Breaking CNN: Letter from Iran to U.S.

[Fridays Child]

Will update this OP as details emerge.

Five pages.

Appeal to Americans to "go around" Bush.

"Aggrieved by ever-worsening pain of Palestinians."

"Persistent aggression of the 'Zionists' at fault in Mideast"

"Since the commencement of the U.S. military presence in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed. The presence of the U.S. has done nothing to rebuild the ruins or restore the infrastructure or alleviate poverty. The U.S. government used the pretext of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but it later became clear that this was a lie and a deception. The pain of the Iraqi people persists and has been aggravated even though Saddam Hussein was overthrown."

[itsmesgd]

1. how sad is it this

he knows that there is no talking sense to chimpy, so he has to ask us to stop our own madman.

[jazzjunkysue]

2. Hysterical. The Shrub won 't like that one bit. n/t.

[tridim]

6. And based on what I heard, the Repukes aren't going to waste any time..

declaring Ahmadinejad the architect of the "Democrat" platform.

[itsmesgd]

8. screw the pukes!

It's now official. Everyone in the world thinks that the bushites are the truly dangerous ones.

[maddezmom]

3. here is a link

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061129/wl_mideast_afp/iraniraqdiplomacyus_061129161246

[mom cat]

15. Thanks for the link.

[itsmesgd]

4. it sounds like a proxy war is in the making.

Iran (and Al Sadr) vs. US (Al Malaki). The problems in the region are expanding on an exponential scale today alone.
stay tuned kiddies.

[AngryOldDem]

7. Yep. This is going to get bad, fast n/t

[Fridays Child]

12. On the other hand, what if...

...Ahmadinejad succeeded in fixing that which Bush has so horrifically broken? Talibani has as much as said that he welcomes Iranian intervention and the "unity government" is disintegrating over Maliki's pending meeting with Bush. Maybe, next, they'll band together and tell the U.S. to get the hell out. What would Bush do, if the sovereign nation of Iraq kicked him out?

[0rganism]

18. I do question whether Malaki will be a willing proxy for US interests

Iran definitely seems to have the stronger hand here. Does Malaki enjoy the idea of being a walking target for the Mahdi militia?

[Fridays Child]

5. The news anchor's only response to the reporter who was reading excerpts...

"Richard, who's going to print this?"

WTF?

[MGKrebs]

13. I would think twice about printing it.

Gotta protect yourself.

"Got Anthrax?"

[Efilroft Sul]

31. If I had a newspaper, I'd print Rock Me Ahmadenijad's letter.

Let the readers decide for themselves what to think. Isn't it that third-rate entertainment channel on cable, I think it's called Fox News, that says, "We report, you decide"? That certainly seems to apply in this case.

As for possibly receiving an anthrax-laced love letter? I won't give in to that kind of fear. Let Bush fear the truth, or at least a rival's opinion. I won't fear the exchange of ideas. Or anthrax.

Put hope in front of fear.

[lala_rawraw]

33. Raw printed it in full

[The Stranger]

16. Mustn't let the sheeple read the message. Must hate "Other." Must hate "Other."

Mustn't let the sheeple thinks for themselves.

How fucking sad.

[Zodiak]

19. Yeah...saw that, too

They said in response "well, I'm sure it will be on the internet for people to see"

They are now deferring the news to the net because they are too cowardly to report it themselves. And they are admitting it openly.

[SpiralHawk]

9. "Your Commander AWOL is irrelevant." - Iran

Well, we already knew he was a liar and fuckup, so now I guess we are going to have to admit he is fast becoming irrelevant.

[AndyA]

10. In my opinion, George Bush needs to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING

in the name of peace, and he won't even have a dialogue with countries he doesn't like. That's not his job. He's supposed to be looking after the best interests of the people of the United States of America, and how can he do that when he won't even have a discussion?

Closing doors will never achieve peace, it will only deter it. Bush is a spoiled child in a man's body.

[Efilroft Sul]

32. Diplomacy isn't about talking with your friends...

...it's about opening up discussions with your enemies, both real and perceived.

Bush and the neocons don't get it, and they don't intend to.

[buddysmellgood]

11. Bush will use this to stick to his guns. He'll say, "See, I told you they were evil. They

want us to leave before the job is done."

[Fridays Child]

14. An angel could descend upon the White House, demanding...

...an end to the occupation, and B*sh would brand it an act of the devil.

[cali]

17. There's no danger of that.

Ahmadinejad's devoid of halo and wings. I can't believe anyone can take this heavy handed propandistic shit. It's about as digestible as my aunt Sue's fruitcake. And it is also classically, if boringly and predictably, antisemitic.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[buddysmellgood]

26. LOL, exactly.

[Zodiak]

20. The blurb on CNN.com

Iran's president calls on Americans, Democrats to help change the mistakes of the Bush administration

TEHRAN (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written a letter to the American people praising them as "truth-loving and justice-seeking" and urging them to "play an instrumental role" in helping to reverse their government's foreign policy mistakes.

The five-page letter also warns the Democratic Party that it could lose the 2008 presidential election if it does nothing to change the current policy now that it controls both houses of Congress following this month's mid-term elections.

In his letter, Ahmadinejad explains that he is addressing the American people because the two countries share similar values, including the desire "to promote and protect freedom and human dignity and integrity."

State Department spokesman Tom Casey called the letter "a public relations stunt" by Tehran and refused "to dignify" the Iranian president's accusations of the Bush administration "with a specific reaction." (Posted 12:39 p.m.)

[Zodiak]

21. More excerpts

- We, like you, are aggrieved by the ever-worsening pain and misery of the Palestinian people. Persistent aggressions by the Zionists are making life more and more difficult for the rightful owners of the land of Palestine.

- You know well that the U.S. administration has persistently provided blind and blanket support to the Zionist regime, has emboldened it to continue its crimes, and has prevented the U.N. Security Council from condemning it.

- No people wants to side with or support any oppressors. But regrettably, the U.S. administration disregards even its own public opinion and remains in the forefront of supporting the trampling of the rights of the Palestinian people."

- Let's take a look at Iraq. Since the commencement of the U.S. military presence in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed, maimed or displaced. Terrorism in Iraq has grown exponentially.

- In Iraq, about one hundred and fifty thousand American soldiers, separated from their families and loved ones, are operating under the command of the current U.S. administration. A substantial number of them have been killed or wounded and their presence in Iraq has tarnished the image of the American people and government.

- Noble Americans, you have heard that the U.S. administration is kidnapping its presumed opponents from across the globe and arbitrarily holding them without trial or any international supervision in horrendous prisons that it has established in various parts of the world. God knows who these detainees actually are, and what terrible fate awaits them.

- You have certainly heard the sad stories of the Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prisons. The U.S. administration attempts to justify them through its proclaimed "war on terror." But every one knows that such behavior, in fact, offends global public opinion, exacerbates resentment and thereby spreads terrorism, and tarnishes the U.S. image and its credibility among nations.

-The U.S. administration's illegal and immoral behavior is not even confined to outside its borders. You are witnessing daily that under the pretext of "the war on terror," civil liberties in the United States are being increasingly curtailed. Even the privacy of individuals is fast losing its meaning. Judicial due process and fundamental rights are trampled upon. Private phones are tapped, suspects are arbitrarily arrested, sometimes beaten in the streets, or even shot to death.

- We all condemn terrorism, because its victims are the innocent. But, can terrorism be contained and eradicated through war, destruction and the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocents? If that were possible, then why has the problem not been resolved?

- I recommend that, in a demonstration of respect for the American people and for humanity, the right of Palestinians to live in their own homeland should be recognized so that millions of Palestinian refugees can return to their homes and the future of all of Palestine and its form of government be determined in a referendum. This will benefit everyone.

- Now that Iraq has a Constitution and an independent Assembly and government, would it not be more beneficial to bring the U.S. officers and soldiers home, and to spend the astronomical U.S. military expenditures in Iraq for the welfare and prosperity of the American people?

- I'd also like to say a word to the winners of the recent elections in the U.S. ... Now that you control an important branch of the U.S. government, you will also be held to account by the people and by history.

[jordi_fanclub]

22. FULL TRANSCRIPT: Ahmadinejad's letter to Americans

This is the full text of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's
open letter to "the American People," as supplied to CNN...

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/29/ahmadinejad.letter/

[goforit]

34. Interesting. Noble Americans, eh?

[Straight Shooter]

23. I don't need an Iranian nutcase lecturing me on what to do with our American nutcase.

He's posturing. This is like poking bush in the chest with a finger, repeatedly. bush is a freak of nature, becomes more belligerent when his so-called authority is questioned.

Those of us who are working to restore some semblance of normalcy are well aware of the trouble bush causes. Letters such as this serve to rally the bushies. The rest of us don't need to be told what to do by someone who is cut from the same cloth as bush.

/rant off

[The Stranger]

28. Nothing you have posted seems supported by the text from the "Iranian nutcase." And

the Bushies are not going to rally around the actual text of the message -- they rally around the war-supporting and murderous corporate media's lies about the message.

[Straight Shooter]

36. I'm saying it's buttressing the idea that anti-bush means support for the Iranian nutcase.

The bushies lump everyone who doesn't support bush into the same basket. Also, I believe, IMHO, that protocol or at least civil behavior requires so-called leaders to address other so-called leaders.

We're all doing what we can to hamstring bush's agenda. But he isn't helping us by writing letters like this.

[The Stranger]

42. Our mistake all along was worrying how the Bushies, Neocons and fundies would portray us.

That led to things like The Dick Durbin's panicked apologies and other GOP bootlicking. The only ones misportraying Progressives are those in the corporate media -- part of a criminal conspiracy to commit war crimes and obstruct justice.

[Straight Shooter]

43. But it wasn't "our" mistake.

It was the mistake of those who claim to represent us. Look at the response to Webb's reaction to bush's snide disregard for his son serving in Iraq. We need more leaders like Webb and lot less like Durbin.

I agree 100 percent about the corporate media. They couldn't care less. x(

edit to add, the response to Webb has been incredibly positive. The Dems have been needing a fighter for a long time, instead of a capitulator.

[Vinca]

25. Who's up for a Cuban vacation?

Let's write back!:rofl:

[goforit]

35. LOL!!!!

[Le Taz Hot]

27. With all due respect,

Tehran does not dictate America's foreign or domestic policy. If there is a problem, and there obviously is, the American people will take care of it, as I believe the recent elections should have proved. Thanks anyway. If we need your help, we've got your number.

Further, Democratic leaders need to address this IMMEDIATELY and distance themselves from it as they were specifically named in the letter.

[MGD]

30. "Democratic leaders need to address this IMMEDIATELY

and distance themselves from it as they were specifically named in the letter."
I'm sure most of the Democratic leaders will. It's some of the Democratic followers who will give this guy traction.

[nolabels]

29. Ah, see the joke be on him, Americans to "go around" Bush"

What ya think been going on for the last five or six years :crazy:

[IndianaGreen]

37. It is a great letter with a lot of truths, and some deception

The deception is that Iran under the ayatollahs has not been a model of human rights and democracy. The things that the letter says about the US, and US foreign policy, are right on target.

Now, if we had someone smart as President, and one that was not beholden to certain voting blocks that shall remain nameless, this letter could be taken as an opportunity for a frank dialog with Iran. Unfortunately, neither Bush nor the Democrats are capable of stepping outside the box and treat Iran with the respect it deserves and our own long-term national interests demand.

[some guy]

39. I wouldn't say great

- it does have truths, so that makes it decent, it also has deceptions, which undercut its effectiveness.

Unfortunately, I've little doubt he lost a lot of people in the US right off the bat, "O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being promised to all by You, and make us among his followers."

Christians think Jesus already filled that plea. So either they will dismiss everything after that part, or they will see the second part, "...and make us among his followers." as more reason to try to convert Muslims to Christianity.

I don't forsee any real good coming from this letter, no matter how widely it gets circulated. Hopefully, it won't cause harm.

[Quantess]

38. "'go around' Bush"

Well, now that Dems have some clout, it's a likelier possibility. Thank God for that little shred of hope.

[CornField]

40. Too many words used

Your leader is a lying asshole and you, as a nation, have not only fucked yourselves but our entire region. Regardless of how differently you and I view this area, the mess you've created is only getting worse and affecting all neighboring countries including ours. Please straighten your shit out and do something positive. And, if you don't have at least the balls to do that, just move the fuck out of the way so all of us living on this block can clean up our collective backyard.

[NVMojo]

41. this is horrible and the bad karma we've earned as a pathetic nation

will haunt us for years and years ....