Cherry-Picking Ahmadinejad

At the International Palestine Conference, April 14, 2006

The press coverage of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran is revealing.

Where the reporter of "the facts" comes from is key to understanding "the truth."

One could read an article covering comments by the Iranian president and be led to believe that he's a reasonable, responsible man.

From Khaleej Times Online:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday once again rejected a demand by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to suspend its uranium enrichment process.

"This is a legitimate and irrevocable right of the Iranian nation which we will decisively pursue regardless of threats and pressures," Ahmadinejad said on state-television during the last day of his visit to the north-eastern Khorassan province.

While terming uranium enrichment as a red line over which Iran would not compromise with anyone, the president proclaimed Thursday that Iran had already joined the world’s nuclear states "and there would be no way back."

Despite defying international demands to suspend uranium enrichment, Iran on Friday still hoped that the final report by the head of the to the United Nations Security Council would be "fair."

From Islamic Republic News Agency:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played down on Friday latest comments of the US Secretary of State Condaleezza Rice who has threatened to use force and economic sanctions against Iran.

"She is free to talk," Ahmadinejad told reporters after his address to the opening session of the International Conference on Holy Qods and Support For the Rights of the Palestinian People.

The two-day conference is being held in Tehran with participation of 16 parliament speakers of the Muslim World and large number of Muslim scholars.

"There is no problem with talking. She is free to talk this way as much as she whises. We do not attach any importance to this kind of words," Ahmadinejad stressed.

It sounds as though the big, bad West is bullying Iran, denying the country its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program.

One gets a different impression of Iran and its leaders from Western media.

From AFP:

Iran's hardline leaders launched a string of vitriolic attacks against the United States and Israel, voicing "serious doubts" over the Holocaust and predicting the "elimination" of the Jewish state.

The Islamic republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also used a pro-Palestinian conference in Tehran to rally support from Islamic nations for the cash-strapped, Hamas-led Palestinian government.

From AP:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.

..."Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm."

...On Friday, he repeated his previous line on the Holocaust, saying: "If such a disaster is true, why should the people of this region pay the price? Why does the Palestinian nation have to be suppressed and have its land occupied?"

The land of Palestine, he said, referring to the British mandated territory that includes all of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, "will be freed soon."

Obviously, these accounts present Ahmadinejad in very different terms.

What the Islamic world sees as rational, many in the Western world perceive as dangerous.

Of course, I'm speaking in general terms; but overall, it's a definite culture clash.

I wonder if it's possible to peacefully address the differences held by Islam and the West, particularly when it comes to Israel and Palestine.
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Read Ahmadinejad uncut, addressing the Palestine Conference.

Full Text of Ahmadinejad's address -- Part One

Full Text of Ahmadinejad's address -- Part Two

Full Text of Ahmadinejad's address -- Part Three