Ahmadinejad says Iran, U.S. not headed for war (Reuters)

[pinto]

Ahmadinejad says Iran, U.S. not headed for war
Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:18pm EDT

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a U.S. television interview on Sunday that Iran did not need nuclear weapons and his country was not heading for war with the United States.

Ahmadinejad was speaking before traveling to New York for the U.N. General Assembly. Plans for him to speak at New York's Columbia University have drawn protests from some who say the university should not give a platform to a Holocaust denier accused by Washington of supporting terrorism.

Asked whether Iran's goal was to obtain a nuclear bomb, Ahmadinejad told the CBS program "60 Minutes" that the answer was a "firm no."

<snip>

Asked whether Iran and the United States were heading toward conflict over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, he said: "It's wrong to think that Iran and the U.S. are walking toward war. Who says so? Why should we go to war? There is no war in the offing."

In an interview with Al Jazeera television the head of U.S. Central Command, Adm. William Fallon, also seemed keen to tone down the rhetoric. Asked if a war was on the cards, Fallon said: "No. I certainly hope not ... This constant drumbeat of conflict strikes me as not helpful and not useful."

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2339864920070924

[Kelly Rupert]

1. Nice to hear, I suppose,

but I'm not really one to take world leaders at their word alone.

[pinto]

5. There's a lot of huff and puff going on, but I think rationale heads will call

this stand-off.

[Swamp Rat]

2. Someone tell Dickhead Cheney before he pushes the Big Red Button.

[Adsos Letter]

3. Then maybe the Bush administration and Ahmadinejad...

...need to quit with the mines-bigger-than-yours rhetoric and give things a chance to cool down...

[pinto]

4. Geez. No kidding. How many loonies can one world stage accommodate?

It would be so nice to see one world figure say, STFU you guys. Take a break and take a step out of it.