mr ahmadinejad was invited to speak here.
america didnt "let him in" like an unwanted guest crashing a party- ,"who let YOU in here?"

and bush has already received an invitation to speak at an iranian university.

When Bush go talk in the Inarian University?

Western leaders could only travel to many countries at extreme risk to their lives from shoulder-fired rockets, roadside IEDs and EFPs, mortar barrages, homicidal suicide-bombers and fatawahs calling for their beheadings.

Besides, Dr. Ahamdinejad is a Ph.D. professor of engineering and placed 132nd out of over 400-thousand candidates on his college entrance exam. Few career politicians have the intellect, education, religious dedication and simplistic lifestyle to earn the respect of non-Western audiences. He is unimposing in both his appearance and dress and is more akin to Lincoln, Gandhi and Jesus in appealing to the common person.

Reflecting on Columbia President Lee Bollinger's sucker-punch of an opening attack on a guest speaker, this is the standard modus operandi of cowards, mobs and intellectual weaklings. The President was pandering to his raucous, seething crowd and trying to garner points with deep-pocket benefactors. He had his 15-minutes of fame. Now he will cash it in for a hefty year-end bonus.

As to visiting the WTC Ground Zero site, Japanese pilots visit the Battleship Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, German soldiers visit Normandy, Brits visit Dresden, Americans buy Japanese cars and some Holocaust survivors may own German cars. Dr. Ahmadinejad's predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Rome in 2005. Other than a traffic logistics nightmare, what would have been the harm in him placing a wreath? Once he actually had been there, then maybe he could relate better to the West.

Interestingly, a group of orthodox rabbis met with Dr. Ahmadinejad and presented him with a large silver cup as a friendship gift. They also held counter-protest marches outside of both Columbia and the UN. This was not widely reported but may be viewed online at:

http://www.president.ir/en/print.php?ArtID=6759

and

http://www.nkusa.org/

Robert James:

You repeated posts mark you as an adherant to the two required, defining beliefs of the European left: antisemitism and antiamericanism. The European left isn't a stranger to prisons, secret police, torture, or abridgement of civil rights. The European left was complicit in the creation of Israel. It was complicit in redrawing old colonial boundaries that led to a half-century of warfare in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Thanks to European politics and political philosphy tens of millions died prematurely and lived in abject poverty.

You do not occupy a superior moral position, unless you value hypocracy.

The United States is a great power and it behaves like one. I hope you never get over that. I hope it bothers you terribly. Lose sleep over it, Robert.

Miklos, did you follow the Iranian press reports of Ahmadinejad's speech at Columbia? It was reported as if he had been received at an IRGC training center. It was a complete Goebbels-like fabrication. That's the reason for not letting the jug-eared little martian speak in the United States. It misleads in Iran.

One can only imagine what Islamist propagandists would have had to say if he'd been allowed to lay a wreath at the WTC reconstruction site. And just as a point of reference that may have been escaped reporting in Budapest, no one allowed to lay wreaths at ground zero. Why should Ahmadinejad be treated any differently than Gordon Brown, Steven Harper, or Queen Elizabeth II.

Send Bush to India to learn DEMOCRACY.

Bradley Burston, a columnist in Ha'aretz, the Israeli daily (and an excellent read for anyone interested in the Middle East), wrote today that "[w]e [Israel] need all the help we can get, on the diplomatic sphere as well as in the area of international understanding of our defense concerns. That's where our man in Tehran comes in. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is simply one of Israel's premier diplomatic and security assets. His expressed views make Israel look pragmatic, clear-eyed, non-paranoid."

Mr. Burston makes a lot of sense, me thinks.

Morvay Péter "He called for an investigation into who is behind 9/11"

So do many people. I, for example, as an aircraft engineer, would like to know where went all the 100t of shattered metal from the allegedly 757 in the Pentagon. And no, a couple pictures don't make a scientific proof.

Before this year is over, the US Administration will launch an all-out war on Iran to liberate the Iranian homosexuals and to defend their human rights. It will be at least a year before we realize that Ahmadinejad was telling the truth and there were no homosexuals in his country.

Before this year is over, the US Administration will launch an all-out war on Iran to liberate the Iranian homosexuals and to defend their human rights. It will be at least a year before we realize that Ahmadinejad was telling the truth and there were no homosexuals in his country.

Dear Mr Vamos, I listened to the live broadcast of the Iranian Presidents speech at Columbia University. He made it clear: he thinks Iran and not the United States is a victim of terrorism. He called for an investigation into who is behind 9/11. Mr Ahmedinejad denies the facts of the attack on America as he denies the facts of the Holocaust. 3,000 Americans died at Groud Zero. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians died in Auschwitz. Let the victims decide who they want to see at these places.
Best regards,
Peter Morvay
Budapest, Hungary

Columbia being proud of itself? Columbia's President make a bad situation even worse with his comments. Ahmedinejad, as bad as the man's policys are, didn't need to be treated by his host this way--only to win some PR points in the process and making the situation worse. Amercian academia can be so out of touch and elitist. And this is from Columbia Univeristy--are we suprised?

Payman, your post shows how uneducated you are. Ahamdinejad was only elected president of Iran because all other candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council, which only chooses candidates whose views are radical and close to their own. If anybody was allowed to run for pres of Iran, then Ahamdinejad will have never even come close to winning. We have free elections in this country, Iran does not, think about things before you decide to post. At least we can have free press and talk about how we hate ur government and leaders. If you were doing that in Iran they would shut your newspaper down. Life clearly is better here in the USA. Think!

Ahamdinejad represents Iran in so far as Bush represents US. Ahmadinejad was elected with a greater majority than Bush was elected with.
So those people who question his democratic credentials, including the president of Columbia University and go so far to call him a dictactor are ridiculus and the ones who have a PhD are a disgrace.

To people who called him evil and satan.

Your country incinirated 150,000 men, women, old men and children in one day. Most of them were christians and Then send bombers to kill thousands more AFTER their country has capitulated and surrendered.
Your country is responsible for more evil than
Ahmadinejad is capable of imagining of doing in 100 years and I am including nights as well as days and You have the audacity to call a man evil for merely expressing an opinion however stupid, unjustified or indefensible that opinion was or is.

This is a PR campaign of dehumanizing Iranian nation and Iranian leaders to prepare the public opinion for the greatest war crime of 21 century. To every one who has half a brain, Do not fall for it.

Mr. Vamos,

Homosexuality in India is punishable perhaps by law BUT it has never been enforced. Homosexuals are free to pursue their natural voacation and there are naynumber of practising homosexuals practising their ars openly on the streets, AND what is that nonsense that "... supposedly a democratic country" India IS A FREE DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY AND SECULAR Country or did they not teach you any geography and History in that Bog Hole you went to school? Do us a favour, instead of parading your ignorance, crawl back into sinkhole you cam from!

Here is how I see the score as of today:

Ahmadinejad 1- Chicken Hawks 0.

If the U.S.A. wishes to have a pliant ruler of Persia as the former Shahen Shah Reza Pehlavi was in the fifties this is just a pipe dream.Even the poor ShahenShah(translated as Emperor) ws not welcome in his declining years and had to spend hislast days in Egypt.
It is not that I agree with Ahmedinijed's rather boorish behaviour and tangential replies to straight questions. In any case, the man does reflect the public opinion in his country, whichis what democracy is all about. Why do you condemn him? If you had invited Mussolini in his heyday he would have done the same.

If the U.S.A. wishes to have a pliant ruler of Persia as the former Shahen Shah Reza Pehlavi was in the fifties this is just a pipe dream.Even the poor ShahenShah(translated as Emperor) ws not welcome in his declining years and had to spend hislast days in Egypt.
It is not that I agree with Ahmedinijed's rather boorish behaviour and tangential replies to straight questions. In any case, the man does reflect the public opinion in his country, whichis what democracy is all about. Why do you condemn him? If you had invited Mussolini in his heyday he would have done the same.

"Wildest speeches" are OK, kept off sacred ground, where they would be a profane common nuisance, which we have laws to protect against. It was absolutely correct to refuse an appearance at the NYC site of 9/11 destruction.

Bravo Mr. Vamos!

By the way, homosexuality is also a criminal act punishable by long prison sentence in India....supposedly a democratic country.

Columbia could have been proud if the petty, cruel remarks of its president had never been said. This was blatant pandering to keep funding and it was an insult to a guest that you lambast him so before he ever gets to say a word. No matter what Ahmadinedjad is or is not, America came off looking like a horse's patuttie this time. Bet this raises his stature in the Middle East and lowers ours.

Just a few items, slightly off topic of the main article, but in response to various comments.

Iraqi genocide approaching the Holocaust? Please provide the evidence that indicates approximately 4300 civilian casualties per day since the invasion of Iraq.

Would I support the bombing of Iran? I support the concept of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Several hundred thousand dead, vs several million dead given the prospect of an all out mainland Japan invasion. (Civilian dead on both counts). An order of magnitude of lives saved. This, combined with the elimination of a regime that enslaved millions across the Pacific rim. Hmm, a regime that executes gays, de-humanizes women, de-legitimizes most freedoms I have come to believe in as human rights. Should the metric remain, at a minimum, an order of magnitude - yes, I would support that course of action.

Why is Bush no better than Mssr. Ahmedinejad? Could it have something to do with the lack of non-imaginary thought police publicly beating women who do not toe the line in their garb? Could it have something to do with the fact I still live in a country where a student newspaper can publish an article that says "F___ Bush" with ZERO possibility of government retaliation?

The fundamental flaws in the entire equivalency argument are simply too many and too foolish to address in their entirety.

Having made these points, I was initially opposed to having the Iranian president speak at Columbia. In hindsight, I was wrong. His appearance has served to re-invigorate my sense of relief that I live here, not there. Yes, I am proud to live in a country that can tolerate the blind fools that have been commenting on this board.

The problem with mr. Vanos's last comment is that no Arab university in an unfriendly country would be allowed to hear Bush speak about anything. Can one imagine bush speaking in Iran.A visa for only one district?
Is that really the issue-I would hate to be a university president that invited someone to speak that might criticise the existing government in those places.

Well said. To the point.

Americans simply presume that the rest of the world must change and adapt to American views and ways, preferably in American English slang, so they don't have to learn some thing new!

Saddam complied with UN inspections. The inspections said there were no weapons of mass destruction. We invaded anyway. It was illegal. There were no weapons found and the Bush administration is not being held accountable by our "free press". There is no denying that.

As a result of an illegal invasion, the death toll of innocent Iraqis is staggering. It is actually possible that it will equal or surpass the number of Jews who died during the holocaust of WWII.

This is blood on American hands - caused by American actions. This will be remembered in history as the Iraqi holocaust.

America is in the wrong here. In a rush to provide arms to Iraqi police forces, American contractors are responsible for handing out hundreds of thousands of weapons in Iraq without any record of who they gave them to. All of these were American made weapons.

The five largest arms dealers in the world are the five permanent members of the UN Security council. That includes the US - not Iran.

If you honestly think that we have some moral high ground in the situation in the middle east, you are dead wrong. The only world in which we are the good guys and Iran is the bad guys is a world that contains Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

Oversimplification of that magnitude is only a tool to lead those with simple minds. If you believe the line "they hate us for our freedom" - I'm speaking about you.

Regardless of what anyone says, a Jewish holocaust did happen and an Iraqi holocaust is going on right now. If Hitler was a war criminal, so are those who started this war.

Ultimately, Ahmenijads words and actions have caused much less destruction in this world than Bushs. The fact that we allow our president to run a rogue war that is killing untold numbers of innocent civilians prevents us from having the right to judge anyone.

People are dying right now. A Ground Zero visit is so unimportant.

Mr. Vamos,

This has nothing to do with President Bush's ability to speak within a 25 mile radius anywhere!!!!!!!!!

It has to do with indisputable injustices that even your own countrymen and women were victims of.

This means WWII was a farce and a figment of all our imaginations?????????

Is it possible that Ahmadinajad wants to honor the terrorists with a wreath and not the victims of 9/11??????

Would he once answer legitimate questions without being obtuse????

I'm glad he was allowed to come to Columbia University so he could show his intelligence firsthand.

Mr. Vamos...... could you please GET what is important.....

Miklas is "surprised" about the Iranian President's remark about having no homosexuals in Iran? He should be sickened. Those boys are hanged. Just keep being "surprised" by this guy's remarks. You'll be even more surprised when he doesn't feel the need to do any more talking.

Miklas is "surprised" about the Iranian President's remark about having no homosexuals in Iran? He should be sickened. Those boys are hanged.

you're an idiot

Ahmadinejad ,does not represet iranian people view,he is fanatic, and as unjust as BUsh

So Mike thinks that it wrong for us to hear views that he does not like. Grow up Mike. I did not think that they were anti-American, it's just that they don't pander to your empty mind.

It seems that John is not aware that when Bush went to Sydney recently for APEC (which he called OPEC) his Secret Service Agents insisted that, for 5 days, the CBD was turned into a nightmare for its citizens. Why is it OK for your President but it is not OK for NYC to care for Ahmedinejad?

Is Ground Zero more sacred than Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq and Afghanistan? You lost a few thousand on 911. They have lost millions because of your invasions. Do you great thinkers care? It seems that you overvalue yourself and devalue these people. So much for decency.

Just because some Americans and Alethia think that it is a farce for Ahmedinejad to visit GZ does not convince me that it is so. Apparently, the USA personifies Good and those who oppose you personify Evil. Simplistic junk.

The inference is that Ahmedinejad is obliged to abide by the US agenda. Well, surprise, surprise because not everyone thinks that the illegal invasion of Iraq by the USA should be overlooked. Why are US weapons in Iraq more acceptable than Iranian weapons in Iraq? The numbers must be trifling compared to what the US has sent there.

Apparently, those who don't like Iran and its President believe that he is cruel and indecent and that everything that he has to say is unjustified. Well, he was elected by Iranians and he represents them and the war that the US precipitated in Iraq is next door to his country.

Americans have not yet come to terms with Guantanamo Bay and the probability that Bush and his cronies were so indecent that they refused to contemplate that some detainees might have been innocent of wrongdoing. But what do you lot care about fairness and principle?

The British government insisted that Bush release UK detainees. After their release the British police investigated these 'worst of the worst' and decided that they should be released because they had done no wrong. So I guess that the US torture of these innocents was not justified.

You can scream all you like but try some intelligent self-assessment (if you can).

The US has invaded many nations over the years. It has killed maimed and caused terrible emotional scars and yet you tell the world that Ahmedinejad is indecent.

When has the US acted indecently? Do you know? If so, do you ignore or support what it has done?

Bush and Cheney are cruel and unintelligent liars who have sent poor Americans as fodder to the ME where they have been killed. They have no trouble telling lies and fostering delusions so why is Bush better than Ahmedinejad?

Will you support the US bombing of Iraq? Will that be decent? If it isn't what will you do about it?

Correct me if I am wrong but Ahmedinejad was not treated any differently than anyone else. Ground Zero is not open to the public, so I am confused as to the furor behind him not being allowed to visit. I think if Americans cannot visit and pay our respects, why should someone from another country be allowed, even if he is the head of state.

Ron Jacobs,
You are wrong to say that intolerance is considered an American ideal nowadays.

I am not American and i consider Ahmadinejads gesture as nothing more than a stunt that is meant for consumption by Iranian moderates. he can say that he tried to reach out to the Americans, but they were so "intolerant" according to your own words.

No body believes in the sincerity of Ahmadinejad. May be if he showed compassion to his own citizens, treated women in Iran with dignity and was not heading a thecoractic set up that is aiding in the killing of US soldiers in Iraq, people would not be protesting.

Did you listen to the farcical things he was saying? He claimed that women enjoy the greatest rights in Iran. that is an insult to anyones intelligence. Iranian theocracy has strict dress codes for women, failing which they could land in jail. If you were reading the news lately you would know that Iran held a female Iranian American scholar , head of the Woodrow Wilson Inst for intl studies in jail for 8 months when she was visiting her 93 yr old mother.

He also claimed that there are no homosexuals in Iran. thats a sick joke. Homosexuality is a crime in Iran punishable by death. Iranian teens have been hanged in public. Check out Andrew Sullivans blog regarding this.

This country offers freedom of speech to even its worst political enemies who would not offer it to their own citizens. And this country is intolerant ?

Please give me a friggin break. Ahmadinejad has been tolerated enough to spout his nonsense in full public view.

By going to ground zero he's really saying "Oh look, this is what we helped accomplished, screw America." It's a farce, but it's not just any farce, it's an evil yet pathetic farce.

Mr. Ahmedinejad wants to humanize himself so the United States does not connect Iraq and Afghanistan in the giant sandbox.

Interesting how three viewpoints lauding a US university for inviting Ahmedinejad to speak are considered anti-American by at least one responder. Intolerance is not supposed to be an American ideal, but it's considered to be so more and more these days by the few who run the country (and their followers).

Interesting how three viewpoints lauding a US university for inviting Ahmedinejad to speak are considered anti-American by at least one responder. Intolerance is not supposed to be an American ideal, but it's considered to be so more and more these days by the few who run the country (and their followers).

Interesting how three viewpoints lauding a US university for inviting Ahmedinejad to speak are considered anti-American by at least one responder.

New York was correct in a number of ways for denying President Ahmedinejad's request to visit Ground Zero. First of all, it would have presented a logistical nightmare. America must guarantee his safety, and there is simply no overwhelming reason to tie up the city, the police force, and the Secret Service for what would be a symbolic gesture (even if sincerely meant, which I do not believe it is).
Secondly, many Americans consider the site to be "sacred ground", and while Mr. Ahmedinejad and Iran may not have played a role in that tragedy, his country is widely considered by Americans to be contributing (if indirectly) to deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. Even I, a liberal in many areas, would consider his presence at Ground Zero to be highly inappropriate, to say the least.
Finally, I believe terrorist groups see Ahmedinejad as a hero, "standing up" to the "Great Satan", America, and they view Ground Zero as a triumph, not a tragedy. Pictures of him at the site would encourage, not discourage terrorists who would see him as tweaking the lion in its den.

New York was correct in a number of ways for denying President Ahmedinejad's request to visit Ground Zero. First of all, it would have presented a logistical nightmare. America must guarantee his safety, and there is simply no overwhelming reason to tie up the city, the police force, and the Secret Service for what would be a symbolic gesture (even if sincerely meant, which I do not believe it is).
Secondly, many Americans consider the site to be "sacred ground", and while Mr. Ahmedinejad and Iran may not have played a role in that tragedy, his country is widely considered by Americans to be contributing (if indirectly) to deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. Even I, a liberal in many areas, would consider his presence at Ground Zero to be highly inappropriate, to say the least.
Finally, I believe terrorist groups see Ahmedinejad as a hero, "standing up" to the "Great Satan", America, and they view Ground Zero as a triumph, not a tragedy. Pictures of him at the site would encourage, not discourage terrorists who would see him as tweaking the lion in its den.

One might disagree with Ahmadinajad for his clumsy PR blunders-but he is not afraid to stand up against israel and its zionist gangs;if he had any thing to hide he would have accepted to appear at Columbia or ask to lay a wreath at Gound Zero.

Nice job, Post! You published three anti-American viewpoints in response to your question!

If you guys couldn't fine one voice against Ahmedinejad's appearance than you are the ones living in the bubble.

Stop publishing exclusively anti-American views.

Im sure his denial of visiting Ground Zero also has to do with the fact that he indirectly blamed Bush and/or the US govt. for 9/11, or at the least implied that they knew it was going to happen.