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| Iranian Bloggers Comment on Ahmadinejad's Visit to USA |
| 2007-09-30 |
| From Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty The Iranian "blogosphere" is full of criticism of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's activities and remarks during his visit to New York City this week. From both inside and outside Iran, the criticism has been strong. By comparison, conservative Islamist bloggers in Iran who usually support Ahmadinejad have been relatively quiet -- posting few details .... Former Iranian Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi maintains a website called "webneveshteha" ... a Persian-language blog that claims to have some 20,000 regular readers. Abtahi writes: ... "Unfortunately, Mr. Ahmadinejad, instead of trying to find solutions for our main problems and improving Iran's relations with world leaders, has conducted a propaganda trip. And he was insulted by the media that oppose him. .... Our nation expected that President Ahmadinejad wouldn't put himself in a position to be insulted. In the world, political perspectives are different." Abtahi says he "wishes that Ahmadinejad's advisers would have helped him to plan his trip and his answers to questions. People expect the Iranian president to help solve their political and economic problems on these trips." An anonymous blogger based in Iran who calls himself "Jomhour" (Republic) ... writes: "Maybe we can consider Columbia University as a sister of Amirkabir, the Polytechnic University in Tehran. There, in the last year, [Iranian] students criticized Ahmadinejad and protested against him." .... Another anonymous blogger in Iran who writes in Persian under the title "Khyaban No. 11" asks readers to imagine U.S. President George W. Bush traveling to Tehran University to make a speech. Khyaban No. 11 writes: "Can we even imagine that George W. Bush could come to Tehran and criticize the Islamic Republic's policies? .... Can George W. Bush come to Tehran and talk about exporting democracy to Tehran? Can we even imagine that George W. Bush would have enough security in Tehran to prevent Ansar Hizbullah from attacking him?" ... a blogger who lives in Europe and identifies himself as "Balouch" reacted unsympathetically to news that Ahmadinejad's request to visit the site of the World Trade Center ... was refused by authorities in New York. Balouch invokes Iranian tragedy and the Khavaran Cemetery where thousands of executed political prisoners were buried in Iran in 1988 to praise U.S. officials' approach. Balouch says that "if I were the police, I would have sent this note to him: 'From the New York Police Department to Mahmud Ahmadinejad: Mr. President, with all due respect, our office cannot accept your request for several reasons. But you can kindly go to Khavaran Cemetery. You don't need any visa to go there. But in our opinion, forget flowers. Just stop killing U.S. soldiers [in Iraq] with roadside bombs.'" ... a 29-year-old Iranian-born citizen who identifies himself as "Mr. Behi," now purportedly living in Libya, describes himself as a man who "tries to be a person with a free mind" and "a world citizen." He writes: "There is a proverb in Persian saying: 'This coat is too big for you.' .... Since Ahmadinejad became president, we started having feelings of regret because this proverb started to make sense about him. To me, [Ahmadinejad] is so politically immature that he rarely thinks about what he puts himself into and what future outcome his remarks might have. That or he does think about it but his framework of thinking is so far from reality. He is a simple man for whom the presidential chair is too big -- so big that after two years, he still could not come to comprehend his own position and has never learned to abide by the normal diplomatic behavior that is expected from a president. .... Why has he put himself and his country in such position by talking before thinking?" .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #4 I still think it would be hilarious for someone to do a faux analysis of his speech, pointing out a large number of "homosexual code words" and his use of phallic imagery, which can be seen everywhere, if you are looking for it. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-09-30 11:19 |
| #3 Nice dodge. |
| Posted by: Jack Rubenstein 2007-09-30 10:51 |
| #2 Interesting analysis, I just thought he was a frickin tool. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-09-30 08:36 |
| #1 Our nation expected that President Ahmadinejad wouldn't put himself in a position to be insulted. This is a toughie. Ahmahdinejad is a walking insult to Persians and the West alike. The only position he can put himself in so as to avoid such problems is inside a coffin. In the world, political perspectives are different. Unlike Ahmadinejad's own views, they tend to be—with some notable exceptions—reality based. People expect the Iranian president to help solve their political and economic problems on these trips." Fear not, Ahmahdinejad is going to "solve their political and economic problems". After all, there are not too many political or economic issues that can arise from rubble. This coat is too big for you. Not only that, the sleeves are nowhere near long enough. He is a simple man for whom the presidential chair is too big I'd have to agree, that booster seat he uses is really undignified. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-09-30 00:56 |