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| 2006-11-27 |
| UN must expel Ahmadinejad's murderous regime By Elie Wiesel Those among us who thought that the victory of allied democracies in 1945 would mark the end of hate and state-sponsored racism were naive. What remains in human memory as the most cruel of conflicts changed neither human nature nor peoples' ambition. Religious wars, political dictatorships, ethnic clashes, sectarian, cultural and economic crises: Their impact affects us all pretty much everywhere on the planet. Our world is still the target of more than one threat. Such is life, that everything comes full circle to start over again. Yet even in the domain of evil, differences and degrees exist. Certain dictators are worse than others, and their hateful actions have consequences more dangerous. For the reader who has not yet guessed, I am speaking of the current president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: More than so many others who abuse their position if not their power, this one represents the darkest of political action. Ridiculing historical truths, offending the memory of survivors still alive, he glorifies the act of lying: As the No. 1 Holocaust denier in the world, an anti-Semite with a disturbed mind, he claims that Hitler's "Final Solution" never happened. He even had a large international exhibition of anti-Holocaust cartoons mounted in Tehran. Several hundred cartoonists participated. When asked about the future, the exhibition organizer states that the project will continue as long as the Jewish state has not been destroyed. And who will destroy it? On this point, President Ahmadinejad is not afraid to clarify his view: Iran will take the lead. As soon as this Muslim country has acquired a nuclear weapon, the first bombs will be launched on Israel. And he has not ceased to repeat this threat. Consider it this way: According to him, there was no Holocaust in the past, but there is sure to be one and it is on the way. Scandalous rumblings of a fanatic? Yes, but this fanatic addresses crowds that like his ideas and applaud them. Just empty words? No. This orator does not speak for nothing. He seems rather committed to keeping his "promises." It would be wrong to question his determination. A person does not just preach hate for nothing. Isn't his goal to break the heart and snuff the life of anyone who does not think like him? As for me, I belong to a generation that learned to take the enemy's words of hate seriously. And lest we forget, who is behind the Hezbollah terrorist organization? Iran. Iran sends them the most modern weapons and officers to train their soldiers. But what does Hezbollah want? Territorial concessions? No. The creation of a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with the Jewish state? No. The sole objective of this movement - and of the Iranian president - is the destruction of Israel. This is why I maintain that such a figure does not have a place within the community of international leaders. Persona non grata, an undesirable individual, this is what he should become, because of what he is doing to his country, to his people, to all of humanity. This is why he deserves to be turned away everywhere. I'll go even further: The country he leads and embodies should be excluded from the United Nations as long as he is its ruler and symbol. On what grounds? It is quite simple: One member state of the United Nations that threatens to destroy another member state of these same United Nations violates its very charter and conventions. Is something like this possible? I am not naive enough to believe that this could really happen. What state would introduce such a UN resolution? And how many delegates would vote to adopt it? I know all too well: very few. But at least they won't feel so comfortable in their fear. At least they'll learn from lessons of the not-so-distant past: We know with whom a dictator will begin; but he will not stop there. If Iran were to have a nuclear weapon, do we really think that Israel would remain its only target? Some will say: What about North Korea? Why aren't we doing something about them? Don't they have the same atomic ambitions? Yes, they do. But there is still quite a difference. North Korea has never threatened to wipe away another state. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 This is the same UN that kept the USSR in for its life, was fine with Saddam Hussein but not so sure about the current government, and admitted the PRC after its murderous spree. Imanutjob is in fine company. We aren't. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-11-27 08:27 |
| #2 The UN is a trade association for tyrranies. Ahmadinejad won't be expelled; he's a member in good standing. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-11-27 06:17 |
| #1 Consider it this way: According to him, there was no Holocaust in the past, but there is sure to be one and it is on the way. Scandalous rumblings of a fanatic? Yes, but this fanatic addresses crowds that like his ideas and applaud them. Just empty words? No. This orator does not speak for nothing. He seems rather committed to keeping his "promises." It would be wrong to question his determination. A person does not just preach hate for nothing. Isn't his goal to break the heart and snuff the life of anyone who does not think like him? As for me, I belong to a generation that learned to take the enemy's words of hate seriously. Few people on earth have the moral authority of Elie Wiesel. Believe him when he tells you that, "this fanatic addresses crowds that like his ideas and applaud them". Trust him when he says, "It would be wrong to question his determination". Know that like him, "I belong to a generation that learned to take the enemy's words of hate seriously". For some time now, I have been urging members of this community to please take Ahmadinejad at his word. Dismiss forever from your mind that his declarations are solely for public copnsumption. Even if they were, there remain those who are swayed, if not convinced, by their meaning and content. As to whether the, "UN must expel Ahmadinejad's murderous regime", those of us who have the least remnant of moral scruples know that such a thing is not just impossible, it is anathema to everything that the UN currently stands for. This in no way disallows Wiesel from demanding that the UN act upon its own charter and take arms against one who would avow the destruction of a fellow member. Far be it from Kofi Annan or his successor to even consider such a notion. Even if it represents all that our world's combined might should rightfully address. I give you Wiesel's own words: Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Lest we forget: Let us remember, let us remember the heroes of Warsaw, the martyrs of Treblinka, the children of Auschwitz. They fought alone, they suffered alone, they lived alone, but they did not die alone, for something in all of us died with them. What died with those Holocaust victims was the least spark of humanity that we could ever accord those who seek to re-enact this abortion of reality. Islam's insistence upon continuation of the Sho'ah is what will doom all Muslims to a holocaust of their own. Should they continue to support or even just neglect to vociferously object to such a travesty, then their's is damnation and the certain hell that awaits them. NEVER FORGET. NEVER FORGIVE. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-11-27 06:01 |