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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Bush Wants Answers on Iranian Leader's Past |
| 2005-06-30 |
| efl WASHINGTON ââ¬â The Bush administration today demanded that the Iranian government clarify the role of President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 1979 storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the prolonged hostage crisis that followed. The administration also pledged to conduct its own investigation into Ahmadinejad's past after several of the 52 Americans held hostage in the embassy said in tough, unequivocal statements that they had recognized the next Iranian leader as one of their captors. However, at least two other former hostages said they were unable to recall the president-elect as a participant in their ordeal. "The Iranian government ... has an obligation to speak definitively concerning these questions that have been raised in public," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. Both McCormack and White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that the United States would launch its own efforts to determine Ahmadinejad's precise role in the crisis. "I think the news reports and statements from several former American hostages raise many questions about his past," McClellan told reporters. "We take them very seriously and we are looking into them to better understand the facts." The 444-day ordeal of the Americans held captive in the Tehran embassy marked one of the most searing and emotional collective public experiences in recent American history, an incident that still weighs heavily on the Iranian-American relationship. The two countries have had no formal diplomatic ties since the takeover despite the passing of more than a quarter-century. It was not clear how the new allegations might affect the struggle within the Bush administration over how to deal with Tehran. |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #7 All I'm saying is: FASTER, PLEASE! Afghanistan and Iraq are steps. The tempo has to rise if Islamofascists are not to cause mass destruction on Moslem lands and ours. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2005-06-30 21:33 |
| #6 Syria. Iran. Saudi Arabia. You'll notice, Kalle, that all three nations you mentioned have a common border with Iraq. Iran is caught between Iraq and Afghanistan. Syria is caught between Iraq and the Med (plus Lebanon). Saudi Arabia has three vulnerable sides - Iraq, the Persian Gulf (where we have scores of warships), and the Gulf of Aqaba/Red Sea. Who says Bush isn't smart? |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2005-06-30 21:03 |
| #5 Useful to establish the principle that we can't trust a regime that puts a hostage-taker at the top. So when Iran denies that they intend to lob nukes onto Israel and ship 'em to the US, it's somewhat easier to state: "The man is a criminal and we can't trust him." Syria. Iran. Saudi Arabia. What are we in Iraq for? the war is far from over. Military action fits within a purpose. The liberation of Iraq is a means, |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2005-06-30 19:39 |
| #4 "However", at least two other former hostages |
| Posted by: Mac Suirtain 2005-06-30 18:33 |
| #3 The Bush administration today demanded that the Iranian government clarify the role of President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 1979 storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the prolonged hostage crisis that followed. And what if Ahmadinejad was indeed involved? What are they going to do, threaten to prosecute him? Priority one is getting the mullah government toppled and their nuke program neutralized, then we can see about getting our hands on the perpetrators/participants of the '79 hostage-taking later on. For heaven's sake, dispense with the bluster; we're better off working quietly, and springing the trap when the enemy least expects it. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-30 18:31 |
| #2 If God and his devine creations thought this spawn of Satan was evil before, just watch for the sequels. There is a good chance that the other dawgs from Satan's little kitchen of horrors will bring him down on their own. "Caine no mangia Caine" doesn't apply here. Trust the one and only true God to be entertained by this evil clown of Lucifer and smite him with his own evil means. God is just, and it is just a matter of time that true belivers will be rewarded by God's justice to erase this genetic mistake from the planet of his creation. Take heart and watch this clown be torn apart. |
| Posted by: Fun Dung Poo 2005-06-30 18:17 |
| #1 makes him a double-target for take-out |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-30 17:44 |