Iranian President Ahmadinejad congratulates Obama; and that’s a good thing!
Today President Ahmadinejad congratulated President-Elect Obama:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today posted a congratulatory message to President-elect Barack Obama on his official website.
But his lengthy note also cautioned Obama to change America’s ways and to reverse policies based on what he described as “belligerency, occupation, bullying, demagoguery,” among other things.
It is part of Iran’s complicated response to the election of Obama, who has said he’d be willing to speak with Iran’s leadership, as detailed in a report written for today’s Los Angeles Times.
Ahmadinejad begins his note with the kind of flowery, somewhat overblown language typical in the Middle East:
I congratulate you on your success in mustering the majority of votes cast in the presidential elections. You know pretty well that the opportunities God grants to people he has created are short-lived, and they could either serve perfection of mankind and interests of nations or, God forbid, disserve nations. I hope that His Excellency will favor the genuine interests of people and justice over the never-ending demands of a selfish and fallible minority, so that you can seize on this chance in the best manner and leave behind a good legacy.
But he quickly gets down to the nitty-gritty, advising the freshman senator on what he must do to be an effective president.
Ahmadinejad writes that Obama must “overhaul” America’s domestic and foreign policies because the people of the world and U.S. expect it.
Conservatives seem a bit worried about this. I don’ t see why. Repeat after me: diplomacy is a good thing.
November 6th, 2008 15:09
Are you fucking stupid? Here’s my impersonation of you: “Hi! I’m a dumbass with a computer and broadband connection. I think Obama is great because we all just need to love each other and stop paying attention to contradictions and experience the oneness of being and that understanding conquers all. There’s nothing wrong with Islamic dictators who give us stern warnings, with hints at what their comrades have done to us and continue to do to our troops and also killing all jews. Never-mind the history of the world, we just need to get rid of those awful people who protected our country from destruction and have people who like new age stuff make decisions. If we just start talking they’ll understand and Obama will be liked by everyone. Its a good thing! Pe-eace!”
November 6th, 2008 15:41
Uh huh, if you do come back to re-visit this board, watch the language. I’m pretty sure you can criticize another poster in a bit more of a respectful way. Now, you said nothing worthwhile in your retort, so I’ll try to do it for you. Scholar, diplomacy is a fine thing, but Ahmadinejad is a fanatic. When you are dealing with people like him, it is very dangerous to trust them. Diplomacy only goes so far as the people you are working with. With that said, I think that Obama is a smart fella and will lose is naivety that all can be trusted to on the international stage. At least, let’s hope so…this endorsement should not flatter Barack Obama, Ahmadinejad is a manipulative zealot.
November 6th, 2008 21:55
How is Ahmad a fanatic? What gives you that idea?