WI- Kevin Barrett Accuses Congressman of an "Act of War" *** (BARF ALERT)

Barrett For Congress ^ | July 7, 2008 | Kevin Barrett

[mukraker]

Wisconsin's version of Ward Churchill, ultra left wingnut Kevin Barrett, has accused Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI03) of promulgating "an act of war propaganda whose knowing transmission arguably constitutes a war crime."

Barrett sent out the following press release via email:

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Barrett to Kind: Retract "Wiped off the Map" Lie!

For Immediate Release - June 27, 2008
Contact: Dr. Kevin Barrett; 608-583-2132, kbarrett@merr.com
Rolf Lindgren; 608-279-5889, rolfusaugustusadolphus@yahoo.com

Kevin Barrett, the peace candidate for Congress who is challenging pro-war Democratic incumbent Ron Kind in Wisconsin's District 3, has written to Kind demanding that he retract his false and libelous statement that Iran's president has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Barrett's letter to Kind:

Dear Congressman Kind,

I am writing to ask you to retract a libelous, potentially murderous, and arguably criminal falsehood you uttered on the Ben Merens show on Wisconsin Public Radio Tuesday. You claimed, as many war propagandists have, that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." The false attribution of such a statement to Ahmedinejad is the Big Lie that is being used to promote a US war on Iran, just as Big Lies about WMDs and Iraqi links to al-Qaida were used to launch our catastrophic invasion of Iraq.

It is now well-known and widely accepted among scholars and informed people everywhere that the quote attributed to the Iranian President is based on a misattribution and mistransation. In short, every word of this alleged statement is a lie. The "wiped off the map" lie is an act of war propaganda whose knowing transmission arguably constitutes a war crime. The quote is not from Ahmedinejad, and it does not include the words "Israel," "wiped," "wiped off," or "map." Let's go over this word by word.

First, the statement in question is not Ahmedinejad's, but a quote from Ayatollah Khomeni that is often cited by many Iranians, not just their President. When Ahmedinejad spoke the words in question, he was merely quoting Khomeni, not making his own statement. Attributing this statement to Ahmedinejad, rather than Khomeni, is a lie.

So what did Ahmedinejad say that Khomeni had said? The Iranian President's exact words were: "Imam (Khomeini) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e (occupying) qods (Jerusalem) bayad (must) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from page of time) mahv shavad (vanish from)." In English: "The Imam (Khomeni) said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time."

Congressman Kind, the United States government and virtually every other government on earth except Israel's have repeatedly called for Israel to withdraw from all of the territories it invaded and occupied in 1967 -- and that includes Jerusalem. In fact, the UN, with US support, has repeatedly ordered Israel to withdraw from Jerusalem and the other Occupied Territories. Khomeni's call for regime change in Jerusalem is supported, for all intents and purposes, by everyone on earth except the Israelis and their unregistered American agents.

Congressman, you have repeatedly voted for the catastrophic war in Iraq that has killed many of your young constituents as well as a million Iraqis -- not to mention our economy. You have voted against your own party's attempts to set a time limit on this insane war. You say that by repeatedly voting for the war, you are voting to help our troops by providing them with bullets and armor. In fact, you are voting to kill and maim them by leaving them in harm's way. Now you are repeating a Big Lie designed to spread that insane, catastrophic war to Iran. If war with Iran comes, with its promise of the complete destruction of our economy, $10-per-gallon gasoline, the murder of huge numbers of Iranians and young Americans, and the possibility of a nuclear exchange with Iran's Russian and Chinese backers, your transmission of the "wiped off the map" Big Lie could be used as evidence against you in eventual Nuremburg II war crimes tribunals. I urge you to immediately and publicly retract your statement, and issue a correction explaining that Khomeni, not Ahmedinejad, is the source of the quote calling for regime change in Jerusalem, not for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Sincerely

Dr. Kevin Barrett, Arabist-Islamologist
Ph.D., African Langages (Arabic), University of Wisconsin-Madison
Candidate for Congress, Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District

[mukraker]

You might remember Kevin Barrett as an ultra-liberal UW-Madison professor. He's trying to disguise himself as a Libertarian. His views are completely non-Libertarian. The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin is trying to recruit a real Libertarian to run against Barrett, simply in an attempt to keep Barrett off the Libertarian ticket.

I found this whole situation quite humorous. One of the far leftists accusing a liberal Democrat of an act of war for repeating a widely-reported media story. So much for freedom of speech.

[BenLurkin]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/10/26/news/iran.php

[50cal Smokepole]

As much as I love my home State, there are times, all too frequently, that I contemplate moving....

[BenLurkin]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4384264.stm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102702221.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/sep/23/iran

[BenLurkin]

"Protesters in Tehran burned Israeli flags"Source: BBC

[mukraker]

Better be careful. Barrett will probably accuse you of propagating “the Big Lie” for posting those links. You probably just committed a war crime, acording to Barrett.

[BenLurkin]

Pfffttt!

[purpleraine]

Starring Kim Novak.

[alecqss]

You probably just committed a war crime, acording to Barrett.

According to the good doctor, we are all definitely - not probably - committing war crimes en masse. Easiest crime ever committed, by the way - just by a simple virtue of quoting BBC and Iranian News Agency...

[BenLurkin]

Ah!

[Calpernia]

I think Baghdad Bob’s position is open.

[VeniVidiVici]

When Ahmedinejad spoke the words in question, he was merely quoting Khomeni, not making his own statement. Attributing this statement to Ahmedinejad, rather than Khomeni, is a lie.

LOL! What a dip!

Here. I found another quote from Ahmaheadjob. Let's see if Dr Barrett is lurking and can provide a translation for us:

Dochtoor Bahret eez ach hoooge dymb azzz.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

I would bet that Kevin Barrett could not identify any language in the Geneva conventions or even customary law that was violated in rightly or wrongly attributing to President Ahmedinejad the comment about wiping Israel off the map. The only propaganda provisions I am familiar with deal with the use of prisoners for propaganda purposes. Propaganda even if it leads to war is not a war crime.

[mukraker]

What’s really scary is that this wingnut is actually a candidate for Congress. He’s gathered enough signatures to get on the ballot. And now he’s challenging the signatures of his Libertatian opponent.

[jmaroneps37]

“When rats attack: film at eleven!”

[SunkenCiv]

Kevin Barrett, the peace candidate for Congress who is challenging pro-war Democratic incumbent Ron Kind in Wisconsin's District 3, has written to Kind demanding that he retract his false and libelous statement that Iran's president has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." Barrett's letter to Kind: ...The "wiped off the map" lie is an act of war propaganda whose knowing transmission arguably constitutes a war crime.