This member of the commentariat says the Ahmadinejad's letter to Bush- which I've been meaning to put a link to for a while- is the raving of a nutter, without actually having read it. Actually, I thought it was a pretty sensible letter.
Must rush, need to get back to watching Disney's "Hercules" on DVD...
3 comments:
Me too. Oh, to be sure, a little on the long side and occasionally a bit clumsily worded (although I assume what we're reading is a translation, so whatever) but a lot more reasoned and humble than has been presented in the press. If you don't take automatic exception to his stance on Israel
- and I don't, since most of what he says is undeniable, although I'm perhaps naively of the opinion that eventually everyone might finally recognise that it exists, rightly or otherwise, and move on with their lives -
then it comes across as entirely rational.
So, does the PBUH that he regularly appends to Moses and Jesus' names mean "Peace be unto him", or something else?
Yes, it is 'Peace be upon him', conventionally appended to any mention of a Prophet.
I don't think what he says about Israel is entirely undeniable, but as it is exactly the sort of thing that would be said by anyone from his part of the world, even the staunchest ally of the West- and is rather more moderate than the pronouncements on Israel made by the mayor of London- it hardly qualifies him as an automatic nutter in my opinion.
I think the great pity is that Bush has said he is not going to answer it: a point-by-point response in the same vein, explaining how American actions are (or are meant to be...) equally directed to the glory of Almighty God, apologising for certain failings and explaining the geopolitical factors that made them seem like reasonable courses of action at the time, while gently pointing out the sins of Iran which Ahmadinejad has understandably omitted (massacres of Baha'is, support of groups in Lebanon that routinely murder civilians, use of children as human minesweepers, occupation of the US embassy, execution of homosexuals...)- such a document would be read everywhere in the Muslim world and could not help but do some good.
I feel for Dr Ahmadinejad if he really is trying to start a dialogue, since I know how frustrating it is to put a big effort into doing so and be ignored.
A real statesman with a grasp of diplomacy and a deft touch would recognise it as an opportunity rather than dismiss it as a rant.
You know, I think that's pretty close to my major complaint about the Bush administration: there are simply no statesmen among them. There's no one with real, old-fashioned class.
(I apologise if Doctor Rice is an exception, but even she has toed the party line on Iran)
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