Iranian President Wins Again
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not a good person. I can say this without likelihood of offending any of my readers thanks to the fact that he is a foreign leader that has been antithetical to America and the west. It also happens to be true. His regime suppresses the freedoms of his people and works to destabilize the region for its own gains of power. He denies the preponderance of the historical record on the holocaust and would very much like to see Israel removed from the world map, along with its people. He has a tendency to do one thing and say another or say one thing and do another. He is not a good person nor is he entirely stable. However, that having been said, it must be added that he is not stupid. Unfortunately authorities in America and the west continue to treat him as though he was an ignorant lunatic, rather than the Machiavellian manipulator that he is.
Iran helped 9/11 hijackers enter this country and coordinate the attacks by forging documents to mask the fact that they had passed through the country on several occasions. According to the 9-11 Commission, Iran played an important role in the development and execution of the 9/11 attacks. Most of the rhetoric that was used by the Bush administration to lead us to war with Iraq could have been used to describe with accuracy the Iranian involvement while the Iraq connection was nearly if not completely fictional. Unfortunately the point no longer matters because our government essentially invaded the wrong country. Iran was one of the first countries to condemn the 9/11 attacks and critics here quickly pointed out that Ahmadinejad was simply playing politics. Of course he was, but pointing it out makes us look like ungrateful jerks to an Iranian population that sees their government as representing their views. It is also likely that the Iranian government is ,at some level, supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq and developing nuclear weapons despite the Iranian President's claims to the contrary. His request to visit the site of ground zero was truly a ploy to create drama and generate publicity for his trip. He is not a good person. However, everything he has done has been effective in promoting and advancing his agenda and goals. The Bush administration, New York City officials and the American media in general have helped play into his hands.
When we look at the issues from the point of view of the Muslim population in general or the fringe fanatical groups of terrorist, we can start to understand how Ahmadinejad is winning the diplomatic, propaganda war. Just look at some of the claims of our own government through the eyes of someone living in the middle east. Our government claims that we do not torture, that we do not invade countries without justification and that our motivations are purely based on the spread of freedom and democracy are all very suspect. From their point of view, saying that Ahmadinejad is a lying manipulator is hypocrisy in the highest extreme. Making the Iranian government our enemy while it ascends to a position of power in the region only legitimizes the point of view of those that we were fighting originally after 9/11; namely Al-Qeada and Bin Laden.
Why not use Iran's dishonest rhetoric against itself. The President of Iran condemns 9/11 and terrorism. Ahmadinejad recognizes that the losses of American lives in New York was a terrible tragedy. He claims to promotes women's rights, doesn't want nuclear weapons and wants to work with the west in developing closer relations. None of these things are likely to be true, but it is all things that he actually said. Critics use President Bush's words against him all of the time, why shouldn't we use Iran's public rhetoric to diminish Mahmoud's support with his jehadist? While openly supporting his public agenda of peace and reconciliation we can still quietly oppose his hidden activities and agendas. In doing this we separate him dogmatically from those radicals that believe that any contact with western culture is a betrayal. What a photo op it would have been for Bush to buy Mahmoud a decadent burger and fries in down town New York City and that they would work together from now on toward world peace and a defeat of terrorism. Mahmoud would never agree of course, but that would be the point of the whole deceitful exercise.
Ahmadinejad is a powerful leader of an important country. America is tied to its region of influence in every way imaginable. Every day we relate to him in terms of; good superpower versus bad Muslim country, we feed his position and his power. This guy is oppressive, manipulative and very clever. His ideas are xenophobic and dangerous and his methods are effective. He is also a powerful force on the world stage and every time we engage him in terms of us versus him we fall right into his trap. He plays nice and smiles while giving talks at Columbia university for propaganda's sake. Aren't we powerful enough as a nation and a culture to beat him at his own game? We had better be, or his recent trip to America will not be the last battle he wins with little more than a wink and a smile.
Iran helped 9/11 hijackers enter this country and coordinate the attacks by forging documents to mask the fact that they had passed through the country on several occasions. According to the 9-11 Commission, Iran played an important role in the development and execution of the 9/11 attacks. Most of the rhetoric that was used by the Bush administration to lead us to war with Iraq could have been used to describe with accuracy the Iranian involvement while the Iraq connection was nearly if not completely fictional. Unfortunately the point no longer matters because our government essentially invaded the wrong country. Iran was one of the first countries to condemn the 9/11 attacks and critics here quickly pointed out that Ahmadinejad was simply playing politics. Of course he was, but pointing it out makes us look like ungrateful jerks to an Iranian population that sees their government as representing their views. It is also likely that the Iranian government is ,at some level, supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq and developing nuclear weapons despite the Iranian President's claims to the contrary. His request to visit the site of ground zero was truly a ploy to create drama and generate publicity for his trip. He is not a good person. However, everything he has done has been effective in promoting and advancing his agenda and goals. The Bush administration, New York City officials and the American media in general have helped play into his hands.
When we look at the issues from the point of view of the Muslim population in general or the fringe fanatical groups of terrorist, we can start to understand how Ahmadinejad is winning the diplomatic, propaganda war. Just look at some of the claims of our own government through the eyes of someone living in the middle east. Our government claims that we do not torture, that we do not invade countries without justification and that our motivations are purely based on the spread of freedom and democracy are all very suspect. From their point of view, saying that Ahmadinejad is a lying manipulator is hypocrisy in the highest extreme. Making the Iranian government our enemy while it ascends to a position of power in the region only legitimizes the point of view of those that we were fighting originally after 9/11; namely Al-Qeada and Bin Laden.
Why not use Iran's dishonest rhetoric against itself. The President of Iran condemns 9/11 and terrorism. Ahmadinejad recognizes that the losses of American lives in New York was a terrible tragedy. He claims to promotes women's rights, doesn't want nuclear weapons and wants to work with the west in developing closer relations. None of these things are likely to be true, but it is all things that he actually said. Critics use President Bush's words against him all of the time, why shouldn't we use Iran's public rhetoric to diminish Mahmoud's support with his jehadist? While openly supporting his public agenda of peace and reconciliation we can still quietly oppose his hidden activities and agendas. In doing this we separate him dogmatically from those radicals that believe that any contact with western culture is a betrayal. What a photo op it would have been for Bush to buy Mahmoud a decadent burger and fries in down town New York City and that they would work together from now on toward world peace and a defeat of terrorism. Mahmoud would never agree of course, but that would be the point of the whole deceitful exercise.
Ahmadinejad is a powerful leader of an important country. America is tied to its region of influence in every way imaginable. Every day we relate to him in terms of; good superpower versus bad Muslim country, we feed his position and his power. This guy is oppressive, manipulative and very clever. His ideas are xenophobic and dangerous and his methods are effective. He is also a powerful force on the world stage and every time we engage him in terms of us versus him we fall right into his trap. He plays nice and smiles while giving talks at Columbia university for propaganda's sake. Aren't we powerful enough as a nation and a culture to beat him at his own game? We had better be, or his recent trip to America will not be the last battle he wins with little more than a wink and a smile.
posted by kamuizot at 3:23 PM
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