Iran's Ahmadinejad proud of Holocaust denial

[Vegasaurus]

Ahmadinejad appears to relish the controversy. This will be his fifth appearance at the annual General Assembly since his first election in 2005. In past years, he has used his U.N. visits to bolster his credentials as a figure of resistance to Israel and American domination — an image that he believes plays well among his conservative supporters in Iran.

He stoked the fires ahead of the visit with new comments casting doubt on the Holocaust. Asked about widespread condemnation of such remarks, Ahmadinejad said Monday: "The anger of the world's professional killers is (a source of) pride for us," according to state news agency IRNA.

During a speech Friday, he questioned whether the Holocaust was "a real event" and called it a pretext used by Jews to trick the West into backing the creation of Israel. He said the Jewish state was created out of "a lie and a mythical claim."

The United States branded the speech "hateful." Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Monday that Ahmadinejad "yet again shames the great tradition of the noble Iranian people" and has chosen "the violent repression of Iranians over a policy of friendship and cooperation that would have promoted their welfare and their honor."
Israel often touts Ahmadinejad's comments on the Holocaust — and his predictions of the Jewish state's demise — as proof of the threat from Iran if it obtains nuclear weapons.

Israeli military chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said Monday that all options remain "on the table" in dealing with Iran's nuclear program, indicating that the country has not abandoned the possibility of a military strike.

Along with his anti-Israel and anti-U.S. rhetoric, Ahmadinejad often portrays himself as the champion of a new world order ending Western domination and providing justice for developing nations.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran

[Vegasaurus]

1. Waiting for the usual suspects who want to see "the translation"

or they just won't believe the hateful rhetoric of this hateful man.

[azurnoir]

9. I saw the story earlier today

and wondered which of the "usual suspects" would post it

we all know Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier and quite proud of it, so nothing exactly new here just some sort of reassurance for some I guess what kind I am not sure

Tell us do you support President Obama's plan of diplomacy or would you prefer more direct action

[Ken Burch]

35. He's an idiot. But there's nothing you can do about it.

And bombing his country would only kill innocent civilians.

[corpseratemedia]

2. I wish I could "trick" all those creative Jewish relatives in WWII Hungary "back to life."

[IndianaGreen]

3. You do realize that Holocaust denial is taught in Saudi-financed Wahhabi schools, don't you?

Ahmadinejah's views are not different from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

We don't even have to look to Iran or the Wahhabi madrassas, just look at what Mel Gibson's dad said:

the Holocaust was a fabrication manufactured to hide an arrangement between Adolf Hitler and “financiers” to move Jews out of Germany to the Middle East to fight Arabs.
“Go and ask an undertaker or the guy who operates the crematorium what it takes to get rid of a dead body,” Hutton Gibson told the Times. “It takes one liter of petrol and 20 minutes. Now six million?”

Said Joye Gibson: “That weren’t even that many Jews in all of Europe.”

http://nielsenhayden.com/electrolite/archives/2003_09.html

One thing for certain, Holocaust denial predates the Occupation, so one cannot use the Occupation to rationalize Holocaust denial. The people that come closest to Holocaust deniers in their irrational thinking are the Creationists.

[Kurska]

4. Saudi Arabia is just as bad as Iran, if not worse.

We have no business dealing with either of those countries.

[Vegasaurus]

6. Are we supposed to be pleased that their are so many deniers of the worst crime against humanity?

The middle east is full of 'em.

[IndianaGreen]

7. Watch NatGeo Channel this Sunday at 9 pm

American Nazis

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/inside/3953/Overview

As to your specific comment, the point is that we all know that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an anti-Semite and a Holocaust denier. That's not news. The point you all purposely miss because you are using Ahmadinejad as a poster child for bombing Iran, is that the real power in Iran (as we saw during the past elections) is the supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Kamenei. It is he that is in charge of Iran's nuclear program, not Ahmadinejad.

Rather that pay attention to Ahmadinejad's predictable rantings, we should focus on how this racist ideology is taught in madrassas all across the world. Saudi Arabia finances schools that teach that the Holocaust never took place. Since none of you advocate bombing Saudi Arabia, it is political expedient to exploit the idiot Ahmadinejad just because it serves the interests of those that want the US to bomb Iran. This is nothing more that realpolitik, having little if anything to do with what Ahmadinejad says (which is no different from what is taught in Saudi Arabia and in other Arab countries), and much to do with exploiting his rants to increase popular support for an attack on Iran.

[Vegasaurus]

29. No one is attacking Iran

People have been saying that Israel was going to bomb Iran since 2004.

It hasn't happened, and won't happen, not now, with Obama.

Ahmadinejad uses more virulent hate-filled anti-semitism than others leaders, and is more of a threat as a result.

I don't think his words are empty threats.

He means what he says.

And would carry out if he had the means.

Which is why Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

[sabbat hunter]

5. this guy is

real scum. He probably stole an election in Iran, with the help of the Supreme Leader (who has most of the real power regardless), is a chronic holocaust denier.

[Alamuti Lotus]

8. more accurately, he gets off on the shrieking y'all make

I don't follow his remarks too closely, but I see what he's doing -- pissing y'all off is good fun, indeed, but perhaps not the place for one in his position. I would have other priorities (like actually lifting a finger to fight Israel, for example, rather than just talking out of his ass), is all.

[azurnoir]

10. +1 except

I am not too sure about the pissing off part for some here it is a yin/yang type thing sort of like Glen Beck and Louis Farrakhan they justify each others existance

[cali]

17. praising a post admonishing Ahmadinejad for not starting a war?

:rofl:

[azurnoir]

21. Well Cali that your interpetation n/t

[cali]

23. gee. what do you think he's saying with this?

would have other priorities (like actually lifting a finger to fight Israel, for example, rather than just talking out of his ass), is all.


Doesn't take any interpretation at all. duh.

[azurnoir]

24. IMO you proved his his point

the entire post was about POing knee jerkers and there are more ways to fight a battle than weapons

[cali]

25. that's more than a wee bit off the rails

he clearly said that he thought Ahmadinejad was remiss in not taking the fight to Israel.

[azurnoir]

26. Again that is how you choose to interpret

which is your right however as one familiar with AL's posts I am not so sure he meant anything quite that crude
however the post to which you are replying I should have used the term military armaments rather than weapons as with this issue words could be called a weapon

[cali]

27. no it isn't. that's just ridiculous. the op couldn't have been any clearer

[Alamuti Lotus]

32. What always interests me is the parts they choose to ignore

For example the part where I said he "talks out of his ass" on such occasions is apparently deemed to be of little relevance. The (paraphrased) phrase "not the place for a person in his position"?--like it wasn't even there. But "fight Israel"?--GOOD HOLY FUCK, STOP THE PRESSES! MUST REACT TO THAT! (to be properly appreciated, the all-caps bit should be read with a think stereotyped southern drawl)

There is an unspoken dichotomy that I hint at here that I'd like to examine. Ahmadinejad talks about this and that, speaks a big game and likes to push some fairly sacred cowbuttons, but has largely done nothing worth noting his whole tenure as President. Israel does on a single day far worse than the combined effect of the product of his vocal chords. What do you think is more interesting? Personally, I say the latter, but that appears to be one of my deviant "loony-left" personality traits spilling out there. I'm more concerned with the actual than the possible, in this case.

[Alamuti Lotus]

30. Voltaire's prayer: "O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous."

And then he did.

[azurnoir]

33. Amen n/t

[IndianaGreen]

11. Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitic rants are a convenient foil for the bomb Iran crowd

Strategically, Israel wants to keep all of her neighbors weak and in disarray. This is why Israel lobbied for war against the "new Hitler" Saddam Hussein, and is now doing the same against the "Holocaust denier" Ahmadinejad.

Fanning fears of Iran has nothing to do with Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitism, or with a fictional Iranian nuclear weapons program, and everything to do with keeping Israel as the dominant power in the region. It is pure realpolitik!

[Vegasaurus]

12. Do you think the threats against Israel are "realpolitik"?

[IndianaGreen]

15. Israel's ruling class has cleverly exploited the Arabs' blusterous threats

to keep the country in a permanent state of war, and its people in constant fear so that they don't question why there is such a disproportionate distribution of wealth in the country.

Like the Republican faction of our own elites in America, they have made a pact with the devil; the religious zealots that believe that the same deity that did nothing for the Jewish people during the Holocaust, somehow gave an eternal deed to the land to people whose historical connections to the land are in dispute.

[LeftishBrit]

13. Israel didn't lobby for war against Saddam

Some prominent Israelis were indeed very much against it:


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2736283.stm

According to polls in early 2003, the Israeli populaton was about equally divided between support and opposition to war with Iraq. I believe that there was at least as much support for the war among the American public.

*Once the invasion happened*, Israel supported America; but they did not lobby for the war in advance.

And right now, while Israelis are certainly sometimes rattling their own sabres against Iran (and vice versa), their requests of other countries are for economic sanctions, not war.

[IndianaGreen]

14. You missed the 2002 AIPAC convention where Iraq's WMD was the topic

It was posted in DU at the time how the Israel Lobby was very active in pushing for an attack on Iraq.

[cali]

16. what a peace lover you are!

your admonishment of Ahmadinejad is a riot- you're admonishing him for not starting a bloody war. Oh, and your analysis is just plain shitty.

[Alamuti Lotus]

31. 1) never really claimed to be

2) nothing now could be *started* that isn't in moderately full atrophic swing already.
3) I do not now, nor do I foresee such in the near-future, care.

[LeftishBrit]

22. Do you think that he *should* be 'lifting a finger to fight Israel'?

Lots of people in both countries would be killed if he did! He may not care about that, but he probably does care that his own skin would be badly endangered.

While genuine diplomacy would be better than 'talking out of his ass' (especially when he spouts vile lies), even the latter is considerably better by a very long shot than starting wars.

[invictus]

18. Israelis lost any moral high ground through their ethnic cleansing and murder of Palestinians.

[cali]

19. Oh, OK. wtf? Holocaust denial isn't about Israel, genius.

Jews and Israelis are not necessarily the same thing, dear.

[oberliner]

20. Can you clarify your position on Holocaust denial?

It almost appears from your comments that you are suggesting that Israel's actions vis-a-vis the Palestinians is a relevant factor in addressing the issue.

Is that not a fair statement?

[Vegasaurus]

28. What does the Holocaust have to do with the "murder of Palestinians"?

The Holocaust exists as a heinous example of man's inhumanity towards man.

Six million Jews were marched into ovens and gassed.

There is nothing that changes those morbid facts.

We can never forget.

[Ken Burch]

34. Well, of course he'd be? We know the man's an idiot and that he's into attention-getting behavior

We all condemn the guy for it.