Nobel Laureate Emerges as Critic of America

The New York Sun ^ | May 16, 2005 | IRA STOLL

[neverdem]

PALO ALTO, Calif. - The Iranian human rights lawyer who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize blamed American foreign policy for increasing terrorism.

Speaking yesterday at the Stanford Law School graduation, Shirin Ebadi offered no criticism of the government of Iran, which the State Department calls the leading sponsor of international terrorism. She did, however, offer a series of critical remarks about the Bush administration.

"As we can see, the foreign policy of the United States in the Middle East has but increased the acts of terrorism, and even in the United States you are not free of fear," she said. "We must take care that Western countries not take advantage of democracy and human rights and use these concepts as a license to attack other countries."

"The best means to help create democracies in societies ruled by tyrannies is through negotiations, and if that fails, by resorting to the United Nations," she said. "This is the only way, this is the only means.

"It is prejudice and injustice that forces a group to engage in such acts to set themselves and others on fire," she said, arguing that one "must address and destroy the root causes of terrorism."

Ms. Ebadi called on the American government to set up a college or university in a developing country for each one of the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. "Otherwise,resorting to violence will not solve any problems, as violence begets violence," she said.

"For several years now we have been punishing terrorists to eradicate terrorism. However, has the terrorism receded?" she asked. "Clearly the punishment of terrorism is right and needed, but it must be done within the framework of human rights law."

[ConservativeDude]

"violence will not solve any problems"

Rubbish. Violence solves lots of problems. It may not always be moral, but that is a different question. But to say that it doesn't solve problems is patently and demonstrably false.

[Paul Ross]

Indeed, another clueless ninny who will not be invited onto the faculty at the Hoover Institute....

[Paul Atreides]

Apparently, the first qualification for a Noballs Prize is to leave one's intelligence at the door.

[Paul Atreides]

"Clearly the punishment of terrorism is right and needed, but it must be done within the framework of human rights law."

Good grief, what a clueless twit! People like that would be good for a laugh, if they weren't so dangerous to the rest of us.

[Dog Gone]

"The best means to help create democracies in societies ruled by tyrannies is through negotiations, and if that fails, by resorting to the United Nations," she said.

I'm sure she has tons of examples where this approach has worked.

[gaspar]

It is hard to believe that a university founded by a rip-roaring capitalist like Leland Stanford has fallen so low. Shirin Ebadi is known for her specious argument that there is no contradiction between Islamic Law (Sharia) and the modern exposition of human rights. She is as mendacious as Rigoberta Menchu, another Nobel prizewinner, and I'll wager that Menchu has been a welcome guest at Stanford.

[montag813]

violence begets violence," she said.

No, ma'am...ISLAM begets violence.

[AuH2ORepublican]

Oh, it's about some Iranian. Looking at the headline, I assumed it was about Jimmy Carter.

[PzLdr]

She should read a little Heinlein, specifically, "Starship Troopers", where his H.S teacher nails one of the student who makes the same complaint, and says,in sum and substance, that they should have a debate between Hitler and Wellington on the subject, with the Dodo, Great Auk, and Passenger Pigeon as judges, just before observing that violence had solved more problems in history than anything else.

[thoughtomator]

Now we can see why she was such an attractive candidate to the Nobel communists.