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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speaks at Columbia University. Good Idea?
David In Indy:
I think it was an excellent idea. And I fully support the University's decision to let him speak. Free speech is probably the freedom we are most proud of as Americans. Frankly I'm a bit angry at how the Republican Party is acting. They are throwing fits about it. And apparently the Republican Party (along with Fox News) is appalled at the amount of money this country has spent protecting him since he has arrived here. They said we should send Iran the bill. I wonder how much money other countries have spent protecting OUR president?
I think it was a good idea. Yes, the man is a terrorist and a dictator. His government executes homosexuals and journalists and abuses women's rights. But I'm interested in what he has to say. And I have always felt it is better to engage in dialogue with our enemies, rather than ignore them. Problems have never been solved by sweeping them under the carpet and pretending they don't exist.
dot-matrix:
--- Quote from: David on September 25, 2007, 12:34:08 am ---*snip
I think it was a good idea. Yes, the man is a terrorist and a dictator. His government executes homosexuals and journalists and abuses women's rights. But I'm interested in what he has to say. And I have always felt it is better to engage in dialogue with our enemies, rather than ignore them. Problems have never been solved by sweeping them under the carpet and pretending they don't exist.
--- End quote ---
We said David I concur
Lynne:
I agree that it was a good idea. I even thought that the introduction by the president of Colombia University was a bit too hostile. I don't think he misrepresented anything, but it put the man on the defensive from the get-go. Not a way to encourage dialog, IMO. Yet, being put in this position seemed to result in Ahmadinejad backing down from some of his more ridiculous assertions and added qualifications. For instance, he backed off his denial of the very existence of the Holocaust and instead questioned the direct link it should bear on Palestinian/Israeli issues today, which I think is a much more reasonable place to start a discussion.
I don't follow much of this as closely as I should, but I've long suspected that at least some of the 'nonsense' rhetoric we get from his speeches are meant to consolidate his support in Iran.
David In Indy:
Surprisingly the Iranian people are overwhelmingly Pro American which came as a shock to me. I have an Iranian friend who told me most Iranians (about 85%) are pro US/Western. They just have to be very careful who they admit it to...
...
And I hope to see more of this. Maybe if we can all sit down and talk, perhaps we can work out our differences and someday there will be peace in the world.
I admit I'm a dreamer, but this is my wish. :)
Rayn:
It's great that he was invited to speak, but the way he was introduced was really unnecessary. Everyone knows about his mistaken views and beliefs, but it was in extremely poor taste, even if honest, to invite a person as a guest then treat him in a hateful manner. We should be pursuing diplomacy and enlightenment. We could be helping him to see what we see and understand us instead of insulting him. That just makes matters worse. The president of Columbia was not only rude, but struck me as bit "dense" not to have understood the opportunity he had to better relations between our two countries, but instead of one dumbass on stage, there were two.
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