A Certain Speech At Columbia University
You'll Either Love Me Or Hate Me After This. There Shall Be No In-Between.
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (58) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
As longtime readers know, my family is Iranian and Jewish and the vast majority of family members emigrated to the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s--some well before the advent of the Islamic Revolution. Longtime readers know that I have nothing but disgust and revulsion for the current regime and the disaster it has inflicted on Iran for the past 28 years.
As such, longtime readers might have expected me to be one of those who were outraged that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got an invitation to speak at Columbia University.
To be sure, I didn't want Ahmadinejad to be able to go to Ground Zero and engage in his typical and appalling propaganda tactics. And I am glad that he is not allowed to; one can easily predict his actions at such an event--he would have shed his crocodile tears and then talked about "root causes" with a little bit of 9/11 "truthism" thrown in for good measure. And since geographic locations cannot argue back, he would have scored something of a propaganda coup, made even more powerful by the emotional pain he would have inflicted on Americans with his justly anticipated lunacy and insensitivity.
But the appearance at Columbia? I felt differently about that. For many, the issue was whether or not Columbia would observe "free speech" in inviting Ahmadinejad to come and speak. For me, free speech was never the issue. Rather, I wanted to see if the event would be a teachable moment. I wanted to see if Columbia would use the attendance of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tell him off as he deserved to be told off. I withheld judgment and comment to see whether that would happen.
Please read on . . .
And by and large, Columbia did just that. I know that Lee Bollinger, the University's President, has gotten a lot of grief for having issued an invitation to Ahmadinejad. But it was worth it just to hear this:
You know something? Those remarks are absolutely marvelous to behold. So is this:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was treated to a humiliating and public dressing down when he appeared at a top US university Monday, where he was described as a "petty and cruel dictator."
The firebrand president's appearance at Columbia University came a day ahead of his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, but his presence here has sparked bitter controversy, notably because of his outspoken stance on Israel.
Booed, cheered and strongly challenged on his views on the Holocaust, Ahmadinejad seemed to take the challenges in his stride, but complained of "unfriendly treatment" at the hands of the New York university.
He used his appearance to reject his label of a Holocaust denier, to insist the Islamic republic had the right to pursue a civilian nuclear energy program and to deny Tehran was seeking nuclear weapons.
But before he even spoke, the Iranian leader, whose appearance had sparked outrage notably among US politicians and the Jewish community, sat through 10 minutes of broadsides from university president Lee Bollinger.
"Mr President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad, accusing him of brutal crackdowns on the country's academics and homosexuals.
"Why are you so afraid of Iranian citizens expressing their opinions for change?" he asked, challenging the leader of the Islamic republic to explain his comments downplaying the Holocaust.
"Frankly, in all candor Mr President, I doubt you will have the intellectual courage to answer these questions," he added.
"When you come to a place like this, this makes you quite simply ridiculous. You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," he said.
Now, I don't want to make it sound as if Ahmadinejad didn't have his fans at the event. He did. But here's the thing: If he were prevented from speaking at Columbia, barring a Presidential order that would have restricted his travel at the United States, it is entirely possible that he would have set up a meeting between himself and his fans in New York and won a propaganda victory. Even if his travel were restricted, he could have set up such a meeting at the Iranian mission to the United Nations. And he would have enjoyed and profited mightily from that gathering.
Instead, Ahmadinejad was forced to deal with boos, hisses, righteous denunciations and derisive laughter when he sought desperately to convince the audience that there are no homosexuals in Iran. And don't think for a moment that this is a temporary embarrassment. Quite the contrary; the pictures of Ahmadinejad being booed and lectured will somehow, some way, find their way to the satellite dishes of ordinary Iranians. They will see unedited pictures of their country's president being brought to account for his murderous and ignorant impulses. And the very sensible Iranians--the millions of them--that President Bollinger rightfully praised in his speech, will find themselves fortified against their and our common foe.
So color me happy that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got to speak at Columbia. Were I assured that he would receive similar treatment at other institutions of higher learning, I would hope that he would make a cross-country college campus tour while in the United States.
After all, when a bad man asks to be hanged, you don't deny him the rope. Do you?
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A Certain Speech At Columbia University 58 Comments (0 topical, 58 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
I'm not here to question why Lee Bollinger said what he did - that he said it is enough for me. Be it the shrewdest poker face in hisory or bowing to pressure, the fact is that Mr Bollinger delivered a well-deserved public rebuke to Ahmadinejad. And I find it hard to doubt that his remarks will be a "cause celebre" in Iranian protest circles.
so whatever the motivation! i will give credit where credit is due. And in this case, I agree that it is due.
...is that the Iranians won't see or hear the whole speech. They will only be exposed to his applause lines.
i was looking for this speech as well and i find the very disappointing that a Uni president can just repeat some WH talking points :
It has been said many time that Ahmadinejad never said wipping israel from the map but changing the regime, which very different and a claim that US makes every day.
Accusing without evidences that Iran help militarely Iraq is quite ridiculous as well, it is capitalism, guys in iraq are willing to buy weapons, there are always some iranians to sell them. it does not seem to be done on a large scale and Iraqui who were accused not long time ago to develop nuclear weapons do not need Iran to teach them how to build efficient IED with copper tubes.
And talking about nuclear when Iran has perfectly the right to develop a civilian nuclear power industry and there are not a single evidence of the will to build a military nuclear development. We must remember that Iran produce less and less oil each year (not more than 10 years of reserves) and desesperately needs another energy.
Lot of mistakes, not very convincing and very disrespectful (Ahmadinejad has been elected) he missed the opportunity to make a smart strike against Ahmadinejad.
go live with them.
BTW, his little departure missile parade displayed "DEATH TO AMERICA" (along with Israel). Go ahead ...... re-interpret that for us.
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Hiter was elected, and he ruled over one of the most evil systems in the history of mankind.
And no, he doesn't *deserve* disrespect. He *deserves* a bullet to the head, at the very least. The fact that he doesn't get it is the true injustice.
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of course, he then illegally fixed things in the Bundestag, but his party genuinely got a plurality in a free election.
That is more than Ahmadinejad did, as the candidates had to be 'approved' by the Council of Guardians and all the reformists were ruled out. The last presidential election in Iran was more heavily rigged than any of the previous ones.
Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net
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>> He *deserves* a bullet to the head, at the very least.
I think a moderator should remove this comment. Advocating the death of someone is irresponsible. It definitely violates the code of conduct on this site.
I didn't say anyone should go do it; in fact if you read my comments on this site I've said that I think the US should honor treaty obligations.
Not everyone gets what he has coming. Not everyone should get what he has coming, because to do it would debase he who brings it.
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Why is there not sufficient research that can approach the topic from different perspectives?
Why isn't it open to all forms of research?
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Letting a sick animal with rabies roam unchallenged is what's irresponsible.
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Hanging's too good for him! Burning's too good for him! He should be torn into itty bitty pieces and buried alive!
But that won't happen either.
I'll bring the box...
Carlos: "What? Were they [Democrats]?"
Seth: "They look like [Democrats]? Is that what they looked like? They were vampires.
"[Democrats] do not explode when sunlight hits them."
Your ilk has always been around to like and cover for evil, but just like the truth has found out Stalin and Walter Duranty, so too will the truth find Ahmadinejad and you.
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I threw a couple of shrimp on The Pile™ for ya.
But then I got compassionate. So I let the shrimp go, and threw you on The Pile™.
Drink Good Coffee. You can sleep when you're dead.
credibility. He is given legitimacy in his country and the ME just by the fact that it was given in a respectable American institution.
You cannot have an open and honest exchange of ideas when only one side is open and honest. Would someone insisting the earth was flat be given the same forum? There is no room for insanity and evil. That does not fall under the purview of free speech.
Did you read the Iranian press release, aka propaganda?
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Had Columbia rejected him, it'd have been made into anti-American, pro-Ahmadinejad propaganda either way.
Bollinger was pot-committed, so he pushed. He lashed out, and his audience was America and the West. If he swayed a few lefties, then good for us, because we're fighting Iran, and we're going to be fighting Iran for some time.
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already issued his propaganda ..... read it.
Bollinger's claim for freedom of speech is pathetic. Explain this:
1. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is allowed to spew his insanity. (I can refer you to a recent photo of 2 male teenagers hanged for homosexuality in Iran, if you wish. I guess that's why they don't exist.)
2. Jim Gilmore from the Minuteman Project was assaulted on stage and his speech was STOPPED at Columbia.
Go ahead, tell me how Columbia is the bastion of free speech. THEY ARE A FRAUD.
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"FRAUD" is too nice. Columbia is a DISGRACE. Their actions make the world a MORE DANGEROUS place.
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Vista really sucks!
from the Islamic Republic News Agency:
Despite entire US media objections, negative propagation and hue and cry in recent days over IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s scheduled address at Colombia University, he gave his lecture and answered students questions here on Monday afternoon.
On second day of his entry in New York, and amid standing ovation of the audience that had attended the hall where the Iranian President was to give his lecture as of early hours of the day, Ahmadinejad said that Iran is not going to attack any country in the world.
Before President Ahamadinejad’s address, Colombia University Chancellor in a brief address told the audience that they would have the chance to hear Iran’s stands as the Iranian President would put them forth.
He said that the Iranians are a peace loving nation, they hate war, and all types of aggression.
Referring to the technological achievements of the Iranian nation in the course of recent years, the president considered them as a sign for the Iranians’ resolute will for achieving sustainable development and rapid advancement.
The audience on repeated occasion applauded Ahmadinejad when he touched on international crises.
At the end of his address President Ahmadinejad answered the students’ questions on such issues as Israel, Palestine, Iran’s nuclear program, the status of women in Iran and a number of other matters.
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I wouldn't have invited him, but if you put me at the podium to grill the guy, I'd have been satisfied to go after him that way.
He even got *personal* for crying out loud.
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would have invited HITLER.
Exactly what do you ask an insane person that is in the process of exterminating millions of people?
Both little men are walking the same path. One was planning a 1,000 year reich and the other is awaiting the return of the 12th, hidden imam.
Neville Chamberlain would be proud.
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I heard an Iranian-American, who hates the current regime in Iran, but had some regrets because he felt the "President" was invited to the forum in the U.S. and was "ambushed".
This is the whole "pride" thing that most Americans do not fully understand. When playing on the international stage, it should not be left to the self-righteous academics. The world is much too dangerous.
Let them play in their realm; their ivory towers.
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Americans don't understand pride?
And you heard? Where? Of whom? And if this person was already possible of being sympathetic to this terrorist and kidnapper, then he was already lost to us.
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It proves the validity of the old Arab saying: me against my brother; me and my brother against our cousin; me, my brother and our cousin against the stranger.
They tend to stick together REGARDLESS OF RIGHT OR WRONG.
Never let the liberal apologists, who grant every benefit of the doubt to terrorists and none to their fellow Americans.
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I was completely surprised by Bollinger's statements and find it a breath of fresh air that this disgrace that is Ahmadeenajad was dressed down in a widely distributed public forum.
Unfortunately, I expect nothing to change in the political front within the Middle East; but here's hoping.
________________________
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle
I don't hate you, I just disagree with you. I think you are (understandably) focused on the trees and not the forest. This is a major coup -- a two bit dictator feted at a top US university. Look at the enormous amount of press this got in the US. I'm sure it got plenty around the world.
The take home spin points on this one are:
* Ahmadeenajad was accepted in polite society, notwithstanding some criticism from the President of Columbia.
* He stood like a lion against the petty tirade by the President who basically repeated Zionist talking points.
* He was applauded by many of the intellectual leaders of US society, present and future.
* Thank Allah for Ahmadeenajad.
You propose that Iranians will take heart from the dressing down he got, and I certainly concede to you that your knowledge far exceeds mine in that matter. However many will only receive filtered reports, and many others will rally to his cause against the "rude abuse" of the Columbia President. I assume this will happen in Iran and across the Middle East because a quick persusal of reaction at KOS and DU will demonstrate that it is already happening here.
I think what we have here is almost a MoveOn "Betray us" phenomenon in reverse. Bollinger's remarks were so ill timed as to offend even those who strongly agree with their content. He doubled down and lost the whole stack.
Bollinger is playing out of his league. Not only did he invite a genocidal terrorist to occupy a dais of honor, he crudely attacked him on his way up the steps, allowing Ahmadeenajad to assume the role of victim. This is not a mark of honor for Bollinger, but that of a two time loser.
Columbia loses big time, embracing two losers in one day. And because Columbia is, perhaps unfortunately, a big part of America, we all got dragged along to the fiasco. Just look at the nonstop coverage on the media and in the blogs.
But please Mr. Yousefzadeh, let us just agree to disagree. I respect the insights you regularly offer here far too much to take it beyond that.
With the added comment that I simply do not trust the motivations of any group that would rather hear from the mouthpiece of a terrorist regime than from a Marine recruiter.
But, like DaMav, no hatred; merely disagreement. Complicated by the fact that you are the go-to guy here for insights on Iranian issues. :)
Moe
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
We lose big time...three ways. Not only do we give this SOB a forum, but he gets to see American sons and daughters applaud his existance.....
This scumbag plays us perfectly, and nestles himself in the middle of the HUGE chasm that separates the right and left today...he even has us talking about this being a free speach issue!
Finally, the other shoe will fall when we see today how this maggot speaks in front of the UNGA..he will be in his comfort zone, and I don't expect him to hold anything back like he did yesterday.
Yes, we lost on this one. Only in America can someone be welcomed that; kidnap US diplomats and hold them for over a year, call for the destruction of a US ally, defy UN mandates, openly be known for killing US service men engaged in a conflict, support openly well known terrorist organizations and rogue terrorist states and trample human rights to the level of world wide outcry....and he is our guest.
I wonder if we picked up his tab at Smith & Wollenskys last night.
" in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
Abe Lincoln
with a minor caveat: it was good to hear Bollinger, a liberal (and now a prominent liberal), strongly condemn Ahmadinejad for killing our soldiers, oppressing his people, and seeking genocide.
It was hardly enough to overcome the damage of inviting him in the first place, but it was something.
And now we can quote Bollinger when we argue for taking a firmer stand against Iran.
Well, the way he answered questions about Israel and the Holocost, it sounded like he was either a- avoiding the question, or b- he misunderstood the question due to translation difficulties. Regardless of which it was, I think I understood (not agreed, but understood) what he was saying.
When asked if he wants the destruction of Isreal to take place, he mentioned something about a referendum from Palestine, and if Palestine votes yes for destruction, then he will be 100% on board too.
About the Holocost, people keep asking him why he is denying that it ever happened. I think this is where translation miscommunication gets involved. He did make a good point that we shouldn't stop studying it--it's true, though it's noted that it did happen, there is still much we can learn from the Holocost. However, he keeps talking about Palestine's relation to the Holocost. Background: after the Holocost ended, thousands of Jews went to Israel to settle. Up to this point, Jews and Palestinians got along just fine. However, the huge increase in Jews living in the area caused tension. Both sides are to blame for this...Jews were paranoid (they just encountered genocide) and Palestinians became the sudden minority (also reason to be paranoid). Thus, tension ensued. So, fairly reasonably, growing up in the US, we just see that the Holocost was bad and killed people, but from a middle eastern perspective, they see the Holocost being a tragedy for not only the Jews, but it really screwed over Palestine beacuse even though they had no real part in the actual genocide part, they got forced out of their land. So I think this is the part of the Holocost (the aftermath) that Ahmadinejad is trying to bring to light more, he just can't really get his point across.
PS- I love Israel and Jews, but it's just a sad fact that the Arab-Israeli conflict is really just as old as the Holocost, and that if so many Jews weren't displaced so quickly, the Arabs of the area also wouldn't have to be displaced, and conflict could have been avoided or postponed. I hope this is what Ahmadinejad means. And I hope that even as much as we hate him, we could still try to understand what or where he is coming from, even if we don't agree with him at all.
Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently.
His regime ran a conference, and everything.
Moe
PS: We understand him almost perfectly. He's the mouthpiece of a regime that's a state sponsor of terror (including groups that have killed, or are trying to kill, Americans); that routinely kills homosexuals for being homosexuals; and that has the destruction of Israel as part of their stated policy initiatives. The only real question is how much he's a trained seal for the regime, and how much of this is on his personal authority.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
When they had the informational meeting on the Holocost or whatever they wanted to call it, this is what their goal was:
According to the Iranian Foreign Minister: "If the official version of the Holocaust is thrown into doubt, then the identity and nature of Israel will be thrown into doubt. ****And if, during this review, it is proved that the Holocaust was a historical reality, then what is the reason for the Palestinians having to pay the cost of the Nazis' crimes?"*****[10]
If they do their research right, then no doubt they will discover that the Holocost happened and Israel is legitimate, and that their real question is why the Palestinians have to pay the cost of the Nazi crimes. I think every one of us here could answer that question, but as much as I hate Ahmadinejad, and love Israel, he does have a slight point in wanting to ask the question. From his speech, it seems like he knows it happened, but he just wants to know why Palestinians got the shaft for what he feels like was a Nazi only crime.
Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently.
to think that the conflict between Jew and Palestinian began only in 1948. There were slaughters of the Jewish settlers by the Arabs in the 1920's and 30's and it is the descendants of those events who also took part in what followed in 1948 and onward.
As to the Holocaust, I was around 12 years old when I sat down and watched a program on TV with my dad, a World War II vet. It showed the liberation of one of the death camps in Germany. It was my first experience with just how evil mankind can be. I will never forget the utter horror of seeing human beings, their ribs poking through their skin, faces frozen in hopelessness, all dead and stacked like so much cordwood. 44 years later, I can see those faces as clearly as I did then. I don't need to examine the Holocaust more closely for understanding. Millions died--NEVER AGAIN. And this evil little bas***d deserves no podium in our country for his propaganda. He deserves to die--painfully, like all those in his own country that are so regularly tortured and killed for "offenses" against their perverted religion.
But my point was missed completely. Of course the Holocost happened in every way you said it did. It's this part that Ahmadinejad probably wants to research more, the way he was talking at Columbia, anyways:
"There were slaughters of the Jewish settlers by the Arabs in !!!the 1920's and 30's and it is the descendants of those events who also took part in what followed in 1948 and onward.!!!" (from your above post)
Maybe Ahmadinejad questions not the Holocost itself, but the Arab role in the Holocost, and the Jewish response to the Arabs as a result of the Holocost (and the Holocost alone, as there are many other reasons for the Jews to be upset with the Arabs)
Researching it obviously wouldn't change any of the relations today, and I still think Israel kicks ass, but it would make for a good discertation thesis if someone researched Arab involvement in the Holocost, before and after ww2.
Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently.
...that the events of the Holocaust -
- By the way, I don't normally require this, but note the proper spelling, and use it from now on -
- themselves are open to question. Which they are not; but while it takes a special type of idiocy to pretend that there is any doubt in the atrocities that made up the Holocaust, it's not an idiocy beyond the grasp of the anti-Semitic religious cabal running Iran.
Their stance on this is hardly a secret, by the way.
Moe
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
then you are being naive.
Ignore what he tells the West. Focus instead on what he says to Iran and the ME.
Doublespeak. Triplespeak. He plays the MSM like a violin.
To says he plays them implies he is fooling them. I would argue their goals are more or less in sync - anything anti-Bush is considered good - so it's more like working together as a team than it is they are getting played.
does not want sharia law to spread to the West. I don't see any of the MSM countering the spread of sharia law, does anyone else?
The MSM never appreciates that fragile nature of freedom, or the fact that the 1st Amendment is paid for with blood.
Iran created Hizbollah, which attacked the Marine barracks in Beirut. Iran is currently killing US soldiers in Iran through its proxies and its Qods agents there. Iran shelters al Quaeda leaders, including bin Laden's son, Saad.
Whatever benefit you might see to the unedited clips leaking into Iran is outweighed by that. I respect your viewpoint, and I acknowledge that you have a unique perspective. But the lives and safety of Americans should be the fundamental consideration.
Columbia and the US media (the National Press Club and the networks that carried the Columbia speech live) cared more about their own prestige and having the public's attention than they did about the welfare of the people who fight to protect that freedom of the press.
Radical Islam knows how to play the American media and American academia. They learned it from the North Vietnamese.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received more applause than boos.
While Bollinger put in a good faith effort, he was naive.
Iranian TV will only show the parts that the Iranian government wants shown. Many naive viewers (and those in attendance) in the US who instictively didn't trust Mahmoud will, after hearing him lie and failing to exhale fire, doubt that he is the monster that they had previously thought him to be.
A propaganda victory for Mahmoud.
The only way this could have worked out differently would have been to (1) show people video of what Mahmoud has said previously to IRANIAN audiences; and (2) focus on Iranian dissidents and make an appeal directly to them.
Otherwise, Mahmoud does his double-speak, and people think he isn't so bad.
Reagan could of pulled this off. Bollinger, like most in academia, is hopelessly naive.
.. when you say, "you’ll either love me or hate me after this. there shall be no in-between."
Not so. We'll agree or disagree with your assessment. After all, this is Redstate, not Dkos. The differing opinion is welcome here and, like everyone else, I am an avid reader of all your content. I will remain so, as no doubt everyone else will.
But like those above in this thread, I respectfully disagree. I took a certain personal satisfaction at hearing Ahmadinjad verbally brutalized. I just don't believe it made any difference. The damage was done. And until military recruiters and the ROTC are allowed on campus, then Bollinger and the whole university are simply a lost cause.
As for our left, if a few are swayed by Bollingers speech to act in the best interests of the United States I'll be glad and beyond shocked. But I don't anticipate it. After all, the left is notorious for agreeing someone is dangerous while resisting any action to correct.
absentee
Pejman's posts and his opinions. As absentee says, we can agree to disagree. And I can appreciate Pejman's point of view on this issue given his where he comes from. It would be great if his hopes were realized.
the event on the local CBS affiliate this morning while my husband was watching. It's a habit I can't get him to quit. They had shots of an idiot, who I guarantee had his glory days back in the late 60's and early 70's, holding a poster depicting Bush's face in a mushroom cloud. He was yelling at a woman who had told him that he knew better and he should be ashamed of himself. He yelled back that,"Who used nuclear bombs? Iran or America? AMERIKKA!!!!!!!!" Dear God, the ignorance that passes for protest in this country! Take one fact, separate it from any context, couple it with the face of someone you knee-jerk hate, and Voila!--Truth!
Then there was the lovely honey clad in a bikini top and very small shorts who was so very happy to waggle her bottom with the words "No Iran" while saying "No war with Iran!" for the compliant reporter. I'm so very sure that the Dinnerjacket would allow her to do that in his neighborhood.
I think that's good. The narrative on the left is that Bushitler wants to invade Iran because he wants their oil, too, or something. People can see by his words how dangerous and hate worthy he is.
Sunlight is often the best disinfectant.
--
We would also like to know your advice for somebody like my daughter, who's going to graduate in two years, advice that you would give a young person.
SEC. RUMSFELD: Advice for a young person. Study history.
IRAN NEWS WIRE: 'Amid standing ovation of the audience'...
As was said, Bollinger is WAY OUT OF HIS LEAGUE. Bottom line, his actions made the world more dangerous.
The impact in the U.S. is about the same as the swirl around Anna Nicole Smith's death. The impact in Iran and the ME is to raise the stature of this very little "man".
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Bingo, there is sunlight then there is allowing a rogue leader a PR platform that went largely unchallenged. Giving him that kind of latitude just gives him credibility.
Rudy Giuliani's comments were right on yesterday. Rudy said what was the takeaway for Ahmadinejad? He came away thinking, wow, people did support me. It wasn't all boos and hate. I got applause. I can push their limits even further. I don't have to pay the price for calling out the destruction of the west. Ahmadinejad came away with more encouragement than anything.
Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do for you. Washington Elected Elite
Bollinger and Columbia got schooled all right. Many lefties are discussing why Ahmadinejad got a rude introduction. He evaded most direct questions and used it as his BS platform just like he has done w/ other reporters such as Anderson Cooper. Bollingers comments were great to hear but did nothing and will go nowhere. I wonder if Bollingers comments changed significantly after Columbia received great pressure after announcing Ahmadinejad was speaking.
If Columbia was smart they would have had a surprise visitor such as Newt Gingrich to debate Ahmadinejad.
If Columbia was smarter they would have had a projector wall behind Ahmadinejad showing photos of gays/dissenters being hung in Iran and photos of Ahmadinejad back in the days of the hostage crisis with a caption.....Do you recognize this terrorist kidnapper?
Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do for you. Washington Elected Elite
"If Columbia was smarter they would have had a projector wall behind Ahmadinejad showing photos of gays/dissenters being hung in Iran and photos of Ahmadinejad back in the days of the hostage crisis with a caption.....Do you recognize this terrorist kidnapper?"
Adding video clips of Mahmoud leading chants of "Death to America" and other such things would have dampened the applause that he later received.
I can't believe that people are actually happy with how Columbia turned out.
I'd like to think that, but this is Columbia we're talking about. I'm not sure most of the students and faculty wouldn't have joined in. I'm certain some of the protesters out front would have.
the right thing.
Bollinger got himself caught between a rock and a hard spot, with fire burning down below. Inviting Ahmadinjad was a mistake even a red-blooded American high school freshman wouldn't make, but Bollinger and Columbia did. And while the MSM was all for it, the alternative media grabbed it and made sure people knew what turncoats inhabit Columbia. Which was really bad because, well, they had rich callers threatening to withhold donations, and that will REALLY hurt a university. So Bollinger had to do something to try to salvage the situation, and savaging Ahmadinjad seemed like the perfect ticket. It wasn't. The correct way of dealing with Ahmadinjad is to take away his microphone. Let him rant on the street corner with the rest of the apocalyptic prophets, with no cameras running and even fewer listeners that usual street corner preacher gets. So I don't think Bollinger learned anything.
The students cheared as much if not more than they jeered. I don't think they learned anything.
From the reports above, DKos continues their hate mongering, so they didn't learn anything.
Again, from the reports above, the protesters outside the event carried on with their usual rants, didn't even change them to protest the sensless killing of Jews to fit the occasion, so they didn't learn anything.
The MSM got to run salacious stories while tsk, tsk-ing them, so they haven't learned anything.
The Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard still aren't welcome on campus for free discourse, so Columbia hasn't learned anything either. And the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard already knew they weren't welcome at Columbia, so you can't really say they learned anything even if I suspect that of all the people I'm discussing they would have been the most open to learning something new.
Ahmadinjad..., well, maybe he learned he can manipulate the MSM anytime he wants to. But I suspect even that is more of confirming than learning. And if it was learning, it was a lesson I'd rather he hadn't observed.
I never expected something like that. I wish I'd watched live.
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