A love letter from Tehran...
POSTED BY: Khyron
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 21:24
VIEWED: 3593
PAGE 2 of 3
Haven't read the letter until now...
Wow
No wonder Condi Rice was trying to dismiss it as rhetotic...
Can't say I agree completely on every point with the man, but I will say I am much closer to his view of the world than Bush and company.
" Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done "
The Killers
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/killers/allthesethingsthativedone.html
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To be honest, I agree with the White House for dismissing it as rhetoric. While I in principal agree with many of the things Ahmedinejad wrote (the implied questioning of the severity of the holocaust and the outright questioning of Israel's right to exist not being some of those things), the letter did nothing to address the issue at hand, which is Iran's progress in nuclear research. Ahmedinejad even said he wouldn't discuss that in the letter, which immediately raised the question of what the point of the letter was in the first place.
Although I'm by no means a supporter of the administration, I can't fault them for their reaction to this.
Other people can occasionally be useful, especially as minions. I want lots of minions.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Khyron:
To be honest, I agree with the White House for dismissing it as rhetoric.While I in principal agree with many of the things Ahmedinejad wrote (the implied questioning of the severity of the holocaust and the outright questioning of Israel's right to exist not being some of those things),
Why not? Zionism is a 20th century phonomenon.
It's easily arguable that Israel is not a 'natural
state' but rather a contrived one. Even the
orthodox Jews don't accept Israel's existence.
They feel that Israel was to me made by God, not by man.
Quote:
the letter did nothing to address the issue at hand, which is Iran's progress in nuclear research.
Indirectly it did:
Why is it that any technological and scientific achievement reached in the Middle East region is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific R&D one of the basic rights of nations?
Quote:
Ahmedinejad even said he wouldn't discuss that in the letter, which immediately raised the question of what the point of the letter was in the first place.
In my view the point of the letter was to give
people a sense of Iranians as human beings, as
opposed to the idea propogated by the US that they
are a nation of lunatic terrorists.
Quote:
Although I'm by no means a supporter of the administration, I can't fault them for their reaction to this.
I'm quite certain they'll appreciate that.
(No, I don't believe you read the whole thing through)
EDIT- P.S. Israel has at least one nuke pointed at
each Arab capitol. That's a lotta love ain't it?
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I don't want to get into the whole Israel debate right now, which is what both the letter and you view as important. Maybe I'm focussing on the wrong things, but I think not.
Quote:
Originally posted by STDOUBT:Quote:
the letter did nothing to address the issue at hand, which is Iran's progress in nuclear research.
Indirectly it did:
Why is it that any technological and scientific achievement reached in the Middle East region is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific R&D one of the basic rights of nations?
In light of the seriousness of the allegations against Iran (development of nuclear weapons), an indirect comment on that situation really is nothing. Am I missing something, or isn't the reason for the current tension between the US and Iran supposedly the whole nuclear issue? We all know that it's very likely that the US also has ulterior motives, but if one is accused of a crime, then one should try to prove one's innocence of that crime, not outline one's view of the world without addressing the accusations.
Quote:
Originally posted by STDOUBT:
In my view the point of the letter was to give
people a sense of Iranians as human beings, as
opposed to the idea propogated by the US that they
are a nation of lunatic terrorists.
He had no guarantee that the administration would make the contents of the letter public, or that the administration would even acknowledge the existence of the letter. Had he really wanted to address Bush but do it so that the American people could see it, he could have sent the same letter as an open letter published in a number of credible US newspapers.
I agree that the reason you gave is the most likely reason for the letter, but I think it could have easily been a waste of his time had the matter just been kept secret. Maybe a question we should be debating is: why wasn't it? The administration could have kept it secret, but it chose not to. What sort of political advantage could they get from making the contents of the letter public?
Quote:
Originally posted by STDOUBT:Quote:
Although I'm by no means a supporter of the administration, I can't fault them for their reaction to this.
I'm quite certain they'll appreciate that.
That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...
Quote:
Originally posted by STDOUBT:
(No, I don't believe you read the whole thing through)
No I didn't. I skipped all the religious quotations and arguments because I don't care for them and I don't think religion should play a role in a political debate.
Quote:
Originally posted by STDOUBT:
EDIT- P.S. Israel has at least one nuke pointed at each Arab capitol. That's a lotta love ain't it?
Hey, I only support the existence of Israel. I'm not a fan of their actions.
Other people can occasionally be useful, especially as minions. I want lots of minions.
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Israels right to exist is the lightning rod issue for the region, while I think that ship has sailed and it is only a bargaining chip today in terms of other issues... If it were 1948 again, I would feel that it be a huge error. That said, and as the letter states... with Israel being forced down the throats of those in the region, the 1953 coup and everything the Shah did to take and remain in power on the US... why does the US feel it should have a say over policy in Iran. it has been anything but a good global neighbor... it assisted Iraq in a war of aggression against them them... etc
The suggestion for a seperate treaty banning all nuclear weapons from the middle east has also been rejected by the US... because they don't want to give up their options in that area and because they couldn't disarm Israel even if they wanted to.
I think the point is the US is making demands and offering nothing more than threats and horseshit... and with the threats being made... why not withdraw for the NPT and build weapons... at least the issue will be put to bed for good.
And even if the US offers something of value... how can that be trusted... such deals are broken at a whim... look at Korea
" Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done "
The Killers
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/killers/allthesethingsthativedone.html
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"if one is accused of a crime, then one should try to prove one's innocence of that crime"
Is that how it works in your country? In my country if one is accused of a crime, then the accuser should try to prove the accused person's guilt of the crime.
And worse, the US is a witness and prosecuter tainted by perjury. Because of our own ineptitude, a claim that Iran has or intends to build nuclear arms is a 'cry wolf' scenario that will need to be supported with solid evidence in the International arena.
--Anthony
"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner
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Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Is that how it works in your country? In my country if one is accused of a crime, then the accuser should try to prove the accused person's guilt of the crime.
Obviously, that too, but one surely should also try to show one's innocence, right?
Or would you, if you were taken to court for whatever reason, just sit back and let the prosecution present its case and not bother to present your own case to prove your innocence?
Other people can occasionally be useful, especially as minions. I want lots of minions.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Khyron:
Obviously, that too, but one surely should also try to show one's innocence, right?
Well-well. It´s very hard for non-philosophers to prove something to be non-existent, isn´t it?! Even Saddam tried... Btw, where are those iraqui WMD´s anyway?!
A.
Ted Striker: My orders came through. My squadron ships out tomorrow. We're bombing the storage depots at Daiquiri at 1800 hours. We're coming in from the north, below their radar.
Elaine Dickinson: When will you be back?
Ted Striker: I can't tell you that. It's classified.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Arabikum:
Well-well. It´s very hard for non-philosophers to prove something to be non-existent, isn´t it?! Even Saddam tried... Btw, where are those iraqui WMD´s anyway?!
They're under a Berry Bush in Syria.
To get there take the first burning bush on the right and straight on until judgement day.
More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
And as you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say.
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Quote:
Originally posted by STDOUBT:
P.S. Israel has at least one nuke pointed at
each Arab capitol. That's a lotta love ain't it?
If the folk next door constantly threatened to destroy you and on a number of occaisons gave it an honost effort...you might feel a little apprehensive about their intentions. Isreal has kicked Arab ass a half dozen times since 1945, but they've never started a single war. Why? Because they take the Arab threat seriously, perhaps the only country that really does.
H
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