The Broadway zoo
He was reportedly involved in a plot to kill Salman RushdieColumbia University was a zoo today with all kinds of groups — Jews, Iranian-Americans, Republicans — protesting Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech (photos, blog). I thought the right-wing criticism of Columbia was off the mark. It’s true that Ahmadinejad is a hard-right religious wingnut who’s spouted idiocy both repressive (about gays and lesbians) and dangerous (about Israel and the Holocaust). His regime supports Hezbollah. Like the Taliban, he banned most Western music. Nukes under the control of Islamic theocrats would be a great peril. But precisely because he’s dangerous, he’s worth dissecting in person.
There was little chance of a propaganda victory, because Ahmadinejad wasn’t slated to be a commencement speaker. He was just one of four national leaders on campus today as part of a foreign affairs lecture series. The president doesn’t wield the real power in Iran, the clerics do. And unlike Narendra Modi, Ahmadinejad hasn’t been responsible for any large-scale massacre, AFAIK.
With his background in Iranian covert ops, Ahmadinejad’s terrorist ties are obviously far more real than the lyrics of pop tart M.I.A. But because he was coming to address the UN, denying him a visa wasn’t really an option. And given how much the U.S. has meddled in Iran, including fomenting terrorism against the current regime and overthrowing a democratically-elected government in favor of a Shah who would supply us with oil, hearing from the other side promised to be interesting.
Then I read about Ahmadinejad’s untitled Rushdie project:
Reports suggested that his work in the Revolutionary Guards was related to suppression of dissidents in Iran and abroad. Sources associated him with atrocities in the notorious Evin prison… With the formation of the elite Qods… Ahmadinejad… directed assassinations in the Middle East and Europe…
He was also reported to have been involved in planning an attempt on the life of Salman Rushdie. [Link]
A greater crime against literature than Grimus?
Fry him 
on Monday, September 24th, 2007, 11:49 pm in Humor, Literature, Politics, Salman Rushdie › 
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There are benefits in engaging Iran in a dialogue at this level. While the Soviets were at the height of their power, doing their best to undermine American interests all over the world, we had open lines of conversation with them. We disagreed with them at every philosophical, political, financial, religious and military level. Our relationship with Iran is quite similar.
A very long-time ago Nikita Khrushchev was visiting the US for face-to-face dialogue at height of the Cold War. He suddenly stopped his entourage in the DC area and demanded to go to a supermarket. Inside, he was amazed at the selection of produce. Khrushchev asked, “How did they know which supermarket I was going to select?” It was “aah-moment” for him about the benefits of our society.
Similarly the conversations between Reagan and Gorbachev made a profound difference in the resolution of the Cold War. Don’t underestimate the value of personal engagements. Lee Bollinger’s cowardly introduction of Ahmadinejad was childish — Bollinger was in CYA mode trying to have it both ways. Ahmadinejad rightly pointed out to the audience (who clapped in agreement) that they don’t require a “vaccination” before he speaks.
With that said, we need to make clear America has red lines that cannot be crossed. These have to be reinforced with a strong military.
It is a zoo. It’s a fucking circus with only clowns. Where are all these ass-tards when the House of Saud comes on official visits.
The hysterical overreaction to Ahmedinajad depresses me. Yes - he says outlandish things. Yes - his regime has been cracking down hard on internal dissent. Yes - elements of his regime are probably arming groups in Iraq, although we seem to give our buddy Saudia Arabia a pass for all the suicide bombers it sends into Iraq.
But, since the Islamic revolution, Iran has not invaded any of its neighbors. It has armed proxies in the region, just as any other regional power would. To call Iran a new Nazi Germany is laughable. Nazi Germany had the most advanced economy in Europe at the time, with the best trained military. Iran has negligible industrial capacity - it has enough trouble keeping some non-Persian regions under control.
Iran is a country of concern, but we are being poorly served by the rhetoric that is being tossed around.
Manish - While Ahmadenijad may not have been directly responsible for inciting a riot in Iran where more than a thousand people were massacred, he and his regime do own Hezbollah, a [very nasty] group responsible for far more deaths than the number of people killed in the Gujarat riots.
So, do we now afford the same privilege to Modi?
What really bothers me is Ahmadenijad as a person and as a human. He is a hypocrite. He comes to the west and says that Iran is not planning any war but he addresses people in his own country spreading bigotry, pro terrorisitc and anti west sentiments. Such people can stoop to any level to be in power. That is not something any leader should have.
From the bits I saw on TV of this, looks like vice chancellor of columbia made some real bold comments insulting Iranian pm who was on the dias, I never saw anything like this before, where u invite someone for talk and introduce the person to the crowd with insults, criticise that person even before the person gets a chance to speak. Considering how Iran’s nuclear capabilities are expanding and its so called involvement with hezbollah, iraq instability it is just scary..
60 minutes show had an extensive interview with iranian pm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/20/60minutes/main3282230.shtml
Lee Bollinger seems to have made an utter fool of himself, like all the other hyper cautious can’t-be-seen-humouring-turrrrsts types that pass for academics and political leaders in much of the US these days. To treat Ahmadinejad like an untouchable is stupid, particularly given that Iran is a hell of a lot more democratic, warts and all, than most US allies in the region, and I’m no supporter of the bomb-Iran-next school of thought.
Having said that, the man may not have been responsible for pogroms directly like Modi, but he’s got a fair bit of power (even if shared with the clerical hierocracy) and has thrown lots of people like you and me in jail. I have journalist friends who have spent time in Iran and the police state is very much a reality, and the morality police have got worse under A-Jad. Just because we recognise the hypocrisy of giving friendlier dictators a free pass doesn’t mean we should downplay the fact that A-Jad is a nasty piece of work himself.