Did I Say Holocaust? No, I meant Holocaust.

Yesterday I linked to a new story entitled Arab States Silent on Iran's Remarks. I thought about it some more, and decided it was worthy of further discussion.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that "Israel must be wiped off the map." All but a full declaration of war, from a country trying to defend its right to develop nuclear technology. Western nations have been quick to condemn his comments, but Arab states has been mostly silent.

Chad Evans posted in In the Bullpen that this wasn't the first time Iran had called for the destruction of Israel. He linked to a 2003 article in the Guardian where Iran had threatened the same thing.

Some Iranian diplomats are trying to downplay the issue. According to this AP story, the Iranian embassy in Moscow released a statement saying "Mr Ahmadinejad did not have any intention to speak up in such sharp terms and enter into a conflict."

Hey, I've got a bridge in Moscow I'll sell ya. Would you like to know what Ahmadinejad said when he heard that? "My words are the Iranian nation's words. Westerners are free to comment, but their reactions are invalid."

Pop quiz: Which of these statements was made by Usama bin Laden, and which by President Ahmadinjad:

• "We won't hesitate to kill the Israelis who occupied our land and kill our children and women day and night. And every person who will side with them should blame themselves only."
  
• "Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury."

The complete text of Ahmadinejad's recent speech is here.

Labels: iran, israel

Permalink