NYT coverage of the Iranian president’s visit to Columbia University. Avoid annoying NYT required login by clicking here for a temporary password:
Ahmadinejad, at Columbia, Parries and Puzzles
He said that there were no homosexuals in Iran — not one — and that the Nazi slaughter of six million Jews should not be treated as fact, but theory, and therefore open to debate and more research.
Editorial: Mr. Ahmadinejad Speaks
There are many reasons we find Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s policies and pronouncements loathsome. High on that list are his denial of the Holocaust, his call to wipe Israel off the map and his country’s sponsorship of terrorism. Equally loathsome is Iran’s denial of basic civil rights to its citizens, including the right of free speech.
So we are dismayed by the behavior of some of New York’s democratically elected representatives who denounced and threatened Columbia University for inviting the Iranian leader to speak there yesterday. We can imagine no better way to give hope to opponents of Iran’s repressive state than by showcasing America’s democracy and commitment to free speech. And we can imagine no better way to lay bare the bankruptcy of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s views than to have him speak, and be questioned, at a university forum.
Here’s a Dec. 2006 Time magazine interview with him.
Homo Logisticus Organizus 
They’ve got a leader who denies that the Holocaust existed and we’ve got a leader who denies that evolution occurred.
They’ve got a leader who wants to wipe Israel off the map and we’ve got a leader who wants to wipe Iran off the map.
They’ve got a leader who was elected … oops!
I’m concerned that the demonification of Ahmadinejad is leading up to arguments for war with Iran. (Incidentally, Ahmadinejad is not in charge in Iran, the religious council is. He’s primarily a figurehead – anti-semitic, sexist & and plainly nuts, but a figurehead.)
Speaking as a military spouse, I fear (and have reason to think) that Bush et. al. are planning to engage with both Iran and Syria before they leave office. I’ve said it before (though not here) but those people* are crazy with a capital K, and must be watched closely.
*clarifying: by “those people” I mean the Bush administration.
“We can imagine no better way to give hope to opponents of Iran’s repressive state than by showcasing America’s democracy and commitment to free speech.” WTF??
I agree with Cecil. Let’s see…Bush blocks Democrats from rallies, tosses out habeas corpus, “detains” whoever he wants for as long as he wants, invades Afghanistan and Iraq willy-nilly, sticks his head in the sand regarding global warming, etc. And yet somehow we’re the shining example and Ahmadinejad is the devil?