by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright September 24, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

romising to set the record straight, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to students and faculty at Columbia University and next at the opening of the United Nations' General Assembly Sept. 25. He plans to correct any “misunderstandings” about Iranian intentions with regard to its nuclear enrichment program and involvement Iraq. With an Iranian military official captured in Iraq, the U.S. knows Iran supplies Shiite militants Explosively Formed Penetrators [EFPs], rocket-propelled grenades, surface-to-air missiles and various other weapons. Iran's al-Quds force, a division of its elite Revolutionary Guards, has been waging a proxy war in Iraq against U.S. interests. Like the old Taliban regime immediately after Sept. 11, Ahmadinejad denies any terrorist support either for Hezbollah in Lebanon or anti-American militants in Iraq.

      Ahmadinejad can't figure out why Americans object to him laying a wreath at Ground Zero. He was, after all, suspected in participating in the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in which 66 U.S. diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days by student-militants supported by radical Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomenei. Since the 1979 hostage crisis, the U.S. cut off diplomatic relations with Iran. Advocating in 2005 to “wipe Israel off the map,” Ahmadinejad hosted a Holocaust deniers' conference in Tehran in 2006, urging the European Union to relocate the Jewish state to Europe. For two years, the Bush administration has strenuously opposed Iran's active uranium enrichment program, pushing the U.N. Security Council to apply sanctions. Ahmadinejad has stubbornly refused to relent, citing Iran's rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

      Causing a big hubbub, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger invited Ahmadinejad to speak to students and faculty, over academic and political objections. “It's extremely important to know who the leaders are of countries that are you adversaries. To watch them to see how they think, to see ho they reason or do not reason. To see whether they're fanatical, or to see whether they are sly,” Bollinger told “Good Morning America,” justifying his decision to allow Ahmadinejad to speak. Ahmadinejad has spoken on numerous occasions to U.S. journalists, including and in-depth interview on CBS' “60 Minutes” with Mike Wallace. In every interview, Ahmadinejad smiles and recites the same talking points, ignoring pointed questions. Bollinger galvanized publicity for himself and Columbia but won't gain any insights into the unctuous Iranian propaganda master.

      Bollinger fell into Ahmadinejad's trap offering him more publicity than he deserves. Though a member of the U.N., Ahmadinejad serves as the anti-Israel lightening rod in the Arab world. His anti-Semetic rhetoric, denying the Holocaust and negating Israel's U.N. status, plays well to the Arab street, diverting attention of his mismanagement of Iran's domestic and foreign policy. He doesn't see any connection between his incendiary rhetoric and the world community's intolerance of Iran's feverish pursuit of nuclear technology. “It's wrong to think the U.S. and Iran are walking toward war. Who says so? Why should we go to war? There is no war in the offing,” Ahmadinejad told the official Iranian news agency, ignoring U.N. Security Council sanctions and Mohamed ElBaradei's International Atomic Energy Agency's demands to stop enriching uranium.

      President George W. Bush has said he won't tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. Former National Security Advisor under Jimmy Carter Zbigniew Breszinsky, appearing with Richard Nixon's former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on NBC's “Meet the Press,” warned of a Bush's “stampede to war.” France's new President Nicolas Sarkozy caused a stir saying the world faced a “catastrophic choice” between “an Iranian bomb or the bombardment of Iran.” Since Chirac left office, France has sided with the U.S. putting maximum pressure on Ahmadinejad to abandon his enrichment program. Voices like Sarkozy and Brezinski are trying to get Ahmadinejad back to the bargaining table before it's too late. Sarkozy fears that without tough U.N. sanctions, the U.S. will be forced to take unilateral action. Objections by Russian and China in the Security Council have stopped real deterrence.

      Ahmadinejad exploited Columbia University to advance his propaganda message before his Sept. 25 speech to the General Assembly. There's no value in giving master propagandists more publicity, making of mockery of the academic freedom touted by Bollinger. Ahmadinejad chews up and spits out the media and academics in his maniacal propaganda campaign where he portrays himself as the victim to U.S. aggression. When Ahmadinejad speaks to the General Assembly, he'll continue his relentless propaganda, denouncing Israel and diverting attention away from Iran's proxy war in Iraq and feverish pursuit of atomic bombs. “This trip gives the president a good chance to meet world leaders and inform them of Iran's rightful position,” Irna quoted Ahmadinejad supporter, lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi. Instead of glorifying academic freedom, Bollinger should be more concerned how master propagandists exploit any opportunity to deliver their message.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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