Letters to the Editor
-
How to turn a pig's ear into a silk purse--attack it at Columbia!
As an American and fellow academic, I am embarrssed by Bollinger's rude and hostile and deliberately misleading "questions" for the guest his university specifically invited. Iran is a terrible place for Iranians, and their president is more than a little nutty in some of the things he says. But in this country we are better than this display of pandering to those upset by Columbia's invitation. BTW, a few of Bollinger's questions were dishonest on their face--here at Salon and elsewhere we have had the specific, literal translation over and over again which disproves the canard that Ahmadinijad ever threatened to "wipe Israel off the map" Bollinger knows better so what else by dishonesty explains his repeating that old lie? His "will you stop beating your wife?" questions on Iran's role in Iraq, his attack on Iran for so many capital punishments when we rank close to them in that immoranl habit, and his statements of "fact" that Iran seeks nuclear weapony and have threatened war on her neighbors simply make him seem harsh and unfair. All in all, he allowed a world-class fool and charlatan to look reasonable, mild and even sympathetic. Nice going!
-
Infantile.
Why would he invite Ahmadinejad to come speak if he's going to introduce him by insulting him? All those things he said--which are all justifiable criticisms of this awful human being...he knows all those things. He runs his country based on those beliefs and those policies. He didn't learn anything. His mind wasn't changed. Attcking him only made Bollinger look petty and opportunistic.
When was the last time our president sat in front of a hostile audience?
-
typing too quickly...
I regret the typos in my post above. sorry.
-
Up with name calling, down with murky allegations
I was cheering the name-calling, personally. Please, everybody, admit it: Ahmadinejad is a monster by human standards and certainly by Salon standards. Just because Bush demonizes him doesn't mean he's not a demon, or whatever secular equivalent we Salon readers might use for demon. Picture it, fellow liberals: you have the duty to introduce Ahmadinejad. Please tell me you'd be at least as hard on him as you would Bush. I thought so.
Bollinger lost me, though, when he started up with the stuff about supporting the Iraq insurgency. Elephantman, I'm sure I have your ear on this one. Bollinger calls al Sadr an insurgent, but our man Maliki depended upon him for support as part of his ruling coalition until quite recently. I mean, I'm not saying it isn't fair to call Sadr an insurgent, but it sure is interesting. We supported Maliki, al Sadr supported Maliki, and Iran is accused of undermining Iraq by supporting al Sadr. I have a passing familiarity with syllogisms, and this one doesn't square.
And that bugs me, because Bollinger should have had Ahmadinejad dead to rights. He had no reason to toss out accusations which can richochet in troubling ways through our own failed and misguided policies, or appear to bolster new failed and misguided policies. All he had to do was stick to the premise: I stand here next to a petty and cruel dictator, and I am not afraid to say so. That was all. I'm glad he said it and sad he muddied it up later.
-
Toughie
Gee, that's a real tough task-- asking difficult questions and insulting the Iranian president. Boy, that's sure speaking truth to power... if you were in Iran, maybe. Here, no one supports him. No one.
Wish reporters and academics would insist on making such a display of Bush. Oh, right. Bush would NEVER face the public like this. It's kind of excruciating to realize that this pariah has more guts than the US president. Arrrgggh.
-
Lee Bollinger's address
I'm sure that President Ahmadinejad would like to comment on why Lee Bollinger did not mention the NEAR-SIMULTANEOUS demonstration that occurred at Stanford against the appointment of Donald Rumsfeld.
The Stanford faculty and student objections were remarkably similar to Bollinger's, but with the targets changed.
Sincerely,
Dr. Nigel Cairns,
Los Angeles
-
Ahmadinejad Remarks
I agree with the other posters that Salon should have posted Ahmadinejad speech as well. The text of his speech is available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/24/AR2007092401042.html
-
Bollinger's cowardice
What was that?!
I listened to that opening and was thinking, what a chickenshit thing to do. He could have cut his intro short and just said, "And now, let me introduce the scum of the earth."
But the subtext of Bollinger's totally unnecessary pre-lambasting was, "Dear President Bush, please don't retaliate against my university. I'm scared you're going to cut our federal grants and have Homeland Security tap my phones. So I'm really going to crap all over Ahmadinejad and maybe you will not bring your wrath down upon me and my school."
-
Two facts
Two factual points that may be worth stressing, as opposed to the assorted garbage being delivered as speeches by all sides.
Firstly, the president of Iran is always elected, not a dictator. I'm surprised that Lee Bollinger does not know this basic fact about the country. When AhmadiNejad was elected he defeated the man who was originally favoured to win, because he was supported by the majority of the poorer people in the country who voted for him because of his track record as mayor of Tehran.
Secondly, the man fought for his country on the front lines as a military engineer in the Iran-Iraq war. Compare that with the 'war service' of your own president in the skies over Texas, during the Vietnam War.
-
Please don't punish me.
Here is the transcript. Bollingers statement does show up the right wing but still so rude. It is an attempt to avoid the impending Senate vote against Columbia.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/202820.php
-
@Lister
"...Wish reporters and academics would insist on making such a display of Bush. Oh, right. Bush would NEVER face the public like this. It's kind of excruciating to realize that this pariah has more guts than the US president. Arrrgggh."
YES!! Exactly what I thought as I read Bollinger's questions. Thanks for beating me to the punch. Damn you!!
-
Bush Meets His Match
I didn't imagine that there would be an educator (much less a University president) in the US that could be as moronic, inept, and dangerously reckless as Pres. Bush.
Bollinger matched Bush's infamous and regrettable "Bring it On" speech. Never mind the juvenile opportunism, hijacking cheap-shots, and embarrassingly childish name-calling of Bollinger's behavior, his presentation was frighteningly dangerous.
Most of what Bollinger said was fundamentally true, but the manner that he delivered the issues for discussion rendered much that followed ineffective.
Now we are left to contemplate the heightened resentment of a very powerful and unpredictable madman, the backlash of umbrage to come from the Iranian people, the further division between our countries and the Middle East, and the enhanced stature among anti-American Muslims toward Ahmadinejad.
Bollinger, after luring someone capable of financing and supporting some of the most perilous forces in the world, and ostensibly speaking officially for all Americans, might as well have said "take your best shot, ***hole."
And this from a leading American University president?? Such audacity, such short-sightedness, such irresponsibility, such selfishness... reminds me of another bumbling, blathering president.
What price will the rest of us now have to pay?