A Follow-up: Ahmadinejad & the '08 Hopefuls

I’ve been reading up on what the various 2008 Presidential candidates have had to say regarding the Ahmadinejad ordeal, and I think a follow-up to my original post is necessary.

Here are some of the statements made by the frontrunners giving their opinions of Ahmadinejad’s visit:

-Rudy Giuliani: "I know he seems somewhat silly to us but he's not silly to himself…He leaves that appearance at Columbia saying I got half the audience to applaud for me. It was a terrible mistake to allow him to speak."

-Mitt Romney: "We should be tightening our sanctions against Iran, not welcoming him to the world stage, and I've called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to withdraw that invitation…What we should be doing is indicting Ahmadinejad under the Genocide Convention."

-John McCain: "A man who is directing the maiming and killing of Americans troops should not be given an invitation to speak at an American university…"

-Hillary Clinton: "If I were the president of a university, I would not have invited him, but I did not express an opinion about the decision made by Columbia... I was very much against his desire to go to ground zero. I thought that was absolutely out of bounds and unacceptable and thankfully it was not permitted."

-Barack Obama: Would not have invited Ahmadinejad to speak, but says that "One of the values we believe in is the value of academic freedom. He has a right to speak." He also has declared that he will speak with Ahmadinejad if elected—opening diplomatic relations with Iran.

-Also, Current President George Bush said: “[if Columbia] thinks it’s a good idea to have the leader from Iran come and talk to the students as an educational experience, I guess it’s OK with me."

Most of the ’08 candidates have voiced their opposition to Ahmadinejad’s proposed visit to Ground Zero (his permission was denied by the U.S. government), except for one—former Senator Mike Gravel. Gravel establishes that he is very against the Iranian regime, but that the U.S. should not be “snubbing” the Iranian government—calling it “dangerous” for the future. He also points out that while the United States was giving economic aid to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan (before 9/11 of course), Iran was funding the Taliban’s “bitterest enemies”—Iran had nothing to do with the orchestration of 9/11, and was in fact against those who carried out the attack.

Gravel brings up several issues dealing with the disingenuous behavior of the U.S. in Iran over the past 50 years (overthrowing its democratically elected government, supporting a corrupt dictator, etc.), but his main point is that our leaders must stop separating the world into parties of “good” and “evil.” This mode of thinking has never helped us, and will lead to the unthinkable—a war against a united Middle East. In Gravel’s words: “It's time to step away from the brink and begin finding common ground. Let Ahmadinejad go to Ground Zero and honor our dead. And together, let's all acknowledge that neither war nor terrorism will solve our problems.”

Please read Senator Gravel’s article in full for more insight.

Ahmadinejad and America's Test

Today President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Islamic Republic of Iran spoke to students and faculty at Columbia University in New York. His arrival was marked by heavy criticism and fierce protests, but he was nonetheless permitted to speak. Today this country passed a small but important test.

Let me first establish that I believe President Ahmadinejad is a terribly misled man who does not represent a positive force in the global community. He is the leader of a radical theocracy, which maintains brutal rule over its country—though this rule is in fact crumbling due to a very pro-western youth majority (60% of the population is younger than 30). The Islamic Republic is a known supporter of the radical organization known as Hezbollah and has been accused by Washington of supplying heavy weapons to the insurgency in Iraq. Ahmadinejad has been quoted calling for the “destruction of Israel” and has been accused of denying the Holocaust. In his recent talk at Columbia, he went as far as to denying the existence of homosexuals in Iran.

The debate occurring in the past few days has been one that I feel we have truly needed. Ever since the days of Woodrow Wilson, it has been this country’s supposed “duty” to spread freedom and democracy—criticizing and even invading nations in the name of this “freedom.” But now we have been faced with the question: “To what extent do we offer freedom?” Would it be justified for us to tell President Ahmadinejad, who is considered a “terrorist” by many, that he has no right to engage in conversation with America’s youth? I watched the event online, so let me be clear: serious questions were asked—questions that strove to get to the bottom of this terribly complex man. Instead of relying on the media, real students were given the opportunity to directly engage with a world leader who has been the focus of so much uproar. His answers, though ambiguous at many times, brought to light many issues that must be discussed. What caused this radical Islamic regime to come to power in the first place? What was the role of the United States? Why is Israel so hated? Why are we so hated?

Though I am greatly pleased that the President was able to speak, I remain disconcerted over the overwhelming opposition that I have seen in the nation’s leaders, in the citizenry, and in my peers. The “we don’t agree with you, so we won’t hear from you” mentality is what led to 9/11, and not much has changed. Our government interferes with the affairs of others, manipulates nations for our country’s economic interests, it bombs cities, stages coup d’états and assassinations, all to keep our oil prices down. We have made everlasting enemies who attack mercilessly and with brutal strength. Unfortunately, 9/11 didn’t wake us up like it should have. Shame on Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, and all of our potential leaders who have denied the significance of learning from this experience—we need a leader willing to engage, not to ignore as we have for so long. To stop the bloodshed we must understand why people hate—and to do this, we must hear the voices of the haters. We don’t have to agree, but we must listen.

I encourage everyone to watch Ahmadinejad speak at Columbia--it is long but worth it.