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Mossadegh Project News & Updates
December 17 :: Top Israeli Newspaper Acknowledges 'Map' Rumor
Convincing Israelis, as well as many Jews, that Ahmadinejad's comments about Israel were misquoted is a hard sell, as it's virtually unheard of to see any mention of this fact in the mainstream Israeli media. Recently, The Jerusalem Post featured a link to our article proving that Ahmadinejad did not say that Israel must be wiped off the map. This marks the first official acknowledgement of that counter argument by this influential right wing publication, which is read by the likes of Shimon Peres and other high ranking officials in the Israeli government.
----> The Jerusalem Post Features "Rumor of the Century" Article
December 14 :: Students Day
Richard Nixon's visit to Iran following the 1953 coup sparked student protests that resulted in 3 deaths. Every year on December 6 (Azar 16 in Persian calendar), that event is commemorated with a national holiday in Iran.
----> Students Day Commemoration- Iran Marks 1953 Protest
December 5 :: LA Times on Iran
The LA Times has published a review of some of their past editorials on Iran dating back to 1941.
----> The Los Angeles Times Editorials on Iran, Mossadegh- 1941-1953
December 4 :: ". . . Sounds Like a Policy Question"
A few weeks ago, CIA Director Michael Hayden was asked about the damage done by the American CIA coup that took out Mossadegh in 1953. Hayden adapted the ostrich 'head-in-sand' posture and failed to give a straight answer. Click the link for audio and text transcript of the exchange.
----> CIA Director Michael Hayden Dodges 1953 Coup Question
December 3 :: Iran's Nuclear Program Frozen in 2003
Here is the U.S. Director of National Intelligence office press release [pdf file]: National Intelligence Estimate Key Judgments: Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities.
December 1 :: 1950's Newspaper Items
News write-ups about Dr. Mossadegh and Dr. Fatemi from the International Herald Tribune archives.
----> International Herald Tribune Newspaper Archives- Iran 1951-1954
November 23 :: Jim Speeches
Transcripts of speeches from U.S. representatives Jim Webb and Jim McDermott.
----> Senator Jim Webb Introduces Bill Prohibiting US Funds To Attack Iran
----> Congressman Jim McDermott: Constructive Engagement in Middle East
November 19 :: 1953
For the first time ever, a comprehensive database of international figures 'on the record' about the 1953 coup that destroyed Iran's young democratic government under Premier Mossadegh. A work in progress, www.mohammadmossadegh.com/1953 will be one of the cornerstones of this site.
----> Mossadegh and the 1953 Coup in Iran
November 13 :: Question Time
Novelist and political commentator Ahdaf Soueif questions the folly of overthrowing Mossadegh on BBC TV's 'Question Time'.
----> Ahdaf Soueif on Intervention in Middle East
November 11 :: Iran in the Crosshairs
Camp Casey's Poet Laureate Rick Burnley on the pending plans for war with Iran.
----> Poet Rick Burnley: Iran in the Crosshairs
November 7 :: Re-drawing the Line
A presidential historian enters the "No Spin Zone" and proceeds to spin around dizzily. But he's been busted by his own previous words two years earlier...
----> Professor Richard Shenkman Distorts History on FOX News
November 5 :: The Secret Government
In 1987 Bill Moyers hosted a PBS program which exposed covert U.S. operations in foreign countries, including the Dulles brothers' handiwork in Iran and Guatemala.
----> The Secret Government: Bill Moyers TV program 1987
October 26 :: Coming to America
On this month in 1951, Mossadegh, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Fatemi, Iranian officials, and two of his children, traveled to America to make his case at the UN. Here is a pictoral display of his trip and tours of major U.S. landmarks.
----> Photos of Mossadegh's UN Appearance and United States Visit
October 17 :: Ritter's Reversal
Thanks in large part to The Mossadegh Project, former Chief UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq, Mr. Scott Ritter, has finally reversed himself on the "wiped off the map" rumor after repeating it for so long.
----> Scott Ritter: Iran is Not a Threat
October 13 :: Mohandas and Mohammad
A comparison of two revered innovators of the East, Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammad Mossadegh.
----> Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Mossadegh Compared
October 2 :: Bolton's Nostalgia
Former UN Ambassador John Bolton, the repugnant face of American arrogance, hubris, and bad mustaches, has waxed poetic about the good old days when the United States used to overthrow democratically elected governments.
----> John Bolton: Bomb Iran, Overthrow Regime
September 28 :: Hillary Clinton
Senator Hillary Clinton seems to find her country's drunken staggering towards war against Iran a source of amusement.
----> Hillary Clinton and Iran.. what's so funny?
September 26 :: Press TV
Watch a video about Mossadegh from Iran's English state sponsored news network PRESS TV.
----> Press TV: Iran News Network on 1953 Coup
September 24 :: Censored
----> Project Censored Award 2008
September 21 :: McDermott: Iraq/Iran War About Oil
Congressman Jim McDermott: "Overthrowing Iran in 1953 was all about oil. Invading Iraq was all about oil, and the new secret plot against Iran is all about oil."
----> Rep. Jim McDermott: NO! IRAN WAR
September 20 :: Greenspan: Iraq War About Oil
In his new book, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has said that the war against Iraq "is largely about oil". If the Iraq war is about oil, then a potential war against Iran must have something to do with oil, too, no?
---> The Age of Turbulence: Alan Greenspan on Oil, Iraq and Mossadegh
September 17 :: Mitt's Threats
"If President Ahmadinejad sets foot in the United States, he should be handed an indictment under the Genocide Convention," threatens U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who claims to believe the tired, pathetic "wiped off the map" rumor.
----> Republican candidate Mitt Romney: Indict Ahmadinejad
September 13 :: The Power of the Lobby
Congressman Jim Moran is speaking from experience when he says "If you cross AIPAC, AIPAC is unforgiving and will destroy you politically." And, he warns, AIPAC wants war with Iran.
----> Virginia Congressman Jim Moran on Iran and the Israel Lobby
September 1 :: Wiped off the...
Congressman Steve Rothman has recently endorsed Barack Obama for President and will serve as regional co-chair for the Obama campaign. The two men have something else in common: they both falsely claim that Ahmadinejad has pledged to 'wipe Israel off the map'.
Following its publication, Congressman Rothman recently responded to our article examining media coverage of the misquote, click to read it and our reply:
----> New Jersey Democrat Steve Rothman
August 22 :: Papa Agassi
Tennis star Andre Agassi's father, Mike Agassi, left Iran in late 1952 during the height of Mossadegh's standoff with US-UK imperialists.
----> Mike Agassi, 'The Agassi Story'
August 10 :: Byrd's Eye View
Considering America's dependence on Mideast oil, "One could well see why Mossadegh was not in US plans for the region.", says veteran Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV).
----> Senator Robert C. Byrd on Iran, Mossadegh and the Shah
August 6 :: An Arab Perspective on 1953
During the heated UN Security Council meetings over the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia raised the subject of the 1953 coup against Premier Mossadegh, whom he had known personally.
----> Former Saudi Ambassador Jamil M. Baroody on CIA "terrorism"
August 3 :: Co-operation or Confrontation
In a recent interview with the British press, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that diplomacy and threats simply do not mix:
"The western side should find a more logical and reasonable way to deal with this issue. They tried [UN security council] resolutions, and it proved unhelpful. There are two paths, two options – confrontation and co-operation. Each one has its own requirements.
If they prefer confrontation, okay. Let’s go together. But they cannot sanction us, adopt resolutions against us, add pressure on us, and expect co-operation from us. The two options cannot go side by side – there is either co-operation or confrontation.."
----> Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister
July 29 :: Time out
TIME magazine articles, full of lies, on Mossadegh.
----> TIME: Another Round to Mossadegh
July 18 :: Stunning Admission
Continuing with the 'hypocrisy' theme, here's a new State Dept. press release condemning Iran's imprisonment of four Iranian-Americans on charges of "espionage". The U.S. is right to condemn it. Yet in the course of doing so, America inadvertently makes a stunning admission about its own long standing, counter-productive foreign policy.
----> U.S. State Department Condemns Iran, Admits Failed Policy
July 16 :: Making the World Safe for Hypocrisy
A comic book from 1952, set in Iran and dealing with backdoor oil concession deals with Britain and America? It's no coincidence that T-Man #3 sat on news stands beside magazine and newspaper headlines crying about that pesky old Mossadegh 'oiling the wheels of chaos'.
----> 1950's Comic Book Propaganda Tackles Iran
July 6 :: No Preconditions
Presidential contender Bill Richardson has proposed one of the most lucid plans for dealing with Iran yet. Relatively speaking, it's revolutionary: no preconditions for negotiations.
----> New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson on Iran
June 25 :: Caught Red-Handed
War with Iran would not be "Iraq 2" -- it would be Iraq³ x 2. Yet in the face of the all the tragedy and failure in Iraq, the media still cheerleads for more conflict with the Persian boogeyman. Among the many lies and exaggerations about Iran is the so-called "Rumor of the Century". This update is intended to be the most comprehensive indictment of the media's handling of the topic.
----> Caught Red Handed: Media Backtracks on Iran's Anti-Israel 'Threat'
June 7 :: That Sinking 'Moral High Ground'
When 5 Iranian officials were ambushed in their offices and "arrested" by U.S. forces in Iraq back in January, it set a dangerous precedent that could be used to justify kidnappings of Americans. Sure enough, as those 5 Iranians languish in U.S. custody 6 months later, Iran has recently "arrested" 4 Iranian-Americans in Iran suspected of spying for America [Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh, Parnaz Azima, and Ali Shakeri].
The arrests have been widely condemned in the United States government and media as serious human rights violations. Iran has countered that the criticism constitutes interference in their country's internal affairs. On June 5th, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini scoffed at the charges, citing the many U.S. human rights atrocities, double standards and violations of international law including torture in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib:
"The US officials waged propaganda campaign against arrest of a number of suspects in Iran, while they have perpetrated numerous human rights violations against innocent people from various nations, abused them in CIA jails, and violated international regulations and human rights."
"The United States also has a bleak record of beating Iranian students by the US police, and getting in the way of Iranian businessmen."
Then there is this excerpt from the Boston Herald:
Adding to the tensions, shortly after Ahmadinejad’s news conference, Tehran issued its harshest refusal yet of American demands to release dual citizens held in Iran on espionage charges.
The Foreign Ministry said U.S. abuses, from prisoner mistreatment at Guantanamo to a UCLA police officer’s shocking an Iranian-American student with a Taser,
showed that Washington had no right to criticize Iran’s human rights record.
"Instead of offering inefficient suggestions, America should assess its own tactics-
secret prisons, mistreatment and even inhuman treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in a statement released by his office.
Meanwhile, President Bush has strongly criticized Egypt's imprisonment of opposition leader Ayman Nour, which Egypt has called "an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs." Then, like Iran, the outraged dictatorship played the hypocrisy card:
"The U.S. President should have talked about the prisoners of Guantanamo who are deprived of the simplest of legal defence guaranteed by all human rights conventions."
Tensions have risen with Russia, too, as an ever more cocky Vladimir Putin responded to U.S. criticism of Russia's alleged democracy deficit by describing himself this week as "an absolute and pure democrat". America's proposal to build a missile defense shield in Europe is viewed distrustingly by Putin, who has blasted U.S. imperialism, adding:
"We look at what has been created in North America- horror: torture, homelessness, Guantanamo, detention without courts or investigation".
The United States has become a victim of its own hypocrisy.
Hosseini dismisses US comments on Iranians under arrest for spying Tehran, June 5, IRNA
Iran-US-Nationals
The US officials have made irrelevant statements on the arrest of Iranian nationals for spy charges, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Tuesday.
He told IRNA, responding to a question about US officials interventionist statements about arrest of several Iranian nationals for spy charges, that those under arrest are subject to Iranian legal code.
The spokesman said that the US Administration had better respect the legal code of other countries, calling on the US to give up inappropriate recommendations to other nations and instead, review its own record of human rights inside covert prisons in Europe and violation of human rights of prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.
"The US officials waged propaganda campaign against arrest of a number of suspects in Iran, while they have perpetrated numerous human rights violations against innocent people from various nations, abused them in CIA jails, and violated international regulations and human rights," Hosseini added.
He said that the the US officials are used to employ double standard in dealing with Iranian nationals and termed their recent remarks about the spy suspects under investigation in Iran as and opportunist practice and without any logical basis, he said that they both support such people, conspiring against Iranian national security and stability, and continue with mistreatment of Iranians when they arrive at the US airports.
Hosseini said that the US Administration has committed disrespect for Iranian academics and expatriates living in the United States citing cancellation of membership of Iranian scientist from the US Chemical Association and arresting Iranian scholar Mr. Alavi for baseless allegations.
"The United States also has a bleak record of beating Iranian students by the US police, and getting in the way of Iranian businessmen," he said adding that such practices are examples of American double standards towards Iranians.
Hosseini reminded the US officials to avoid interference in Iranian internal affairs with the aim of sowing discord among various tribes in the country, and said that such strategies are in contradiction with moral values and respecting sovereignty of other countries.
As per bilateral agreement in Algiers in 1981, the US has undertaken not to meddle in Iranian national affairs.
June 5 :: Hart to Heart
Former Senator Gary Hart would like to see George Bush and other politicians read Stephen Kinzer's All the Shah's Men and write an 800-word essay on what they learned.
----> Gary Hart on American Empire in the Middle East
May 21 :: Bully Pulpit
What's really behind America's obsession with Iran's nuclear program? Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says that the nuclear issue is just a pretext- if it weren't that, it would be something else. It would be nice if he were wrong. When Congressman Ron Paul said this week that the United States is hated in the Middle East because "we've been over there", he was referring to countries such as Iran. As Khamenei describes it:
"Some European countries still live with the memories of the 19th and early 20th centuries. They should know that the day the British came to the Persian Gulf and the British military commander ruled all regional countries including Iran from inside the ship, is over. They should know that the era when Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was in this country so the Americans and British could tell him through their ambassadors who to appoint minister and prime minister, who to oust and how to use oil is over."
The irony is astounding. Because of America's intervention in Iran, today they face a regressive regime 1000 times worse than the progressive government they crushed. The United States is hostile to Islamic countries and people, yet it set up a process which put a fiercely Islamic regime in power; and every aggressive move the U.S. makes against Iran only hardens and radicalizes the very regime it is attempting to rid itself of. Iran claims it is utterly opposed to nuclear weapons, but if they keep on being threatened with war and bombs, then they might change course and begin to develop the same nukes that America and Israel find so intolerable. It is, as Ron Paul would describe it, the law of opposites.
----> Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on the Nuclear Issue
May 18 :: the roots of 9/11
Congressman Ron Paul's participation in the 2007 Republican Presidential debates was marked by a heated exchange with former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani over the relationship of the events of 9/11 to U.S. interventionist foreign policy (actually Rudy was heated, Ron was completely calm as usual).
The highly suspect corporate media omitted Ron Paul's reference to the 1953 coup from its news highlights, giving the false impression that Giuliani had bested Paul in the debate. Despite this, Paul easily beat Giuliani in audience polls, and Paul's statements are validated by findings in the 9/11 Commission Report. To view the unedited comments, click below:
----> Rudy Giuliani vs. Ron Paul: Full transcript and video
May 17 :: Bloody brilliant
With Prime Minister Tony Blair on his way out, his successor, Gordon Brown, will have the opportunity to start fresh and begin to reverse the damage done by the English poodle. Famous newscaster Jon Snow, who has interviewed Blair in the past, is calling for Brown to seize the chance to go to Iran and discuss British-Iranian relations. Is Brown up to the challenge?
----> Broadcaster Jon Snow on Iran
May 8 :: Setting the Table for War
Back in April, when the British sailors were still in Iranian captivity, John Bolton (former U.S. interim Ambassador to the U.N.) appeared on CNN and was asked a simple yes or no question: Would the United States eventually go to war with Iran?
"I think that's a probable yes", replied Bolton, as a self satisfied smile crept over his face.
Let there be no doubt in anyone's mind that the United States of America wants war with Iran. When the prospect of war with another country fills U.S. officials with anticipation rather than dread, then peace is clearly not the objective. When a prominent U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate openly calls for the U.S. to "bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran", he cannot possibly claim to want to exhaust every diplomatic opportunity available. "All options on the table" is no empty phrase -- for Democrats and Republicans alike, even the use of nuclear weapons is an "option" on the "table".
Call your Congressperson, your state and local representatives.. take a stand.. and don't forget about these great NO! IRAN WAR t-shirts...............
April 27 :: Gettin' it wrong
When the corporate media gets it wrong, those errors echo throughout the world instantaneously. Because the media is owned by a handful of corporations, the viewpoints of a few are presented to the masses as the gospel truth. The media may be masters of ubiquity, but omniscient they are not. Take it, Howard...
April 26 :: McDermott not dancing to this beat
While some neocon crazies put their hatred of Iranians into song, not everyone is dancing to the bloody beat. As the unending Iraq tragedy drags on, Congressman Jim McDermott has observed the increasing war drums with alarm and called for Congress to prevent Bush from launching another ruinous war in the Middle East. "The Iraqi people want us out of Iraq. The American people want us out of Iraq. But the President drives us deeper and deeper into Iraq and then threatens military action against Iran."
----> Congressman Jim McDermott: War Drums on Iran Must End
April 19 :: McCain's American Values
Speaking of humiliation (see item below), Republican Senator John McCain once described the Iranian revolution of 1979 as a "humiliating spectacle of a third rate power holding American diplomats hostage, an expression of contempt for the resolve of the United States and the values of the civilized world."
Today, John McCain, a violent extremist, has revealed himself. Confirming what was already his obvious desire, McCain openly called for the United States to bomb Iran, a prospect he evidently found amusing. To quote the senator: "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran".
Is this the "civilized world" McCain represents? Are these American "values"?
Read the description of what happened, watch the video, and find out how to take action NOW!
----> Senator John McCain: Bomb, Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran
April 18 :: Who Started It?
The British and American press whined incessantly about the "humiliation" of having the British marines captured by Iran's Navy in the Persian Gulf. They made almost no reference to the decades of humiliation that Iran has endured under the shadow of the British and American empires. Since the media won't give us the full story, leave it to (who else?) a comedian to offer a counter perspective.
"It's hardly surprising that the Iranians distrust the West", opines famous British satirist Rory Bremner. In a single sketch, Bremner turns tragedy into comedy by reviewing the history of Britain's ill-fated coup that permanently wiped out Iran's young democracy. Watch the video online:
----> Rory Bremner on Iran and Britain
April 15 :: Hypocrisy For Dummies
An oldie but a goodie. This letter to the Washington Post responding to a column contrasting Iran and India's nuclear program is over a year old, but of course still applies.
----> David Ignatius of The Washington Post on Iran
April 13 :: Captive Audience
For 2 weeks, the standoff between Britain and Iran saturated world headlines. It was a perfect opportunity for the media to raise the subject of the 1953 coup, but that would have been too reasonable. Instead, the media echoed Bush's prejudicial accusation of "hostage taking" without any conclusive proof, providing a convenient excuse to draw parallels with the 1979 hostage crisis.
On the day the British marines were released from Iranian captivity, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the opportunity to engage in photo opportunities with the 15 Britons, and held a press conference in which he listed past British crimes, in particular the 1953 coup. The Western media hardly took notice.
----> Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: in His Own Words
April 3 :: Britain's Transgressions, Reality and Perception
As 15 British sailors are detained by Iran for allegedly trespassing in its territorial waters, the history of mistrust between the two countries has come to the fore once again. Yet even today, most Westerners still have no knowledge of the past which determined the present. Even today, the British government has still not officially acknowledged the 1953 coup which paved the road to this highway to diplomatic hell.
"We are neither looking for a conflict nor tension in the region," Tehran Friday prayer leader Ahmad Khatami told worshippers today. "But we will not allow any country to violate our territory, and especially not Britain which has no positive record in Iranian history." [The Los Angeles Times, 3/30/07].
This lack of a "positive record" imbues Persian perceptions of all British behavior, just as decades of persistent anti-Iranian propaganda prejudices the West in its assessments of Iran's actions.
Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw once refused to comment on the wicked British deed. Now he's singing a different tune.
----> Jack Straw on Mossadegh and the British coup
March 29 :: Kucinich: We Destroyed Iran's Democracy
Congressman Dennis Kucinich says the United States overthrew Mossadegh because of oil. Who are we to disagree?
----> Dennis Kucinich on Mossadegh
March 26 :: NO! IRAN WAR Shirts
The NO! IRAN WAR t-shirts are back. Many in the peace movement such as Cindy Sheehan and Colonel Ann Wright own this shirt. Good patriotic Americans have been wearing it to the U.S. Senate, during Lobby Day, and at various anti-war demonstrations throughout the country. Among others, Senators John Murtha, Lynn Woolsey and Walter B. Jones have seen this t-shirt.
There are still long sleeve and ladies styles, and ladies Dark Heather shirts are now available for the first time. Plus, the image has been improved so if you liked it before, you'll like it even more now.
March 17 :: Nightmares
"The idea that we were destroying a people in order to "democratize" them became a nightmarish reality." -Academy Award Winning actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003), reflecting on the Vietnam war
In the 1970's, that kind of talk could get you on Nixon's Enemies List (Peck was on it). Today, criticizing Bush's nightmarish reality in Iraq can get you labeled an appeaser, a terrorist sympathizer, a troops basher - or worse - a "liberal".
March 9 :: Opening the door
"If the United States just corrects its behavior against Iran, we can open the door", says Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Jalili.
----> Saeed Jalili, Deputy Foreign Minister for Iran
March 5 :: Three Amigos
Israel, Iran and the United States have been designated as the three most negative countries in the world, according to a new BBC poll.
----> Axis of Negativity: BBC Poll
March 4 :: Stop Making Sense: Corbyn Warns Against Confronting Iran
During a debate over policy towards Iran, British Parliament member Jeremy Corbyn warned against interfering in Iran's internal affairs, and the dire consequences of attacking it:
----> Jeremy Corbyn (UK Labour Party) on Iran
March 2 :: BBC Documentary: Rageh Inside Iran
The BBC's Rageh Omaar journeyed to Iran to uncover the human stories behind this misunderstood country. Watch the 90 minute program here:
----> BBC, Rageh Omaar: "Rageh Inside Iran"
February 24 :: Meet the New Jihad, Same as the...
This Letter to the Editor published in the July 26th 2004 issue of Time magazine, responding to an article by Time's Michael Ware, sums things up succinctly and prophetically. For a more expansive narrative on this sad state of affairs, see Ron Paul's speech "The Law of Opposites".
"Meet The New Jihad," on the Islamic insurgency in Iraq [July 5], provided another example of the folly of U.S. foreign policy regarding Islamic nations during the past 50 years. The U.S. helped arrange the overthrow of Iran's democratically elected President, Mossadegh, supported the autocratic Shah and wound up with a fundamentalist Islamic state. Our opposition to Soviet influence in Afghanistan led to the creation of the Taliban. In the process we aided and empowered Osama bin Laden. We have given uncritical support to Israel and as a result made a viable Palestinian state a virtual impossibility. We launched a unilateral and pre-emptive war on Iraq on the basis of false claims, enraging the entire Islamic world, and now a new jihad has developed against us there. Will our foreign policy again midwife a new fundamentalist state into existence?
JOHN A. BERTSCHE Normal, Ill.
February 23 :: Germany and Iran
Ahmadinejad's views on the Holocaust are raised constantly, but rarely studied, despite his very public and easily available speeches, interviews and writings on the subject. In this August 2006 letter to Angela Merkel, current leader of the country where the atrocities were once perpetrated, he goes over his position in some detail. There is no instance where he denies the Holocaust. In fact he refers to "the survivors of the Holocaust" four times, verifying his apparent understanding that it took place.
----> Ahmadinejad: Letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel
February 14 :: Objectives
In his first press conference of the year, President Bush commenced the occasion of Valentine's Day by repeatedly accusing Iran of killing American soldiers in Iraq without solid proof, and refusing to deny that another war was in the making. While discussing Iran, Bush also confused it with Iraq, as this verbatim quote from the White House transcript shows:
Now, let me step back on Iran, itself. We have a comprehensive strategy to deal with Iraq [sic]. There's a variety of issues that we have with Iraq [sic]. One, of course, is influence inside of Iraq. Another is whether or not they end up with a nuclear weapon. And I believe an Iran with a nuclear weapon would be very dangerous for world peace, and have worked with other nations of like mind.
Bush rarely mentions Iran's President by name, but he made a point of doing so in reference to his charges that Iran's government is supplying IED's to insurgents in Iraq:
The Quds force is a part of the Iranian government. Whether Ahmadinejad ordered the Quds force to do this, I don't think we know.
What Bush fails to understand is, unlike in America, the President of Iran is not also the Commander in Chief. So Ahmadinejad could not have independently "ordered" the military to do anything. That power rests with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, as this excerpt from an ABC News TV report on the press conference points out:
What U.S. officials do know, and have known for years, is that the Quds force is under the control of the country's Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not Iran's president.
"Quds force reports directly to the Supreme Ayatollah, through the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary guards," Richard Clarke, a former U.S. counterterrorism official and now ABC News consultant, explained. "So it is possible that the ministers in the Iranian government don't know what the Quds force is doing."
The White House transcript faithfully documents Bush's flawed claims, yet fails to accurately record his many mispronunciations of common words such as nuclear ("nukular") and peninsula ("peninshoola"). Bush also addressed reporter David Gregory as "Gregory", used the phrase "in other words" 11 times, and made several other noticeable grammatical errors. But most telling of all was his classification of terrorism, which, by his own definition, makes him an international terrorist:
The operation to secure Baghdad is going to take time, and there will be violence. We saw on our TV screens the terrorists will send car bombs into crowded markets. In other words, these are people that will kill innocent men, women and children to achieve their objective, which is to discourage the Iraqi people, to foment sectarian violence and to, frankly, discourage us from helping this government do its job.
February 10 :: Risky Business
Over two years in the making, a new theatrical production based on the 1953 coup of Mossadegh will debut February 14th in New York city.
Iran. 1953.
The CIA's first covert coup against a foreign democracy.
The ultimate gamble.
----> Operation Ajax (a game of skill and chance)
January 19 :: Constitutional Duties
North Carolina Congressman Walter B. Jones has proposed a resolution that would require the White House to consult Congress before engaging Iran in a military conflict. A prerequisite for stupidity, if you will.
----> H.J. Res. 14: No War Without Congress Approval
January 18 :: The Rumor of the Century
Iran's President never vowed to have Israel "wiped off the map". The following article gives a precise word-by-word translation proving that the quote is inaccurate. It also offers a detailed comparison of recent news reports proving that the media continues to perpetuate the lie, purposely and knowingly.
----> "WIPED OFF THE MAP" - The Rumor of the Century