Juan Cole: "Let Slip the Dogs of War and Demonize Ahmadinejad"....

[Junkdrawer]

My column at Salon.com is online: Turning Ahmadinejad into public enemy No. 1: Demonizing the Iranian president and making his visit to New York seem controversial are all part of the neoconservative push for yet another war." Excerpt:

'Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly has become a media circus. But the controversy does not stem from the reasons usually cited.

The media has focused on debating whether he should be allowed to speak at Columbia University on Monday, or whether his request to visit Ground Zero, the site of the Sept. 11 attack in lower Manhattan, should have been honored. His request was rejected, even though Iran expressed sympathy with the United States in the aftermath of those attacks and Iranians held candlelight vigils for the victims. Iran felt that it and other Shiite populations had also suffered at the hands of al-Qaida, and that there might now be an opportunity for a new opening to the United States.

Instead, the U.S. State Department denounced Ahmadinejad as himself little more than a terrorist. Critics have also cited his statements about the Holocaust or his hopes that the Israeli state will collapse. He has been depicted as a Hitler figure intent on killing Israeli Jews, even though he is not commander in chief of the Iranian armed forces, has never invaded any other country, denies he is an anti-Semite, has never called for any Israeli civilians to be killed, and allows Iran's 20,000 Jews to have representation in Parliament. . .

The real reason his visit is controversial is that the American right has decided the United States needs to go to war against Iran. Ahmadinejad is therefore being configured as an enemy head of state. '

http://www.juancole.com/

Full Article:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/09/24/ahmadinejad/index.html

[Kagemusha]

1. Exactly what needed to be said. Thank you, Prof Cole!

Badly needed to be said.

[Junkdrawer]

4. Good thing Juan isn't dead or he'd be spinning in his grave...

over the way his quotes have been misused today... :P

[Kagemusha]

6. In one instance I saw, someone didn't even bother to read the quote to the end

his own quoted portion even! Amazing.

[Junkdrawer]

15. It just keeps getting better...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1892707&mesg_id=1893919

[Whisp]

19. heheh. funny how that 'white-out' works

for some posters here. thanks for posting that, Junkdrawer. I think I'll go and give that thread a bump for you.

[DancingBear]

21. Never underestimate the power of pre-determined beliefs and

agenda-driven responses.

Quotes and ideas magically twist themselves into patterns unrecognizable even to their own author!

Nothing new here, however, when one considers why it is so necessary to do so...

At least in this case. :)

Isn't that right, Sir???? :)

[Spazito]

31. Yep, saw that too...

Agendas being what they are, I was not surprised, sadly.

[rucognizant]

45. My ancestors are.........

spinning in my DNA and it's darned uncomfortable!
Their efforts in 1746-56 were very instrumental in establishing, Trinity CHurch ( at ground zero the one that DIDN"T collapse), Bellvue Hospital, Kings College ( Columbia) as built the first home on what is now the Vandrbuilt maansion in Hyde Park and their herb garden design stil exhists,.
AND the quarenteen center at Ellis Island!( WHich contemporary brain trusts bypassed, flying formerly jailed Soviet Dissidents, straight to JFK airport, thereby releaseing the antibiotic resistant strain of TB into our country! GHWB) They also succeeded in passing down their ( age of enlightenment philosophy to the current generation of family members) ( As a consequence we are NOT rich, you have tobe greedy & dishonest to amass afortune!)
If you want to go to Columbia U it is going to cost you; $49,220.00 per year. ( The house I own cost less than that 16 years ago!) And the outfit is being governed by that immature, insulting, not so smart, President Lee Bollinger? WHat was he thinking? WHy did he bother? The majority if the students seem to have been infected with his virulent social desease! They applauded ???????????
Heckofaspeech Bolly!

[whistle]

2. According to the RW President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is Hitler

...but I did not hear that or see evidence of that characterization during his presentation at Columbia University today

[WillyT]

5. According To Some People Here He Is Too !!!

Or so it seems.

:shrug:

[provis99]

24. how could that be? DU thinks Chavez is Hitler

How could both be Hitler?

[WillyT]

26. It's A Cloning Thing...

:shrug:

[whistle]

34. DUINOs and here is a thought.... WWJFD

...What Would Jane Fonda Do :eyes:

[Leo 9]

60. I thought Saddam was Hitler?

Results 1 - 10 of about 2,300,000 for saddam hitler.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=saddam+hitler&btnG=Google+Search

[Voice for Peace]

67. wait, I thought Bush was Hitler

[Leo 9]

70. I thought he was the antichrist, but according to Google...

bush hitler wins.


Results 1 - 10 of about 2,750,000 for bush hitler.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bush+hitler&btnG=Google+Search


Results 1 - 10 of about 1,570,000 for bush antichrist.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bush+antichrist&btnG=Search

[Cha]

3. The corporatemediawhores and bushit

will get what they want once again..don't see too many dems trying to stop them.

[chimpymustgo]

10. I'm so glad Columbia invited him to speak. I found many of his observations fascinating.

I'm really stunned by the number of DU'ers jumping on the rightwing bandwagon in that issue.

[leftynyc]

42. Since when is caring about Iran's treatment

of gays or women a right wing bandwagon? That strawman is getting tired really quickly.

[RaleighNCDUer]

55. And what does that have to do with Ahmadinijad?

The mullahs set those policies in place in 1979. He's been president since what? Week before last?

When the moderates were in power, and threatening to overturn the rule of the mullahs, Bushco declared Iran to be 1/3 of the Axis of Evil, marginalizing and discrediting the moderates. Ahmadinijad is as much a creation of Bushco as of the Iranian Revolution.

That's not saying he's a great guy, but can't we have a little focus on the REAL threat here?

[truth2power]

7. Thank you, Professor Cole...

Sure...let's demonize Ahmadinejad while not one word is allowed to be uttered about our cognitively impaired, sadistic, infantile, psychopathic so-called leader.

Oh, and Ahmadinejad can at least speak in complete sentences.

Amerika - arrogance on stilts!!

[aquart]

8. It's so 1984.

Suddenly, he's the worst thing ever. What is most maddening, is that it feels like George Bush vs. George Bush with both demented twits saying "Bring it on!"

As for his anti-semitism, HE'S A MUSLIM IN THE MIDDLE EAST! It's a basic leadership talking point. Not unlike anti-gay marriage and flag-burning amendments are for Republicans in this country. It's what you talk about so you appear to be doing something while never actually having to do anything.

I seriously hope what few sane members of our military are left will stop George from pursuing this insanity. But I don't believe he just woke up and wanted war with Iran. I do believe the goal is liebensraum: kill or displace millions of Muslims so that we can take over the Caspian Basin oil. This is administration is just that crazy.

We do not have an army left. If Iran decides to make an issue of any attack, they have allies, we do not. WE WILL LOSE. Who will win? Russia. China (my money is on China). Anyone who seems untainted by the Americans and their lackey allies.

Guess what? None of that is good for Israel.

As for us, the enormity of the defeat will turn us against each other just when we will need each other the most. Because Iran is not our enemy. Time is. Climate change is. We are not prepared in any way for the rapid changes that are coming. That's what will kill millions of US. We need to stay home and get ready.

[Junkdrawer]

9. I've never asked for recommendations...BUT...

given the way Juan Cole has been ill-quoted today....

[Cha]

11. Already did that!

:)

[Junkdrawer]

14. Thanks.

:hi:

[stillcool]

12. I am happy to oblige...

the enormity of mis-information, blatant lies, and re-written history quoted with rabid assertians .. are a bit too much to take in one sitting.

[Junkdrawer]

18. Thanks.

:hi:

[Whisp]

20. done! nt

[Junkdrawer]

22. Thanks.

:hi:

[High Plains]

13. Kick for Cole's sanity in the face of all this bullshit.

[Ripley]

16. You would almost think War was popular here.

How many innocent people live here?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. Yet another bogeyman erected to fear and hate.

Anybody remember that other bogeyman..what was his name?...Ho Chi Minh..Castro...Oh, yeah, Saddam Hussein and all those nuclear weapons.

[Junkdrawer]

23. Kick

:kick:

[Junkdrawer]

28. .

[Scurrilous]

25. K & R

:kick:

[bloom]

27. kick

[Douglas Carpenter]

29. recommended! excellent article -- everyone should read the whole thing

here is one very important snip:

"Washington is also unhappy with Mohammad ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He has been unable to find credible evidence that Iran has a weapons program, and he told Italian television this week, "Iran does not constitute a certain and immediate threat for the international community." He stressed that no evidence had been found for underground production sites or hidden radioactive substances, and he urged a three-month waiting period before the U.N. Security Council drew negative conclusions. "

and the last two paragraphs:

"The Iranian government (in which Ahmadinejad has a weak role, analogous to that of U.S. vice presidents before Dick Cheney) poses a challenge to the U.S. program in the Middle East. Iran is, unlike most Middle Eastern countries, large. It is geographically four times the size of France, and it has a population of 70 million (more than France or the United Kingdom). As an oil state, it has done very well from the high petroleum prices of recent years. It has been negotiating long-term energy deals with China and India, much to the dismay of Washington. It provides financial support to the Palestinians and to the Lebanese Shiites who vote for the Hezbollah Party in Lebanon. By overthrowing the Afghanistan and Iraq governments and throwing both countries into chaos, the United States has inadvertently enabled Iran to emerge as a potential regional power, which could challenge Israel and Saudi Arabia and project both soft and hard power in the strategic Persian Gulf and the Levant.

And now the American war party, undeterred by the quagmire in Iraq, convinced that their model of New Empire is working, is eager to go on the offensive again. They may yet find a pretext to plunge the United States into another war. Ahmadinejad's visit to New York this year will not include his visit to Ground Zero, because that is hallowed ground for American patriotism and he is being depicted as not just a critic of the United States but as the leader of an enemy state. His visit may, however, be ground zero for the next big military struggle of the United States in the Middle East, one that really will make Iraq look like a cakewalk."

from salon.com -- paid subscription -- but a free 24 hour pass is available:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/09/24/ahmadinejad/index1.html

________________________________________

"I think of war with Iran as the ending of America's present role in the world. Iraq may have been a preview of that, but it's still redeemable if we get out fast. In a war with Iran, we'll get dragged down for 20 or 30 years. The world will condemn us. We will lose our position in the world."

Zbigniew Brzezinski, Vanity Fair, 2006.


.

[EFerrari]

30. kick

[Spazito]

32. Thanks for posting this (gasp) rational OP about what is REALLY happening

All this kerfuffle about Ahmedjinebad is furthering the rightwing wet dream to further support for attacking Iran and it is sad to see DUers buying into it.

Recommended.

[Junkdrawer]

40. 'welcome...

:hi:

[Lucinda]

33. ...

[Strelnikov_]

35. All these people getting worked up over a Persian James Watt

Because that is essentially what the President of Iran is, a Cabinet Secretary. Kind of a combination Interior/State/EPA/Treasury, but still answerable to those who run the country, the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council.

Problem is, a convoluted system of government does not a marketable Goldstein make . . .

. . . so Persian Watt is a DICTATOR. A HITLER.

There. That works.

[Spazito]

36. LOL! A good analogy and one that made me laugh out loud!

Thanks for the laugh and the factual analogy.

[Usrename]

38. He must be stopped before he conquers the free world.

And he can only be stopped with a nuclear first-strike.

[slipslidingaway]

37. Thanks for posting K&R n/t

[stimbox]

39. Two Minutes Hate

"The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretense was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp."

[Tigermoose]

47. We saw it happen here at DU yesterday.

It was pitiful.

[Junkdrawer]

49. Yep. n/t

[stimbox]

52. Seems to happen a lot lately.

I agree. Pitiful.

[zippy890]

41. kick good article n/t

:dem:

[Theres-a]

43. Kick. nt

[High Plains]

44. kick

[april]

46. And how is George thought of in this country as well as others? Think about it

[jdadd]

48. Kick

[urgk]

50. Can anyone find transcripts of M.A. being anything other than diplomatic?

I know the media says that he makes amoral, dictatorial public speeches, but has anyone seen transcripts from outside the US which support those allegations? I'm not trying to imply that there aren't any, but I'd like to read some if they're out there. The more I see out of this administration, the more I'd like to read actual, first-hand accounts of wrongdoings by anyone on the NeoCon hitlist. I want to be convinced, not just conned.

A few I've found so far where Ahmadinejad appears to be well-educated, diplomatic and, well, sane. Of course, he is a politician and engages in political maneuverings, but I want to see some kind of evidence that he is the beast he's being painted as:

To the UN -- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6107339

BBC 4 -- http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/full+transcript+ahmadinejad+interview/797347

Columbia Talk -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/24/AR2007092401042.html

[killbotfactory]

66. He has a website and blog, might want to check there

The first article on this site might interest some people.
http://www.president.ir/en/

here's his blog.
http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/

[LibDemAlways]

51. Thanks for this.

Some sanity about Ahmadinejad at last. Yesterday there were posters here who would have been ok with Bollinger publically executing him on that stage. Buying into rw rhetoric/hate designed to ratched up anti-Iranian sentiment isn't something I would expect of DUers. But there sure was a lot of it here yesterday.

[me b zola]

53. k&r for sanity

[bhumikag]

54. no more war

exactly..the neo cons are using this to push war against iran and the conservative media is trying to force us forget all about the REAL culprits of this war..the Bush administration,hired gang of thugs like Blackwater and all the neo cons at the so called "think tanks"

i am glad that columbia did not bow down to the pressure..we need to engage in a dialog instead of starting off wars


bhumika
politics desk,Voxant Newsroom

[cadaverdog]

56. The government is always creating villains

which only they can protect us from. "Mullahs"? Nah. Need to focus on a single individual. Think Castro, Sadaam, Osama. Now you've got a face to stick on a "Wanted" poster. Nevermind that most of them are toothless - we can turn them into your worst nightmare. In fact, check out the BBC documentary, "The Power of Nightmares," if you want to be really scared. A great three-part doc that traces the links between groups like the Taliban and the US government and the right wing hate mongers. And it looks like you can now view it online!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=881321004838285177

[northamericancitizen]

57. Recommended . Hoping that millions of Americans can read this article

[watercolors]

58. Thank you Jaun Cole

Finally the truth is written. I am so angry at the reation in our country right now, and more so with the president of Columbia U. His speech was hateful!

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

59. I agree with the article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3003845&mesg_id=3004903

[BrklynLib at work]

61. Let's be careful or calmer minds might prevail......

:eyes:

Ahmadinejad is the devil du jour to be used by the media to stir up the sheeple....
a distraction from the important issues that the American public should be incensed about.

Why aren't there the intense, screaming demonstrations and headlines against Bush that there were against Ahmadinejad? In reality, Bush has done a lot more damage to this country and to the world.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1901257&mesg_id=1901320

[LSK]

62. Remember how 5 years ago Saddam was Hitler

Hitler seems to be everywhere lately.

[nam78_two]

63. Very true.nt

[nam78_two]

64. K&R.nt

[katty]

65. right again! the same old blather...to ge the masses in a lather!

[Junkdrawer]

68. .

[Skidmore]

69. Kicking...and would recommend but I come late to the thread.

Absolutely.