Would somebody tell this guy to go to hell.
Ahmadinejad says Israel will soon disappear
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080602124328.f6eyi8y1&show_article=1
Speaking of Absurdity.....
Comments ... #
From the link to Wiki that you provided comes the following information:
In 2001 Khamenei famously remarked that "this cancerous tumor of a state [Israel] should be removed from the region." On the same occasion he proposed that "Palestinian refugees should return and Muslims, Christians and Jews could choose a government for themselves, excluding immigrant Jews."53
In 2005 Khamenei responded to President Ahmadinejad's alleged remark that Israel should be "wiped off the map" by saying that "the Islamic Republic has never threatened and will never threaten any country."[54] Moreover Khamenei's main advisor in foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, refused to take part in Holocaust conference. In contrast to Ahmadinejad's remarks, Velayati said that Holocaust was a genocide and a historical reality.55
Sounds to me like they are all figureheads. None of them are on the same page because they are nutjobs. Nutjobs are dangerous.
I bolded the word "country" because they don't even recognize Israel as a country. No Arab state does if I recall.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks. June 3, 2008 Al Jazeera story :
Iran's supreme leader has reaffirmed his country's commitment to a peaceful nuclear programme, while attacking George Bush, the US president as "mentally ill". Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a ceremony honouring the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, that Tehran had no interest in building nuclear weapons."Look at behaviour of the US president and members of his team, their words are like those of the mentally ill," he said on Tuesday. "Sometimes they threaten … and sometimes they ask for help – it's like mad people staggering to and fro."
Khamenei said that the erratic behaviour of Bush is rooted in the failures in Afghanistan and Iraq and urged countries to resist bullying. With regards to accusations by the US and its allies that Iran is attempting to manufacture a nuclear weapon, Khamenei said that possessing such arsenal would be "useless".
"No wise nation is interested in making a nuclear weapon," since it is not logical and cannot be used. "Iran is after the peaceful use of nuclear energy and we will strongly pursue and reach it despite the envy of our enemies."
Khamenei's remarks came after John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for the US presidency, said Washington should impose tougher measures on Iran if it continues with its nuclear programme. Mohammed El Baradei, the UN atomic watchdog chief, on Monday asked for greater clarity from Tehran concerning their nuclear programme. Iran has not provided access to documents and individuals as requested by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Another June 3, 2008 story :Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says that nations regard Israel as a fake regime imposed on the region."The Zionist regime has no power. It is incapable of standing by itself; it owes its existence to two obvious factors: unconditional and impudent support of the US and the Islamic and Arab countries' reluctance to back the Palestinian people," the Leader said while addressing a ceremony to commemorate the 19th demise anniversary of the Founder of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini, at his mausoleum in southern Tehran, Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, many Islamic governments have failed to carry out their duty toward the Palestinian people. If they had adopted the same stance as their nations and provided support to the oppressed people of Palestine, the situation would have been totally different in the region from what it is today," the Leader said.
"Commitment to Islamic principles; struggle against cruelty and arrogance; defense of the oppressed nations, the Palestinians in particular; and enmity toward the octopus-like Zionism are the favorite slogans of the Iranian people," the Leader noted.
How different is this to what John McCain said when he promised to "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran". Or when we have US officials threaten to bomb Middle Eastern countries "back to the Stone Age"?
Precisely, pink_slip. One rightwingnut in Iran is talking about another rightwingnut in the USA. They're both hostile morons that their OWN PEOPLE should rise up and "involuntarily retire".
Why are we even worried about Israel, anyway? They have a strong military and from 100 to 200 nuclear weapons. They are a nation that can defend itself. So ... why do Americans think that the US military needs to defend Israel?
GuestZero, that's a good question.
posted by jhostetler on Jun 03, 2008 at 10:35:01 am #
GZ, I don't think we are protecting Israel because as you point out, Israel has enough firepower to defend itself. Is it possible we're involved with Israel to keep Israel from annihilating that region?
After 9/11, the U.S. supposedly defended itself by invading Afghanistan. But since 9/11, hasn't the U.S on multiple occasions told Israel to not defend itself after certain events? Or at least told Israel to calm down?
The current Iraq war officially began in March 2003. Questions:
- Well before the war began, did Israel warn the U.S. that if one Iraqi missile landed on Israeli soil, Israel would launch a vicious attack against Iraq, regardless of what the U.S. or anyone else said? Basically, Israel would have no repeat of the Gulf War where Iraqi Scud missiles attacked Israel, correct?
- Is it true that the U.S. did not want Israel involved with the current Iraq war?
- Is it true that months before the March 2003 start of the Iraq war, U.S. troops were in western Iraq, disarming Iraqi missile launchers that were aimed at Israel?
why do Americans think that the US military needs to defend Israel?
I would ask Why not? Are we not the ones that first liberated the Nazi death camps? Perhaps our government promised the Jews, "never again" will we stand by and let this happen.
Before anyone starts yelling at me that it wasn't just Jews who were in the camps, I know.
If only the UN would be more mindful of the comments made by their beloved Kofi Annan when he said the following in a commemorative speech marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation
“It is, above all, a day to remember not only the victims of past horrors, whom the world abandoned, but also the potential victims of present and future ones,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the 191-member General Assembly during its first-ever special commemorative session, noting that the United Nations itself was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust.
“Such an evil must never be allowed to happen again. We must be on the watch for any revival of anti-Semitism and ready to act against the new forms of it that are appearing today,” he added, paying homage, too, to other groups slaughtered by Nazi Germany, including the Roma people, Slavs, Soviet prisoners of war, the handicapped, Jehovah’s Witnesses and homosexuals.
“But the tragedy of the Jewish people was unique,” he stressed. “An entire civilization, which had contributed far beyond its numbers to the cultural and intellectual riches of Europe and the world, was uprooted, destroyed, laid waste.”
why do Americans think that the US military needs to defend Israel?
I would ask Why not?
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And where does the USA draw the line at helping other countries? Which country? There are many other countries that are in far worse need of 'help', and we do nothing. People slaughtered & tortured at the hands of horrible dictators. And we do nothing (especially when people in our country stand to benefit financially, and trade with them, dispite the horrors going on that we know about). And why does the USA think that it is up to them to 'fix' other countries problems? I'm not suggesting that our help hasn't been useful or appreciated in the past, or that we shouldn't help in the future. But given the condition of our own country, I wonder how we can keep affording to offer all this 'help'. Our country is in the financial toilet as it is.A side note (and not to start a war, just to make a note of it) - I find it interesting that those people who's faith believes that only Christians who accept Jesus as the Savior will go to heaven, and that homosexuals are sinners & are damned to hell unless they 'change' - are so quick to want to 'help' those who do not meet their Christian criteria for the trip to Heaven. Aren't they doomed to hell anyway? Lost causes, so to speak? Just thinking out loud here - not throwing anybody's faith "under the bus" or attacking those faiths - just sounds like a little bit of double-talk to me.
posted by starling02 on Jun 03, 2008 at 05:12:48 pm #
Fatbabe, where was this ire of yours in Bosnia, in Rwanda, and in East Timor? On top of that, Israel has well demonstrated that it can defend itself. Literally it requires no outside defenders whatsoever.
At any rate, the military of our Republic has not business attacking other nations FOR other nations. The military is for OUR defense.
So you see, Israel is militarily strong, and our military has no duty to defend it anyways. That's fact, not majority opinion.
P.S. Where was the US military when Lebanon was being overrun by the Israeli military recently? That sounds like Lebanon needed OUR HELP from a viciously aggressive invader!
GZ, Israel sits on a tiny seashore totally surrounded by millions of hostile Muslims that
Learn more about Israel:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/history/
Fatbabe, you can well assume that the facts haven't materially changed for Israel since the 1967 war, except that now Israel is armed with 100 to 200 nuclear weapons, probably produced through intensive spying within the nuclear program of the US. The Muslims didn't wipe Israel off the map then, and they can't do it now. So, what's your problem, again?
If you want to support Israel, just write a check. There is a lot of arms sales throughout the world that Israel can participate in. But using the U.S. military to support Israel is not right. You know it. The U.S. military is for DEFENDING US.
Again, where was your ire when East Timor was being turned into a charnel house? When entire villages in Rwanda were being butchered with machete-wielding thugs? Slaughter like that hasn't even begun (if ever) in Israel, yet you seem remarkably concerned with Israel. Why is that?
GZ, you have made an assumption about my lack of "ire" about other situations based on the fact that I'm not posting about them.
That was extremely presumptuous of you but typical of the general attitude of this forum's members. I don't think this whole debate is about me so please...I am not comfortable with the "turn the other way" attitude of the world when it comes to constant threats of a tyrant in a leadership role of a country with a history of violence. Especially when it's one that has a radical religious belief that (in his sect's eyes) justifies his intentions.
I'm not implying anything about any of the posters on this site, but there's a lot of talk in the conservative Evangelical community about the need to protect Israel in order to fulfill the requirements of a Second Coming (the Rapture).
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/106/story_10687_1.html (an older article, but good for background.)
See also Pastor John Hagee and the Christians United for Israel group.
Again, I'm not trying to start anything here, but I've been hearing about this quite a lot at my church. My pastor believes that Rapture theology is pretty faulty and has brought about a lot of flame-fanning in recent years.
Rodney - my daughter was just telling me something about that today, that the Evangicals want to save Israel for Biblical reasons, and our Govt/the world will be sure it isn't wiped off the map because the masses are controlled by fear & religion (and religion is big money). She read something somewhere, that said that our war in Iraq won't end until the USA has control over the Middle East for oil (power), and that the church needs Israel to exist. Just a theory. I feel some fear for Israel as well - very small. But also has excellent capabiltiies to defend itself. It's a nice thing for our country to help when it can - but the job of our military & govt is to protect US, not to save the world. China has one of the worst dicators in the world - and yet, the good old USA does lots of buisness with China because it makes people lots of money. The USA seems to look the other way when there's money to be made. That said, I think the USA intends to keep this war in Iraq going until we control all the Middle East, it's oil & ports.
posted by starling02 on Jun 04, 2008 at 10:01:32 pm #
Isn't Ahmadinejad simply a figurehead or a spokesman or a tourism director of Iran? Doesn't the real power of Iran belong to someone else or some other group? If so, who cares what Ahmadinejad says? I'll defer to the experts on Iran, but I'll also link to Wikipedia.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the President of Iran.
Supreme Leader of Iran :
The President of Iran, who is elected by the public vote, is the Executive President (Head of government). In 1989, the Prime Minister's office was merged with the figurehead President's office to form the current post of President of Iran. However, certain executive powers, such as commandment of the armed forces and declaration of war and peace, remain in the hands of the Supreme Leader.
Currently the Supreme Leader of Iran is Ali Khamenei.posted by jr on Jun 02, 2008 at 03:06:12 pm #