CNN interview

[Sentinel947]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/meast/iran-ahmadinejad-interview/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

It's interesting. Western Media always portrays Ahmadinejad as crazy. I don't see it in this interview. (There was a time he did threaten to "Wipe Israel off the map")

 

Thoughts on Iran?

[NJCubScouter]

I don't think Ahmadinejad has changed his opinions, but I do think that the people who tell him what to do and what to say (the religious leader(s)) have decided that now is not the time for them to make the rest of the world more scared of Iran than it already is. I think Iran's leaders are genuinely concerned about an attack by Israel on their nuclear facilities -- as well they should be, because if it were not for the U.S. holding Israel back (as presidents of both parties have done), I think Israel would have sent the fighter/bombers in already. So maybe they have decided that it is not an opportune moment to talk about wiping anybody else off the map. I do notice that Ahmadinejad said of the "Zionists", "I think they see themselves at the end of the line..." (That line is in article below the clip, so it will be in the full interview tonight but I don't recall whether it was in that short clip.) So what does THAT mean? He's not saying HE will wipe Israel off the map, but is implying that Israel thinks it will be wiped off the map by somebody? That confirms to me that his viewpoint probably has not changed, he is just toning down the rhetoric at the moment.

[Eagle732]

 

He denies the Holocaust happened.

He denies the hijackers were really responsible for the September 11.

He has said Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth.

 

Sounds reasonable to me.

 

 

[Sentinel947]

I'm just saying Eagle, in this interview, he doesn't come off as a crazyman intent on nuking people. I was surprised by how..... normal... he acted.

[Eagle732]

Typical of a sociopath.

[Callooh! Callay!1428010939]

"He denies the Holocaust happened.

He denies the hijackers were really responsible for the September 11.

He has said Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth. "

 

Among some populations, those views are normal.

[NJCubScouter]

Well Sentinel, here's your answer, I think:

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-un-assembly-ahmadinejadbre88n0hf-20120924,0,2782398,full.story

 

But that link isn't going to work, so:

 

http://tinyurl.com/8byzywu

 

Here are the first three paragraphs:

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday disregarded a U.N. warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric and declared ahead of the annual General Assembly session that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated."

 

Ahmadinejad also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, denied sending arms to Syria, and alluded to Iran's threats to the life of British author Salman Rushdie.

 

The United States quickly dismissed the Iranian president's comments as "disgusting, offensive and outrageous."

 

It appears that this speech was given after the taping of the CNN interview. So he was just saving the "good stuff" for the U.N. General Assembly. I think "eliminated" and "wiped off the map" amount to pretty much the same thing, especially if you are the one being "eliminated."

[Eagle732]

"Among some populations, those views are normal."

 

Yes Callooh I'm sure some societies do believe those things are normal.

 

They would be the same societies that believe in chopping off the hands of thieves,

that unmarried couples having sex be stoned to death,

and that homosexuals be executed.

 

I guess they don't believe in the "local option".(This message has been edited by Eagle732)

[NJCubScouter]

Eagle732 says:

 

They would be the same societies that believe in chopping off the hands of thieves,

that unmarried couples having sex be stoned to death,

and that homosexuals be executed.

 

I guess they don't believe in the "local option".

 

Nor do you, I believe.

[Eagle732]

You believe incorrectly NJ, I believe in following the current BSA policy.

 

 

 

[scoutingagain]

"and that homosexuals be executed. "

 

Does that mean homosexuals would be ineligible for leadership positions in some Iranian youth organizations? It would be good to know if we shared some values.

 

SA

 

 

 

 

[qwazse]

We do share some values. If you find yourself wandering on your own in he wide world, the hospitality of an Iranian national is possibly the warmest you'll ever receive.

 

An the notion that Israel, for it's Godlessness and injustice to foreigners, would be overrun by eastern invaders has its origins in the Old Testament, not the Koran.

 

We are talking about fallen empires that the Western world treats as little more than a backwater billage. The man is playing on a very ancient theme. He needs his base to continue to feel the rejection of "the Western upstarts", but he also needs a little empathy from the West.

[packsaddle]

Sometimes I like to warm things up before a class by asking them something like, "How many of you believe in gun control?", followed by "How many of you believe in the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms?". I'm in the South so I know what to expect and it almost always happens to be a huge majority on the side of guns. So I move on.

 

"How many of you think you should have the right to own a fully automatic weapon?" Almost all of the 2nd Amendment people remain faithful to this as well.

"How many of you think you should have the right to own an RPG (sometimes I use Howitzer)?" Hands still up.

"How many of you think Iran has a sovereign right to defend itself?" Hands tremble, but a few more rise up from the gun-control group. They see where this is going now.

"How many of you think Iran has a sovereign right to whatever weapon it needs to defend itself?" A few hands down now but most still up.

"How many of you think Iran has the right to its own nuclear weapons?"

Faithful to the very end. They mostly think it's just fine for Iran to have nukes.

 

I suggest that the logic that some of us apply to guns, that if everyone was armed we'd be safer on the streets, can also apply to nuclear weapons among nations. It's a twist on the MAD strategy. But it would be interesting if someone DID pull that trigger.

[Tampa Turtle]

I have a good friend who is Persian (never Iranian) and he is a very warm and rich with hospitality. We have also had long talks into the night in which he and I acknowledged that, yeah, in the right circumstances we could be shooting at each other--nothing personal. Quite up front about it.

[Peregrinator]

Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) so they aren't permitted to own nuclear weapons. That said, under the NPT they have a right to enrich uranium for nuclear power. THAT said, it is totally rational for them to desire to have nuclear weapons. Israel has them; why shouldn't Iran?

 

Israel has been claiming that Iran was developing nuclear weapons since 1992. So I view any "intelligence" they have on the subject as deeply suspect.