Posted on 08/31/2006 10:16:35 PM PDT by Raquel
Former U.S. President James Carter (1977-1981) is hosting a meeting with former Iranian President Mohammed Khatemi (1997-2005) during a planned visit to the U.S. in early September. Khatemi, invited by a number of private groups, is traveling with a group of twelve including family members and staff.
One of the groups inviting Khatemi is the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, to give a speech on “Ethics of Tolerance in the Age of Violence.” Khatemi will also be participating at a U.N. conference on the dialogue of civilizations, as well as other activities in the U.S.
Sounds normal enough if Khatemi was not part of a regime that wants to secure nuclear weapons in Iran. If you think that development of nuclear energy in Iran does not include weapons, you are an idiot. Nor is Khatemi any defender of diversity or tolerance, terms frequently used by American liberals while embracing true violators of the very terms they espouse.
Iran, as many will admit, is a huge threat to America’s national security. Nuclear arms in the hands of an oppressive government literally keeps me up at night. Why on earth would a man like Khatemi be coddled like some famed philosopher, is beyond me.
It would be naive to think that Khatemi is a friend to human rights, America, Israel, or Iran for that matter. As journalists accuse Mel Gibson of being an anti-Semite, real Israel haters are visiting a University near you.
Khatemi openly asserts that Washington is a puppet of Israel and has called Israel a “criminal” and "zionist" nation. But that's o.k. because as long as you're not a Christian American filmaker you will not be butchered in the press, but rather treated like a political hero.
And it's not just that Khatemi spews hatred against the Jewish commuity, but also actively supports terrorism against them. Under Khatemi's rule, thirteen Jews in Iran were convicted for supposed treason in a trial that resulted in jail terms for innocent Jews. Ethical? Tolerant? Violent? No, no and yes!
Khatemi was President of Iran in the early morning of July 9, 1999 when government militants stormed the student dormitory at Tehran University and accosted, beat, and jailed (one confirmed death) hundreds of students, because the previous day they held a peaceful protest against a popular newspaper being banned. Yet, somehow Harvard authorities want Khatemi to talk about “tolerance”.
The Washington Post opines “Talks between Carter and Khatami, if they materialize, would be politically poignant.” As if that would ever happen in a million years. It is unreal that some people actually think for one second that Khatemi wants to change the diabolical way he operates. This is no doubt a propaganda trip. Losers like Khatemi perpetuate pity, then advance a criminal objective.
I feel like I’m in bizarro land when a former U.S. President thinks Khatami gives two-shits about American ideals of freedom. But then again Carter’s ideology is not so different. Friend of the world’s despots, Carter is an embarrassment to our Nation and our troops fighting so proudly and fiercefully in Iraq.
I suppose Khatemi is free to travel where he wants, but I would pay close attention to what his group does, and in answer to my original question…I hope you got the point.
References: The Washington Post “Carter Agrees to Hold Talks With Khatami” August 30, 2006; The New York Sun “ Khatemi at Harvard” August 31, 2006; Human Rights Watch http://hrw.org/english/docs/1999/07/13/iran959.htm; John Spencer for U.S. Senate "Letter to Hillary Clinton" http://www.joinspencer.com 8/31/06.
I still can't believe this visit was approved.
Carter could best serve his country at this point(I regret to say) by simply dying.
They're letting a terrorist fly in here?
All that peanut oil has gone to his brain. But I encourage the looniness of Carter. It demonstrates what the left is all about..
Do not regret saying that.
Further proof That Carter is a traitor.
His only goal is to gain some sort of legacy ,that is unmerited, at the expense of the rest of us.
I don't agree. He serves a better purpose by shooting his mouth off and further discrediting the left.
A visa was issued by the Bush administration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901412.html
See post 10.
"All that peanut oil has gone to his brain."
It's been a long time coming.
Great pics! Can I copy them to my website?
Go for it.
Carter probably plans on telling the Iranians what he knows about the upcoming U.S. invasion.
"Carter probably plans on telling the Iranians what he knows about the upcoming U.S. invasion."
Sad but true, or atleast lie about it.
Germans Protest Iranian Leader Ahead of World Cup Debut TEHRAN, Iran — A student leader arrested in 1999 for his role in anti-government protests has died in prison, a human rights activist said Monday. Akbar Mohammadi died late Sunday "after a nine-day hunger strike," said Kohyar Goodarzi, a member of the Student Committee of Human Rights Reporters of Iran. Mohammadi took part in anti-government protests at Tehran University in July 1999 — the country's biggest domestic crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
He went on a hunger strike to protest lack of proper medical care for his spinal cord injury, Goodarzi said. "His spinal cord was damaged in prison after he was arrested in 1999 and doctors suggested that he should seek treatment abroad," he said. "Last year he received a one-year medical leave but two months ago, during his leave, he was arrested without any explanation," said Goodarzi. "He suffered a heart attack as a result of his [hunger] strike."
Mohammadi was sentenced to death after his arrest in 1999 but later this sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison. Senior prison official Sohrab Soleimani said Mohammadi was receiving appropriate medical care in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. "He was drinking water and tea and was under doctors' supervision," the semiofficial Islamic Students News Agency quoted Soleimani as saying. Some 25 Iranian political activists and prisoners issued a statement blaming the government for Mohammadi's most recent arrest. "Those who returned him to the prison should be held responsible," read the statement, a copy of which was made available to The Associated Press.
Just when you think you couldn't despise this pond scum any more......
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