Posted on 09/21/2006 7:39:02 AM PDT by conservativecorner
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been invited to speak at Columbia this Friday, University officials confirmed Wednesday night.
Ahmadinejad, who has been criticized for promoting Islamic fundamentalist rule in Iran, is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
University President Lee Bollinger, who learned of the invitation on Wednesday, said in a statement, "I happen to find many of President Ahmadinejad's stated beliefs to be repugnant, a view that I'm sure is widely shared within our university community."
David Stone, executive vice president of communications, said in an e-mail that he understands the invitation came from Lisa Anderson, dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, "as many such invitations to foreign leaders and government officials to speak at the university often do."
Bollinger said he is not sure whether the University will be able to arrange for the visit in such a short period of time.
The Iranian leader has been sharply criticized for some of his statements. At the Council of Foreign Relations on Wednesday, he said he thought "we should allow more impartial studies to be done on" the validity of the Holocaust.
Bollinger said he believes students and faculty will use the opportunity to engage the controversial leader in debate.
"I have no doubt that Columbia students and faculty would use an open exchange to challenge him sharply and are fully capable of reaching their own conclusions," he said.
Can anyone get close enough to spit on the mini-Hitler?
Next stop the Pentagon? Sheesh.
Or maybe hit him with a pie?
Lead would be better but not taste as good.
Who is giving these maniacs visas?
The Governor should either refuse PRes. Tom entry into the state.
Or atleast have the State Troopers put Pres. Tom's security detail in a holding cell.
"Well, sir, if you want to take the podium, you do so at your own risk."
State Dept.
We are truly living in bizarro world.
As a head of state (government?) I think he's automatically entitled to a diplomatic visa,particularly to visit the UN.
I wouldn't be surprised,however,if his visa restricts him to an area within "X" miles of Iran's UN Mission.
Harvard will give him the A. Lawrence Little Award for Jewish Quotas.
Why the hell was he allowed in this country
Spitting on Nut-men-a-job would not save humanity from this madman. Other types of flying objects would however.
They should have invited Chavez, he's a better stand up comic than MA (I ain't about to learn how to spell that name) and we are allowed to laugh at Chavez, where as laughing at MA could offend his daddy allah and those rag head, dress wearing idiots on call for instant riots.
They should have a dog pee on his leg. That's much more insulting.
Columbia didn't want to be outdone by Yale having a member of the taliban as a student and Harvard hosting the former mullah president of Iran.
It's time for WAR! He must be arrested and held; tried and hung... to do less will cause our destruction and death. Wake up America, you are the fat cats from Germany in the '30s.
Fat chance. It looks more and more like the 1994 deal with N. Korea, and we know how well that turned out. Chavez calling President Bush, "El Diablo" and getting a standing ovation, and yet this is the same body that we rely more and more on...or is it moron? Condi has her hand in this as well as Karen Hughes. I pity our country when the speech President Bush gave on Jan. 20, 2002 to congress regarding terrorism and 9/11 has been hijacked by the relativism of today. This kind of thinking would have had us losing WW II, but then they understood the term "war" so much better than today. Today we dare not speak the obvious so as not to offend the "religion of peace". Meanwhile they preach hate and death to all other religions of the world if they won't convert to Islam. It's springtime in 1939 all over again.
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