Iran president sees "countdown" to Israel's end

[sabbat hunter]

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USBLA32653020070603


Iran's president said on Sunday the Lebanese and the Palestinians had pressed a "countdown button" to bring an end to Israel.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who triggered outrage in the West two years ago when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map", has often referred to the destruction of the Jewish state but says Iran is not a threat.

"With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine," Ahmadinejad said in a speech.

"By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future," he said. He did not elaborate.



how soon will it be before some people here say he was misquoted or mistranslated?


this guy is really scummy. one can hope that the people of iran rise up and get him out of power, but with the mullahs backing him I just don't see it.

[henank]

1. No one has commented

Because there's no way to twist this one around.

[Ken Burch]

2. Yes this guy is scummy. Why is why nobody on DU has ever DEFENDED the asshole.

DU is not a hotbed of Ahmadinejab apologists. We hate the guy as much as anybody else. And I hope the seculer, left Iranian opposition can defeat him and come to power. However, we all know no U.S. politician wants Iran to be a progressive democracy. At least none of the ones who favor war with Iran do.

[sabbat hunter]

3. there are some here

who have said "oh he was misquoted/mistranslated. he didnt mean to wipe out israel, etc"
like here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=124&topic_id=170620


or

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=124&topic_id=159149

[breakaleg]

4. only if he was misquoted, not all the time.

[Ken Burch]

5. Wanting to make sure the translation is correct is nowhere near the same as defending the guy

It's just the sort of thing that the Bushies could have been spreading as disinformation to help build support for a war against Iran. I assume you'd agree that such a war would be unconscionable and pointless and could not lead to anything positive for the Iranian people.

[sabbat hunter]

6. is it also possible

that this guy is just as nuts as shrub? and what is translated is actually what he meant and said?

[Ken Burch]

7. Indeed it is possible. In fact, it is more than likely.

Nobody here defends the guy. But you can understand our natural suspicions about disinformation and that kind of thing.

Your taking one side of an arguement that doesn't actually exist on DU. Mr. Patchy Beard ain't got no real friends here.

[number6]

8. he was misquoted ...

..it has nothing to do whether you like him or not.

[Behind the Aegis]

9. Are you saying he was misquoted in this story? n/t

[pelsar]

10. he seems to get misquoted a lot...

even when its the iranian news in english.....poor guy he must really feel like the media is against him...i wonder why hes never mentioned the misstranslations?

[oberliner]

11. Security Council refuses to condemn Iran

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council refused to approve a statement Friday that would condemn remarks about Israel's impending destruction attributed to Iran's hard-line president because of objections from Indonesia, council diplomats said.

Qatar, the only Arab nation on the council, said it had no instructions, which also meant approval on Friday was impossible, the diplomats said. The statement must be approved by all 15 council members.

France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, who called for condemnation of the remarks attributed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said it was unfortunate that the council could not act immediately. But he said he would try again on Monday to get all 15 council members to approve the statement.

"At stake is ... a real question of principle. When the president of a country talks about the destruction of another country, a member of the United Nations, this is a serious issue," de La Sabliere said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070608/ap_on_re_us/un_iran_israel;_ylt=AtztrmLI77qYQH8pYJPY19RbbBAF