the age of 18 was unconstitutional....

<http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT500062006?open&of=ENG-USA>

More from AI regarding the U.S. <http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-usa/reports>

And HRW: <http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=usa>

[mikeanike]

10. very clever Mahmoud

So many contradictions it boggles the mind. Very well played move on the Iranian's part, though. The tone, the style of language used is absolutely brilliant. It does a good job a striking a contrast between Bush and Ahmadi-Nejhad. Yet it is total BS. The bright side is we can now start more open channels rather than going through Swiss back channels. We should recommend to * that an open conversation, one that is carried out in the press as such would be a good idea.