Merkel strongly rejects Iranian leader's letter [... the saga continues]

REUTERS ^ | Fri Jul 21, 2006 | Louis Charbonneau

[wolf78]

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday forcefully rejected a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeking cooperation with Germany, saying it did not even deserve an answer.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki delivered the letter to the German embassy in Tehran earlier this week. A German government official who saw the letter told Reuters it criticised Israel and said Germany and Iran should cooperate in dealing with Zionism and solving the Palestinian problem.

"He's repeating the old thinking, which is totally unacceptable to us," Merkel told ZDF state television.

"Israel's right to exist is a key part of our state policy and he calls this into question time and again; and at the same time our offer -- an offer which really gives the Iranian people hope for the future -- is not mentioned once," she added.

"That's not in order and thus does not need to be answered."

Germany and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council offered Iran a package of incentives in June to end Tehran's stand-off with the West over its nuclear programme.

Government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said earlier on Friday the letter did not mention Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West, or the current fighting in Lebanon and Israel.

Berlin's relations with Ahmadinejad have been soured by his repeated denial of the Holocaust, the Nazi massacre of 6 million Jews, and his call for Israel to be wiped off the map.

[wolf78]

Also check out: Germany intends to ignore 'bizarre' note from Tehran

Quote from MSNBC.com:
One Berlin official described the 10-page letter as "bizarre", drawing parallels between Iranian and German history since 1945 and the two countries' alleged oppression by Zionism, the "international Jewish conspiracy" and the world's great powers.

Although the Iranian president calls for co-operation between the countries, "his argument is surprisingly identical to that made by the German extreme-right", the official said. "There is not a single line about the nuclear programme or about Lebanon or Hizbollah."

[kinghorse]

And yet they continue to do billions in trade.

[Element187]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday forcefully rejected a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

sounds like Ahmadinejad should have offered a massage along with the letter, it might have went over a bit better perhaps?

[NonValueAdded]

Does any doubt still exist that this guy is a complete nut case? How can you possibly negotiate with that?

[Theoden]

Well, at least that Iranian nut knows who the real power players are in this world, he has written letters to President Bush, Pope Benedict XVI, and now Chancellor Merkel. He's afraid of these people for some underlying reason, and I wish I knew what it was.

[Theoden]

+ Tony Blair, how could I have forgotten?

[kesg]

Berlin's relations with Ahmadinejad have been soured by his repeated denial of the Holocaust, the Nazi massacre of 6 million Jews, and his call for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Ya think? Of all people, the Germans should be especially repulsed by such an appeal.

[PattonFan]

And yet they continue to do billions in trade.

While the USA sends money to the Palestinian State for "humanitarian reasons". . .should WE be critical of that? If you were criticizing the German Chancellor, IMO it was unfounded.

After the boob Germany had before..she is a breath of fresh air.

[MinorityRepublican]

If Iran does develop nuclear weapons and are planning on using them, unfortunately, in my scenario, I have no option but to use nuclear weapons.

I would take out miltary targets in Tehran and I would drop leaflets encouraging them to uprise against the Mullahs and if they don't do that soon, everyone will die. I mean everyone.

In the meantime, I would drop atomic bombs on two major cities of Mullahs' stronghold, and that is not Tehran, where many young students are pro-West.

[Gay State Conservative]

Outstanding,Chancellor! You've shown admirable courage in this matter.Maybe,just maybe,European leaders who lack your wisdom,common sense and courage will learn the appropriate lessons regarding the true nature of today's "religion of peace" from this incident.

Hey,a fella can dream,can't he?

[andre573]

Forward the letter over to Chirac. He'll be receptive.

[andre573]

That's the root of the problem. Quit buying anything from them, including their oil and they'll be living in tents in the desert in 10 years. Trouble is, who wants to pay $8 a gallon. Maybe if it got rid of regimes like this one it might be worth it. Choices.

[DuncanWaring]

Perhaps she could just return it with a brief note explaining "Herr Hitler's forwarding address is Hell".

[sandbar]

>>>BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday forcefully rejected a letter from Iranian President>>>

Much as she forcefully rejected a shoulder massage by President George W. Bush.

[dashing doofus]

So do we. We buy oil. And thusly we finance both sides on the WOT, as Thomas Friedman summarized in a column in the Slimes a few weeks back.

[brownsfan]

"Trouble is, who wants to pay $8 a gallon. Maybe if it got rid of regimes like this one it might be worth it. Choices."

No one WANTS to pay more. 5 years ago, I'd have screamed even thinking about gas above $5/gal. Now, I understand more about islam, and the threat it poses to the world.

For $8/gal, we can buy the demise of nutjobs like Ahmadinejad. Not to mention, at $8/gal, alternatives would come to the market faster. Now that I know what I'm buying... yes, I'd pay $8/gal.

Ahmadinejad reminds me of that Geico commercial:

"Sorry, we didn't know you guys were still around."

[TheDon]

I think the only choice is when we stop buying Iranian oil. And that will only heppen when the war with Iran is taken to Iranian soil.

[sandbar]

Better yet, why not come up with ANOTHER FUEL ALTERNATIVE???

We are not that stupid! It's the oil companies that keep us dependant.

[Michael81Dus]

Nice to hear that after all the years Germany-bashing on FR. Once again it´s proven that countries are primarily judged by their leaders. So bad that the Euro media has disliked Bush since 2000...

[dashing doofus]

Speaking as a naturalized American citizen, born in Germany, I agree. Merkel is a step in the right direction for Germany. A breath of fresh air after that American-hating Kohl. That said, there is still much anti-Americanism in Deutschland, though not nearly as bad as in France.

During the Kohl era, I was ashamed of my country of origin. Actions like Merkel's have reduced my shame level from high to moderate.