Fine. Let Ahmadinejad go to Ground Zero

[cali]

I have no problem whatsoever with that. I think it could be a good thing; an opportunity, but the revisionist narrative about how he isn't really a Holocaust denier and doesn't really want an end to Israel is just myth.

He's not an admirable character. His speech is maniuplative and down right creepy. He's a religious/end time type- no different than any other fundy.

Clearly that he is those things, is no excuse for denying him access to Ground zero, or having a fit over his speaking at Columbia, let alone bombing his country.

But, revisionist history sucks, no matter who's doing it, and I've seen too many comments that deny the truth about what he's said and done. And yes, holding a Holocaust Denial Conference is an action.

<snip>

Mr Ahmadinejad made the comments while speaking on live TV in the south-eastern city of Zahedan.

"They have created a myth today that they call the massacre of Jews and they consider it a principle above God, religions and the prophets," he said.

He called for Europe or North America - even Alaska - to host a Jewish state, not the Middle East.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters Mr Ahmadinejad's remarks were "shocking".
<snip>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4529198.stm


Iran: Jewish Leader Criticizes President For Holocaust Denial
By Golnaz Esfandiari

President Ahmadinejad speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran on 13 February
(epa)
The head of Iran's Jewish community, Haroun Yashayaei, has sent a letter complaining to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad over his Holocaust denial comments. Yashayaei said the remarks have shocked the international community and struck fear within Iran's small Jewish community.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/02/fb25e81f-bce9-4291-acdb-cf2c5c69fe92.html

There's a wealth of Ahmadinejad statements both about the Holocaust and Israel that should leave little doubt about his thinking on the subject. Quite simply, he's a hater. Does that make Iran a threat? No, but it shouldn't be brushed under the rug to make a prettier narrative.

Edited to add Juan Cole's remark:

Anyone who reads this column knows that I deeply disagree with Ahmadinejad's policies and am not interested in defending him on most things. I profoundly disagree with his characterization of Israel, which is a legitimate United Nations member state, and find his Holocaust denial monstrous. But this quite false charge that he is genocidal is being promoted by Right-Zionists in and out of Congress as a preparatory step to getting up a US war against Iran on false pretences....
http://www.juancole.com/2007/06/ahmadinejad-i-am-not-anti-semitic.html

[fenriswolf]

1. agreed he is a creep

but if we can stomech bush and all the crap he has pulled we can let another leader who is a creep visit this site and do what he wants as long as he doesnt try to make a speech and pull a political move, well visiting the site is a political move or maybe he knew the request would be denied and that is a political move in and of itself. Just let the man lay down some flowers and don't make a big deal about it.

[cali]

4. Exact;ly. And that's precisely

what I said. My point in posting this is I've been seeing threads denying that he's a Holocaust denier, and even posts extolling him on a thread someone posted a couple of weeks ago with a transcript of an interview.

[jefferson_dem]

5. Fuck that! Why does he deserve equal standing...

even with this scumbag so-called POTUS of ours?

Did you research "Iran" and "terrorism" yet? Or the fact that he calls for the willful destruction of sovereign states? Or the fact that the little bastard denies the holocaust ever took place?

Chimpy, the scourge that he is, is perhaps only 2/3 from among those...

[fenriswolf]

10. right but he is the leader of a forign state

one that we are advocating going to war, I know he is a creep and would prefer to see someone else in power, I'm not saying that we should be friends, but in this climate all this does (ie denying a simple visit) is further the war rehtoric and I for one dont care if he visits it or not but by denying him a simple visit draws political lines even further and makes it an american talking point by getting people pissed off about what a depraved asshole he is, like that is a reason to go to war.

[cali]

11. well, I'd argue that the damage bush has done

in the world far overshadows what Ahmadinejad has done. And I see no reason why he shouldn't lay a wreath at Ground Zero. After all, the Saudis did, and the hijackers were from SA.

[Benhurst]

15. By your standards, the representatives of Britain, the United States, and Austrailia, for starters,

should join him on the list of those excluded. They have not only called for the willful destruction of a sovereign state, they have expended billions of Dollars doing so. "Shock and Awe" was nothing more nor less than the Blitzkrieg sixty years after the fact. And the death of over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens should no more be denied than those of millions murdered during the Holocaust.

[jefferson_dem]

19. Let's say it takes 3/3 required to block access... ;-)

Why is it that those who call a scumbag a scumbag are challenged to defend the actions of others who may also be scumbags?

[jefferson_dem]

2. Hi. Your BBC link doesn't work. n/t

[cali]

6. I think it worjks now n/t

[Horse with no Name]

3. He is no worse than the other ghouls who use it for political purposes

That site has been desecrated for quite some time...one more insane politician isn't going to make it worse.

[cali]

8. right. but that was hardly my point.

I was simply correcting some of the revisionism I've seen here.

[Horse with no Name]

9. He is a holocaust denier

He is also hated in his country like Bush is hated here.
If this idiot president would stop poking at him, chances are the citizens of Iran will correct the mistake long before we need to intervene.

[AnnieBW]

7. Let him see first-hand the result of terrorism

And if he wants to continue funding it, the blood will be on his hands.

[The Wielding Truth]

12. It would do more harm than good.Let's just not have war with Iran.

From what I have heard he has limited power in his own country, so let's not put him in an inflammatory focal point where it might give him more radical exposure.

[Disturbed]

13. He wasn't barred from Ground Zero.

He can go there but must provide his own security.

[The Wielding Truth]

16. Okay. I had heard that the site was under construction and

not available.

[cali]

14. It could be arrange without

having press or photographers there. That would pretty much take care of that concern.

[The Wielding Truth]

18. You think? It might do more good to have him

channel any sincere respectful visit instead to a message of good will from his people to ours in a plaque or a letter read to the media.

His refusal to believe in the existence of the Jewish Holocaust is juxtaposed to the tragedy of the lives lost from this attack.This man's presence at the TWC site is a bit too inflammatory, I think.

[TwilightZone]

17. It's all just propaganda; he's just misunderstood.

Or, at least that's what people keep telling me.

[Ian David]

20. If Bush can visit New Orleans, then Imadinnerjacket or even Bin Laden can visit Ground Zero. n/t