“The Great Satan”, that term, a description of the United States, was coined by Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. The phrase is often followed by the chant, “marg bar Amrika”, which means death to America.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a little bit more subtle than his good friend Hugo Chavez. Mahmoud chooses his words with a little more caution. I have not found any quote from Ahmadinejad, where he directly refers to the U.S. as the Great Satan but, I have seen it from other Iranian officials speaking on his behalf. I have also seen Israel referred to as the “Little Satan”.
Speaking of Israel, here are a couple of quotes that are attributed to Ahmadinejad.
“Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury.”
“As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map.”
I don’t want to debate semantics about the U.N. and the League of Nations so, let me just say this, the U.N. was instrumental in the formation of Israel; it should be an interesting moment when Mahmoud addresses the U.N. General Assembly this week. Ahmadinejad says that the Holocaust is a myth.
There is debate about whether Ahmadinejad should be allowed to speak at the U.N. I believe he should. When these guys go to the U.N. it isn’t really an attempt to convince the U.N. of anything. I mean, the U.N. isn’t going to collectively get together and say; “You know, old Mahmoud is right, we should destroy Israel”. No, when these guys go to the U.N., it is to use the U.N. as a forum to spout to the world; to offer up sound bites. It tends to take on the air of vaudeville. Remember Hugo Chavez at the U.N. Here he is holding up a book by Noam Chomsky, calling Bush the devil and meandering about Alfred Hitchcock.
Here is Hugo with a parrot on his shoulder; not related to anything here, I just love the picture.
The point is that the U.N. is fair game, they can do what they want over there. It is a sovereign entity. If you want the U.N. to be in New York, you have to put up with whatever road show they choose to bring in. Ahmadinejad might not come off as wacky as Hugo but, he will be on the record with his nonsense and exposed to a large forum.
Here is another little gem of a quote from Mahmoud.
“Could [9/11] be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services - or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren’t those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?”
Good to see that he is on the same page with Rosie O’Donnell and Charlie Sheen.
Should Ahmadinejad be allowed to visit Ground Zero? Certainly not; unlike the U.N., the Trade Center site is our property where we can do as we choose and we should choose not to let this bastard use it as a photo-op. As for Rosie and Charlie, they are citizens so, I guess maybe they could go in Mahmoud’s place.
Here is a Fox News/YouTube video that shows Columbia University’s John Coatsworth saying that Ahmadinejad should be allowed to speak there, if he is open to engage in debate with faculty and students. He says that he would extend the same invitation to Hitler, if he were alive.
Well, I have to agree with Coatsworth. I am glad that Columbia stepped up to the plate. Personally, I would much rather see Ahmadinejad speaking right here in Stone County, maybe at the courthouse in Galena, and fielding debate from some no-nonsense, salt of the earth hillbillies than the faculty and students of the fine university but, Mahmoud probably wouldn’t want that. So rave on C.U. faculty and students, don’t let this pariah off the hook.
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Tags: Columbia University, Hugo Chavez, John Coatsworth, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, United Nations
Muslims Against Sharia wrote,
Muslims Against Sharia condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the decision of Columbia University to provide a speaking venue for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Apparently letting Akbar Rafsanjani speak at the National Cathedral was not the height of American Dhimmitude, because providing a venue for the world’s foremost anti-Semite, whose proclaimed goal is the destruction of the USA and Israel, definitely takes the cake. What is surprising is that we don’t hear any complaints from Columbia alumni who should be ashamed of their silence.
More on the subject: Why Does Columbia host Ahmadinejad?
Link | September 23rd, 2007 at 2:23 pm