Posted on 09/26/2007 8:15:14 AM PDT by presidio9
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have faced ridicule in the United States by suggesting there were no homosexuals in Iran, but he won praise at home on Wednesday for taking his country's case to "the Lion's Den."
Generally, politicians and media in the Islamic Republic -- even some who have previously criticized the president -- described Ahmadinejad's visit to New York as a triumph and denounced the university president who called him "a petty and cruel dictator."
But one pro-reform newspaper said that, although the president told his U.S. audience he respected academics, that was not always how it seemed at home.
Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, traveled to the United States at a time of escalating tension between the two foes over Tehran's nuclear ambitions and the war in Iraq.
The president spoke at Columbia University on Monday and on Tuesday addressed the U.N. General Assembly, where he told world leaders the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions was "closed" and that military threats and sanctions had failed.
"By fearlessly and courageously walking into the 'Lion's Den' ... he is sure to become even more of a hero in the Arab-Muslim street than before," the daily Iran News wrote.
Iran denies U.S. accusations it is seeking atomic bombs, saying it wants to generate electricity. It also rejects accusations it is violating human rights and muzzling critics.
LAUGHTER
Around 200 lawmakers hailed Ahmadinejad's "historical and memorable" stay in New York, saying in a statement his "courageous" speech on Monday had made Muslims happy while angering Iran's enemies like Israel, the Mehr News Agency said.
Others condemned the way Ahmadinejad was treated at Columbia University, where he criticized Israel and the United States and provoked laughter and jeers by saying Iran had no homosexuals.
Homosexuality is a crime punishable by death in Iran.
Introducing Ahmadinejad, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger said he acted like a dictator and his Holocaust denials showed he was "brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated."
One Iranian MP described Bollinger's remarks as insulting.
The head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi- Shahroudi, who has in the past criticized Ahmadinejad, said he had defied hostile "plotters" to deliver his speech.
But the reformist newspaper, Aftab-e Yazd, contrasted his comments in New York on how Iran respects its academics with the way some of them were being treated in the country.
The daily referred to a harshly worded response by some officials to an open letter in June signed by 57 economists criticizing the government's economic and foreign policies.
"No doubt, Ahmadinejad's logic and composure in the face of the Columbia University head's disgracing remarks is a cause of pride for all Iranians," it wrote. "However, history will remember this behavior only if ... he can prove that he trusts all academics and in all affairs."
And there you have it. The useful idiot college prez simply played his assigned part by his “tough talk” introduction. For a crowd that touts the multi-culti mantra, they don’t understand a bit of it, do they? This was as predictable as the sunrise.
This is why Columbia is a national disgrace. Bollinger, his faculty, and unfortunately some of the students, have no moral conscious. They have harmed America. They are intellectually dishonest and disgusting.
You’d think academics like they claim to be would understand how propaganda works. Now dissidents in Iran are going to have it shoved in their face about how much of a hero this guy is for being invited to a top US school and taking part in “open academic debate and discussion”.
The real Lion’s Den is the UN and NYC. If anything, it is GWB who deserves praise for showing up and talking about human rights and freedom in a place where a lot of characters despise him.
Useful Idiot #1,000,001: Lee Bollinger
And yet there were people on this forum that asked me “Why not let him speak at Columbia?”
Ahmadinejad hasn’t seen the “Lion’s Den” yet. Maybe someday he will.
Hey, I have an idea... Why don't you leave the diplomacy to the diplomats. If you want to challenge world leaders, you should quit the university and join the state department.
Be careful not to give the UN too much credit. Although it was a hostile environment for GWB to enter, it is still about as useless and ineffective as a bucket with no bottom.
It's not the "Lion's Den" I want Ah-jad to see, it's His lake.
That's all he ever wanted.
What a lot of people in the media don't seem to get is the fact that he doesn't really care how he is perceived by the rest of the world. The only things that matter two him are the soundbytes he can provide to his own people, and, to the Muslim world. Thats why terrorism boils down to, and it is what their political goals are all about. For the time being, they understand that they are not powerful enough to, say, re-take Europe. But they are using their time effectively.
The home front boys had to print his praises or be less their heads, as is the custom of the land. Did anyone expect the Iraqi press to condemn his visit to the USA? This is text book procedure for a would be dictator.
I wouldn’t call Columbia a “lions’ den”. More like dropping in to visit a slut who usually gives you what you want and finding out she has PMS...
I don’t know if ‘Lion’s den visit’ is an apt way to describe it. The whole thing was a complete pantomime.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.