RUSH: Let me go back to Ahmadinejad, his speech last night. First thing I saw was a couple of wire reports. One from the Associated Press: Iran Tells UN Nuclear Program Peaceful. I read the piece, and compared to what Ahmadinejad actually said, they leave it out! They leave out the main thing that he did. The primary message in his appearance last night. Yeah, he rips Bush, yeah, but they don’t mention that’s advocating — calls himself and Iran a nation of peace, all we want is peace, we don’t threaten anybody, it’s the United States that does that. They are the state sponsors of Hezbollah, the state sponsors of Syria, the terrorism in Iraq comes from Iran and Al-Qaeda. And yet the media fawns over this man. I waited and waited and waited, stayed up extra late last night to get the full translation of what Ahmadinejad said. What he said is not reported anywhere. The main thrust of what he said was not reported.
Here is an example. The Washington Post today. (story) “Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the General Assembly several hours after Bush. He accused the United States of rigging the UN to advance its own military and economic dominance and to oppress its weaker adversaries. In his second such address to the world body, Ahmadinejad charged that US policies throughout the Middle East, including its support for Israel and the occupation of Iraq have furthered human suffering in the region. He said the US nuclear program poses a greater threat to international peace and security than Iran’s program does. He dismissed assertions by Bush that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons. ‘All our nuclear activities are transparent, peaceful, and under the watchful eyes of the IAEA inspectors,’ he said, referring to the international atomic energy policy.”
AP reports pretty much the same thing. The LA Times, New York Times stories, they put in some of the radical claims, but not much. No press outlet that I have seen has reported what he said at the end of his speech, maybe because they’re stupid and don’t understand it. But here is what Ahmadinejad said in closing his remarks. “I emphatically declare that today’s world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity, and above all, longs for the perfect, righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace, and brotherhood on the planet. all Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures, and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirst for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers, among those who strive for his return and his cause.”
Well, in the first place, can you imagine if George W. Bush had gone to the podium of the UN and prayed? Ahmadinejad offered two or three prayers last night, opened up with one, dear Almighty God, bless us and all in this hall. That close that Ahmadinejad gave is a reference to his belief that the 12th Imam is near. In his religion, the 12th Imam will show up in Iran someplace — I forget the name of the place — and when he does, that’s the end of the earth. The 12th Imam comes and cleanses the earth by getting rid of everybody, and he believes that it’s going to happen in the next two years.
If you doubt that, there was a Washington Post story, Jackson Diehl wrote it not too long ago. I got this off of Hugh Hewitt’s TownHall blog. And the Dateline is Qom, Iran. “In a dusty brown village outside this Shiite holy city, a once-humble yellow-brick mosque is undergoing a furious expansion. Cranes hover over two soaring concrete minarets and the pointed arches of a vast new enclosure. Buses pour into a freshly asphalted parking lot to deliver waves of pilgrims. The expansion is driven by an apocalyptic vision: that Shiite Islam’s long-hidden 12th Imam, or Mahdi, will soon emerge — possibly at the mosque of Jamkaran — to inaugurate the end of the world. The man who provided $20 million to prepare the shrine for that moment, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has reportedly told his cabinet that he expects the Mahdi to arrive within the next two years. Mehdi Karrubi, a rival cleric, has reported that Ahmadinejad ordered that his government’s platform be deposited in a well at Jamkaran where the faithful leave messages for the hidden imam. Such gestures are one reason some Iranian clerics quietly say they are worried about a leader who has become the foremost public advocate of Iran’s nuclear program. ‘Some of us can understand why you in the West would be concerned,’ a young mullah here told me last week. ‘We, too, wonder about the intentions of those who are controlling this nuclear work.'”
None of this made the wires; none of this made the newspapers, none of this made the stories at all. MSNBC on their website gives us a recap of Brian Williams’ interview with Ahmadinejad, and the headline of this story: Iran’s president says Bush pushing for war. “In NBC interview, Ahmadinejad claims US still stuck in Cold War mind-set.” It’s stunning. Every foreign leader interviewed by the Drive-By Media, especially professed and proclaimed enemies — I mean Chavez came here today and threatened us on our own soil. They are given endless respect. They are treated with decorum and politeness. In fact, these journalists practically approached them with a little fear. And yet when it comes time to interview President Bush, they have a propensity to get rude, intrusive, accusatory, as though Bush is a suspect.
So Ahmadinejad basically goes to the UN last night to pray for the end of the world, and if you have any background you know he wants it to happen in his lifetime during his leadership in Iran. Nothing gets reported. The headlines are Iran tells the UN nuclear program peaceful, Iran president says Bush pushing for war. I found the transcript of the whole speech. It’s much too long to read to you. But just trust me, whatever you’re reading about it, whatever you’re seeing on television doesn’t even come close to the import of what Ahmadinejad said last night.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
There’s an interesting background piece in the Daily Mail in the UK today. Headline: Why this man should give us all nightmares. It’s a great piece with background on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “So who is this Hidden Imam? He was a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed who, at the age of five, disappeared down a well around AD940.” That’s who the 12th Imam is, five years old. The Ahmadinejad administration basically is going to blow up the world to get the 12th Imam out of the well. This is also kind of crazy. “When I was in Tehran –” this is the article written by Ann Leslie — “When I was in Tehran, Ahmadinejad was its mayor, and an Iranian friend with links to the city council told me: ‘He’s instructed the council to build a grand avenue to prepare for the Mahdi’s return.'” Fell down a well at age five, A.D. 940. In their religion he’s the 12th Imam, shows up for the apocalypse essentially and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is firmly is convinced it will happen in his lifetime, and that’s why the ongoing concern about his desire to develop nuclear weapons, which he, of course, denied at the United Nations yesterday.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
The main element of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech last night, I quoted it to you. It is his prayer from the podium of the United Nations for the quick appearance of the 12th Imam. Here is the actual sound bite.
TRANSLATOR: Today’s world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity, and above all, longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace, and brotherhood on the planet. Oh, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures, and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirst for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause.
RUSH: So that’s the prayer. The applause went on and on. That’s the prayer for the return of the 12th Imam, as offered by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Just a couple of excerpts here from the der Spiegel interview, May 30th, 2006. They did the interview on the eve of Ahmadinejad’s appearance in Germany for the World Cup, and the interview starts out, aren’t you a little crazy for coming here? I mean, you’ve suggested the Holocaust didn’t happen and that Israelis need to be wiped off the map. You understand there are some people outraged that you’re coming here?
SPIEGEL: Denying the Holocaust is punishable in Germany. Are you indifferent when confronted with so much outrage?
Ahmadinejad: I know that DER SPIEGEL is a respected magazine. But I don’t know whether it is possible for you to publish the truth about the Holocaust. Are you permitted to write everything about it?
SPIEGEL: Of course we are…
Ahmadinejad: Well, then we have stirred up a very concrete discussion. We are posing two very clear questions. The first is: Did the Holocaust actually take place? You answer this question in the affirmative. So, the second question is: Whose fault was it? The answer to that has to be found in Europe and not in Palestine. It is perfectly clear: If the Holocaust took place in Europe, one also has to find the answer to it in Europe.
On the other hand, if the Holocaust didn’t take place, why then did this regime of occupation …
SPIEGEL: … You mean the state of Israel…
Ahmadinejad: … come about? Why do the European countries commit themselves to defending this regime? Permit me to make one more point. We are of the opinion that, if an historical occurrence conforms to the truth, this truth will be revealed all the more clearly if there is more research into it and more discussion about it.
SPIEGEL: That has long since happened in Germany.
Ahmadinejad: We don’t want to confirm or deny the Holocaust. We oppose every type of crime against any people. But we want to know whether this crime actually took place or not. If it did, then those who bear the responsibility for it have to be punished, and not the Palestinians. Why isn’t research into a deed that occurred 60 years ago permitted? After all, other historical occurrences, some of which lie several thousand years in the past, are open to research, and even the governments support this.
SPIEGEL: Mr. President, with all due respect, the Holocaust occurred, there were concentration camps, there are dossiers on the extermination of the Jews, there has been a great deal of research, and there is neither the slightest doubt about the Holocaust nor about the fact – we greatly regret this – that the Germans are responsible for it. If we may now add one remark: the fate of the Palestinians is an entirely different issue, and this brings us into the present.
Ahmadinejad: No, no, the roots of the Palestinian conflict must be sought in history. The Holocaust and Palestine are directly connected with one another. And if the Holocaust actually occurred, then you should permit impartial groups from the whole world to research this. Why do you restrict the research to a certain group? Of course, I don’t mean you, but rather the European governments.
SPIEGEL: Are you still saying that the Holocaust is just “a myth?”
Ahmadinejad: I will only accept something as true if I’m actually convinced of it.
SPIEGEL: Even though no western scholars harbor any doubt about it?
Ahmadinejad: But there are two opinions on this in Europe. One group of scholars or persons, most of them politically motivated, say the Holocaust occurred. Then there is the group of scholars who represent the opposite position and have therefore been imprisoned for the most part. Hence, an impartial group has to come together to investigate and to render an opinion on this very important subject.
SPIEGEL: Well, we are conducting this historical debate with you for a very timely purpose. Are you questioning Israel’s right to exist?
Ahmadinejad: Look here, my views are quite clear. We are saying that if the Holocaust occurred, then Europe must draw the consequences and that it is not Palestine that should pay the price for it. If it did not occur, then the Jews have to go back to where they came from. I believe that the German people today are also prisoners of the Holocaust. Sixty million people died in the Second World War. World War II was a gigantic crime. We condemn it all. We are against bloodshed, regardless of whether a crime was committed against a Muslim or against a Christian or a Jew. But the question is: Why among these 60 million victims are only the Jews the center of attention?
SPIEGEL: That’s just not the case.
Ahmadinejad: No, I have a question for you. What kind of a role did today’s youth play in World War II?
SPIEGEL: None.
Ahmadinejad: Why should they have feelings of guilt toward Zionists?
Anyway, it goes on and on and on with Ahmadinejad continuing to maintain that the Holocaust did not occur, that the Jews need to be moved out, and if they’re not moved out, he may take matters into his own hands. These are the kinds of things that just are not being reported about this guy. Spiegel also asked him about the letter that he sent to President Bush.
SPIEGEL: This letter to the American president includes a passage about Sept. 11, 2001. The quote: “How could such an operation be planned and implemented without the coordination with secret and security services or without the far-reaching infiltration of these services?” Your statements always include so many innuendos. What is that supposed to mean? Did the CIA help Mohammed Atta and the other 18 terrorists conduct their attacks?
Ahmadinejad: No, that’s not what I meant. We think that they should just say who is to blame. They should not use Sept. 11 as an excuse to launch a military attack against the Middle East. They should take those who are responsible for the attacks to court. We’re not opposed to that; we condemned the attacks. We condemn any attack against innocent people.
Just lying through his teeth. The letter was more accusatory than the quote that they excerpted. But the bottom line is, what does this all sound like to you? It sounds like Democrat Party talking points. Actually, not quite that, but this rising tide of conspiratorial lunacy that is becoming more and more mainstream that the administration and the government blew up the World Trade Center and that’s what Mahmoud Ahmadinejad implied in his letter. I’m sorry I spent so much time on this but I wanted you to have some kind of an idea who this guy is and Brian Williams of NBC, so proud of his interview with him, they’re running it again on MSNBC this afternoon at four o’clock in its entirety. They’re just thrilled. It was filled with a wholly different attitude of respect toward Ahmadinejad than in his last interview with President Bush down in New Orleans.
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