Igor Writes-
If you've been Digging or Redditing lately, you'll already know about this. However, this was so shattering to my perceptions that I simply had to post it up.
Many of you will recall the media's slandering of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. One of the major arguments that was used to label him "crazy" was that he had, in October of 2005, called for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
Now, there are a number of things wrong with this. First, if you've ever actually seen Ahmadinejad speak (like on 60 minutes, where he trounced his interviewer), you already know he isn't "crazy". In fact, he's rational, intelligent, but tends to say things that makes Americans unhappy.
Now, about "wiping Israel off the map".
It never happened. He never said it.
It was a mistranslation.
This article dives deeper into it:
So what did Ahmadinejad actually say? To quote his exact words in Farsi:
"Imam ghoft een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad."
That passage will mean nothing to most people, but one word might ring a bell: rezhim-e. It is the word "regime." pronounced just like the English word with an extra "eh" sound at the end. Ahmadinejad did not refer to Israel the country or Israel the land mass, but the Israeli regime. This is a vastly significant distinction, as one cannot wipe a regime off the map. Ahmadinejad does not even refer to Israel by name, he instead uses the specific phrase "rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods" (regime occupying Jerusalem).
So this raises the question.. what exactly did he want "wiped from the map"? The answer is: nothing. That's because the word "map" was never used. The Persian word for map, "nagsheh" is not contained anywhere in his original Farsi quote, or, for that matter, anywhere in his entire speech. Nor was the western phrase "wipe out" ever said. Yet we are led to believe that Iran's president threatened to "wipe Israel off the map." despite never having uttered the words "map." "wipe out" or even "Israel."
Basically, it was a call for a REGIME CHANGE. Heard that anywhere before? I do believe our president called for the exact same thing in Iraq.
More than that, he was QUOTING the late Ayatollah Khomenei to begin with!
Now consider that the two main arguments for war with Iran are that 1)Their leader is insane, and 2)They will have nukes!
For reasons we've already discussed, he isn't crazy. And if (and I use IF strongly, since I can't possibly trust our government anymore) Iran is developing a nuclear weapons program, can you blame them? One more than a few equations, bush administration officials said that "everything was on the table" regarding dealings with Iran. Mike Gravel said it best when he said that this was code for a nuclear attack. In fact, Ahmadinejad is unpopular with his own people for not doing enough to defend them. When threatened with nuclear attack, is it inconceivable for a nation to defend itself by attempting to build its own nuclear arsenal? After all, the only defense against nukes is a nuke.
After all, remember that 18-page letter that Ahmedinijad wrote to Bush explaining in plain and respectful language why the Iranian people were unhappy with the west? If you don't you could (and should) read it here. That was a call for negotiations, for some kind of dialogue, and maybe a truce. BUT OUR ADMINISTRATION BLEW IT OFF. It strikes me as inconceivable that our government would turn away what could be the last olive branch in this conflict.
If you watched the Republican debate, you already know that if any Republican other than Ron Paul is elected, we are going to war with Iran. I wouldn't put it past some of the lamer Democrats either.
If you think Iraq was a disaster, just wait until we dive into Iran. Mark my words, it would be a complete disaster.
My point here is that politicians lately have been throwing Iran and Ahmeninejad around in their speeches along with this "war on terror" (read: war on brown people). We need to think critically, and punish those who simply make things up. If we don't, we are doomed to a fate worse than Iraq.
I would love to hear your comments, and hopefully start some kind of a discussion.
