Iran,  Terrorists

Iran Watch: Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami – United States Foreign Policy Triggers Terrorism and Violence in the World

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Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, seen here in August 2006, has said that US foreign policy is fueling terrorism and warned a conference of Muslims in Chicago of the dangers of allowing “narrow minded viewpoints and practices” to dominate public policy and discourse.

AP: Khatami: U.S. policies trigger terrorism

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Saturday that U.S. foreign policy triggers terrorism and violence in the world, but American Muslims can play a key role in promoting peace and security.

In his first public appearances during a nearly two-week visit to the United States, Khatami spoke twice in the Chicago area. He is the most senior Iranian official to visit the United States since Islamic fundamentalists seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held Americans hostage for 444 days.

“As America claims to be fighting terrorism, it implements policies that cause the intensification of terrorism and institutionalized violence,” Khatami said at the Islamic Society of North America’s 43rd annual convention.

Yeah right and why did the United States State Department grant a visa to this terrorist promoter and sympathizier?

Oh yes, to foster greater understanding and cooperation between Islamic TERRORIST Nations and the United States. What, a Kum Ba Ya moment?

Khatami’s visit to the Islamic Society drew criticism from the Chicago Jewish Federation, which issued a statement that condemned the former leader, saying he has “behaved as an enemy of America and our most cherished values.”

Ingrid Mattson, the Islamic Society’s newly elected president, said Friday the invitation to Khatami was a “natural extension of our role as proponents of dialogue and learning.” She said the group hopes to show Khatami “how the American Muslim community has dealt with issues of religious freedom and tolerance and perhaps he can carry some of that message back.”

Khatami can carry back the message to Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs that maybe Israel should NOT be wiped off the face of the earth and the Holocaust actually occurred?

Extremely Doubtful……

Secretary of State Conodleezza Rice and the other IDIOTAS over at Foggey Bottom better get a grip or the President should make a change.

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Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami delivers the keynote address at the Islamic Society of North America’s 43rd annual convention as the crowd watches him on large video screens Saturday, Sept, 2, 2006 in Rosemont, Ill. The four-day convention will focus on a range of issues facing American Muslims and their evolving role and identity in the American society.

Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatemi (NB Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in background)Previous:

Iran Watch: Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatemi To Meet With Former President Jimmy Carter

Iran Watch: Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatemi Granted USA VISA


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  • john Carey

    Iran snubs U.N. chief over nuke program
    By Nasser Karimi, Associated Press

    TEHRAN, Iran – The U.N. chief got little satisfaction Sunday at the close of his trip to Tehran, snubbed by Iran’s leader over international demands to stop enriching uranium and ignored in warnings not to incite hatred by questioning the Holocaust.

    In a provocative move on the final day of Kofi Annan’s two-day visit, Iran announced it would host a conference to examine what it called exaggerations about the Holocaust, during which more than 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis.

    The move was sure to draw new international condemnation of Iran’s stance on Jews. Hours after the announcement, Annan repeated his displeasure over an exhibition in Tehran of cartoons mocking the Holocaust that was opened as a response to Western caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

    “I think the tragedy of the Holocaust is an undeniable historical fact and we should really accept that fact and teach people what happened in World War II and ensure it is never repeated,” Annan told reporters.

    He commented after a meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but the hard-line Iranian leader didn’t accompany the U.N. chief to the news conference.

    Ahmadinejad has drawn strong condemnations around the globe for calling the Nazis’ slaughter of Jews a myth and saying Israel should be wiped off the map or moved to Germany or the United States.

    The Holocaust exhibit is being held to underline outrage over Prophet Muhammad caricatures in Western media. Islam forbids picturing Muhammad at all, but Muslims also were angered by the cartoons’ negative tone, such as one showing the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse.

    Annan first raised his concerns about the exhibit during a meeting Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki, according to the U.N. chief’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi. He quoted Annan as saying that “we should avoid anything that incites hatred.”

    Annan’s visit came after Iran ignored the U.N. Security Council’s Thursday deadline for Tehran to halt uranium enrichment, opening the door to possible sanctions over concerns that the Iranians are trying to develop atomic weapons.

    “On the nuclear issue, the president reaffirmed to me Iran’s preparedness and determination to negotiate” a solution to the nuclear confrontation, Annan said at the news conference.

    However, Ahmadinejad “reiterated that he did not accept suspension before negotiations,” the U.N. chief said, conveying Iran’s rejection of a condition set by the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany.

    In June, the six nations offered Iran a package of economic and diplomatic incentives to limit its nuclear program. Iran didn’t respond until Aug. 22, rejecting the condition that it stop enriching uranium before talks. The content of its response has not been made public.

    Tehran hid its nuclear program for 18 years and its continued lack of full cooperation with U.N. inspectors has increased suspicions about Iranian aims. The oil-rich nation insists the program is peaceful, intended only to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that generate electricity.

    Iran’s slowness in responding to the incentives package prompted the Security Council to issue a resolution July 31 ordering it to halt uranium enrichment by the end of August.

    On Sunday, Mottaki said the council issued the resolution “under pressure from the United States and Britain” and described it as a “mistake” and a “black mark against them.”

    State television quoted Ahmadinejad as saying he was ready to negotiate, but the onus was on Western countries to repair relations with Tehran.

    “Iran’s trust has been undermined during the past three years,” he said. “They (the West) should try to win our trust to solve the issue.”

    Although Iran’s defiance of the U.N. deadline opens the way for the Security Council to consider sanctions, it is unlikely punitive measures will come soon. Both Russia and China, which are among the council’s veto-holding permanent members, oppose strong sanctions.

    The European Union is taking another shot at diplomacy this week, with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana planning to meet with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani. But the bloc said Saturday that it would not give much time for the effort to produce results.

    Annan got a more favorable response from Iranian leaders on Lebanon, where Tehran is a backer of the Hezbollah guerrilla group and is believed by many to be its top arms supplier.

    Ahmadinejad “reaffirmed his country’s support for the implementation of resolution 1701,” Annan said of the U.N. resolution that ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah and calls for preventing the rearming of the Shiite militants in Hezbollah.

    But Annan did not disclose the specifics of his talks on Lebanon. Mottaki, after meeting with Annan on Saturday, made a vague promise to support the resolution, but did not directly mention Hezbollah.

    Annan said Friday that Syria, another key Hezbollah ally, promised to patrol its side of the frontier to prevent arms deliveries, though Israel was skeptical that would happen.

    Still, the Syria stopover has been Annan’s most upbeat on his tour of the Middle East to promote peace.

    He had little success in Beirut, where Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said Lebanon would be the last Arab country to make peace with Israel. In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rebuffed Annan’s call for quickly lifting its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.