Posted on 02/24/2003 1:21:39 PM PST by knighthawk
KUALA LUMPUR -- Iranian leader Mohammad Khatami issued an extraordinary assessment of U.S. foreign policy Monday, accusing the United States of positioning itself as a violent "big brother" driven by "fanatic fundamentalism."
The stinging appraisal, delivered at the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit here, followed earlier condemnations of the United States by conference host Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister.
"It is unfortunate that the other superpower ...
allows itself, self-righteously, to hector others from a position of the 'big brother' -- worse still as the self-appointed 'master of the world'," Khatami said in an address to the NAM assembly. "The problem, however, is not just a matter of satisfying an instinct for a sense of superiority; rather, as is currently the case, the very security of many countries in the world is seriously threatened."
Khatami also accused Washington of using force to steamroll international opponents.
Iran, like fellow NAM members Iraq and North Korea, was included in the U.S. leader's "axis of evil" in his 2001 State of the Union address.
Iran's Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that it was quite justified to compare U.S. officials to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Khatami's comments added to the anti-Washington hyperbole that has punctuated the two-day conference dominated by a looming conflict in Iraq.
Mahathir said earlier Monday that the U.S. campaign against terror was a thinly disguised plot to take over the world. "It is no longer just a war against terrorism," the veteran Southeast Asian leader said. "It is in fact a war to dominate the world."
The two-day NAM Summit, which opened Monday, is to adopt a resolution rejecting any use of force against fellow NAM member Iraq without United Nations permission.
NAM, which consists mainly of developing countries and has been meeting since 1961, was conceived as an alternative to the Eastern and Western blocs during the Cold War.
Malaysian prime minister said while the terrorists died as they attacked, "the great warriors who press the buttons see nothing of the mangled bodies, the heads and limbs which are torn from disemboweled bodies, the blood and the gore of the innocent people.
"And because they don't see, the button-pressing warriors and the people who commanded them go back to enjoy a hearty meal, watch TV shows or morale boosting troop entertainers and then retire to their cosy beds for a good sleep," the Malaysian leader noted.
Among Mahathir's audience were many U.S. allies from the developing world, along with Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf, India's Atal Behari Vajpayee, Cuba's Fidel Castro and Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai.
Also present was Iraq's Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, who has promised to show the summit evidence in the form of documents and tapes to tell "the truth of what is happening in Iraq" - An apparent response to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the UN Security Council on Baghdad's alleged weapons of mass destruction.
A draft statement on Iraq, agreed after four days of wrangling by officials and foreign ministers, opposes any war against Iraq without the support of the UN Security Council.
Other?
"allows itself, self-righteously, to hector others from a position of the 'big brother' -- worse still as the self-appointed 'master of the world'," Khatami said in an address to the NAM assembly. "The problem, however, is not just a matter of satisfying an instinct for a sense of superiority; rather, as is currently the case, the very security of many countries in the world is seriously threatened."
Keep talking smack, pal, cuz you're next . . .
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