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August 14, 2006 10:30 AM

Reactions To Ahmadinejad Interview Pouring In

Posted by Vaughn Ververs
(CBS)
The Mike Wallace interview with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has unleashed a flood of reaction. The comments that have come in on Public Eye and on the news story are filled with conversation about Middle East politics and the like (not all so pleasant, let’s keep the level of discourse up here folks), but we want to stick to the interview itself. We noted the criticism being leveled at Wallace and CBS News based just on the excerpts released on Friday. Now that we’ve all had a chance to see it, we’d love to hear your thoughts on Wallace and the interview. Here’s a smattering of what’s landed in our in-box thus far:

One e-mailer wrote:
I thought Mike Wallace was out of line and I thought the president did a great job of handling rude, and confrontational questions well. Not the right guy for the interview. I was impressed with the president of Iran. Well spoken, articulate, had a sense of humor. And, yes, I love the United States but that was not handled well.
Another wrote:
I think that your interview was appalling. It's a real shame that CBS has no allegiance to the US, especially while we're at war. Why don't you ever show any of the positive things that are happening because of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, instead of giving a known terrorist a platform to spew his garbage? You should be ashamed of yourself -- CBS news will never be on in my home again.
And still another:
It's about time you give Iran's perspective. Mike Wallace is showing his true colors when he cuts the President of Iran off. I have watched 60 minutes for 30 of my 45 years on this planet this is what we need in this world - open dialogue!

I applaud 60 minutes - keep the real stories coming and we will watch.
Curious to see more of the exchange? The full, un-edited interview will be available on CBSNews.com later today and will also air on C-SPAN tonight at 8:00pm, ET.

Update: The complete interview in three parts can be seen here.
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Wallace ,
Ahmadinejad
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by houran1 August 16, 2006 1:53 AM EDT
Wow! Did anyone else see that someone (and um, I don't want to name name's vmroad089) posted a comment here about why if Ahmadinejad is such a devout Muslim, doesn't he wear a turban? A turban?!! He's Muslim. I hope this person was kidding and isn't really that ignorant. I can't imagine that someone who may not have actually ever met a Muslim, or read an entire book, would make a comment about something he knows nothing about. But in case that person wasn't kidding, I think it is the greatest illustration of just how important it is that we really attempt to get to know people different than ourselves. Hell, maybe even try to understand them. As such, I applaude CBS for actually seeking and airing such an interview. While I agree with some others on some issues with how the interview was conducted, hearing the leader of a nation we obviously don't understand here in America is invaluable.
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by ltrzpo August 16, 2006 1:40 AM EDT
To vmroad089's comment "I only wonder why such a strong believer of the Islam faith wears no turban?". Because my friend, our most zealous Christian brothers refuse to wear white bedsheets and ride on horses with torches. It is *** for tat? (God Really Bless America for people like vmroad089 have a pretty good shot at being elected to Congress).
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by ltrzpo August 16, 2006 1:31 AM EDT
Oh yeah!! There is only one question that matters. It is about Israel off the map. I was taken aback by "Why did the Palestinians have to pay with their land for what the Europeans did to the Jews?". The President of Iran tried to bring up the historical timeline and key events that led to the souring of relations with America. The fact during the oppressive regime of the Shah, Iran was a nation favored by us even though it was a dictatorship; that our government along with others had contracts signed to produce nuclear fuel inside Iran; that soon after the Revolution in 1979 Iran was made pariah and someone as despicable as Saddam Hussein became our ally. Gosh, when will we wake to the mistakes of our past administrations and try to stop any more from this one? (Oh does anyone remember who brought down a duly elected Iranian government in 1954? Or is that taboo? Hint: Al Pacino). "Oh mummy... they hate our way of life". Yeah... Iran and others are jealous that 40% of our adults are overweight; and that our celebrities leak out homemade sex tapes to gain notoriety; and that to get a $2.10 hike in minimum wage we first have to agree to a $1.4 million dollar payout for 8,000 of the richest families; and that the people of New Orleans had to shoplift to stay alive; and that our government forbids its own agencies to negotiate volume discounts with drug companies. What the hell? Are we on dope? Then why this delusion of a perfect society that everybody else is jealous of us?
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by ltrzpo August 16, 2006 1:11 AM EDT
The fellas who won't watch '60 Minutes' and Wallace again; those who are disgusted by the interview; are simply feeling very very uncomfortable at hearing anything the cannot quite comprehend. They're brains are feeling like a Tetris console with a defective contoller. I'm guessing most of the were born after 1980.
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by vmroad089 August 15, 2006 7:17 PM EDT
Have I said something wrong? Do I have the wrong idea about terrorists? Am I over reacting to their wishes and desires? I think not. I believe Isalm, or the lesser of whom have no moral values, wants me dead? Why? What have I done to them to deserve sudden death? Will one of them please explain that to me? Right here is fine, I check back often. Shoulkd we carry on a dialog with these people, along with Korea, Iran and others? If I do, I dare not blink both eyes at once for fear they will poke them both out with one blink.
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by reuben110-2009 August 15, 2006 1:22 PM EDT
Promoting democracy is a dangerous ideology to utilise in the middle-east, especially if our current foriegn policy of inflicting bloodshed continues. And the rise of the shia is not what we want. It is better that the sunni monarchies rule the middle east, beause they dont have weapons and are fairly powerless to engage in war. As the shia influence spreds, the more cohesive and cooperational the shias become with each other. Iran, New Iraq, new Lebanon, and Syria are curently all in cohoots with each other. We think that we are freeing peoples, we are actually giving terrorists a platform to dominate by implementing freedom, because unfortunately the common political consensus in the middle east is not a moderate one. Secondly If the ayutollahs sanction a compulsory jihad against a country, millions and millions may not oblige, but millions and millions will, because they believe they MUST. A very dangerous cycle is looming, and we are creating it, and our governments are aware that they are creating it. They want it, because they know with the weapoary we have to hand will win us the fight. It doesn't however make our government a righteous bunch. We want World War 3, because Islam must not be allowed to spred at current rates, its a threat. Again it doesnt make our stance moral,we have an imperial mind-set. The question is where do we draw the line, this stance will divide our own people because they will recognise the moral flaws in our bloodthirsty policy.
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by david747-2009 August 15, 2006 12:29 PM EDT
What a terrible interview. Mike Wallace was totally out of order
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by reuben110-2009 August 15, 2006 12:15 PM EDT
A recipe for disaster is brewing in our midst. The powerful lobbies that dictate our political agenda, and indeed our government, have endorsed too much war on the presumption that it is for our security. And this continues with new excuses to attack new countries, because war in this blood-thirsty atmosphere appeases the political lobbies that keep people like Bush in power. Mark my words histoty will not take a sympathetic view of this man. We are the most well equipped country in terms of defence in the world. The propagana makes us believe that we are severely under threat. It gives our adversaries the impression that we must really fear death. Which they thrive off. We dont need to attack Iran because of security, we ought to attack North Korea, their missile tests were not a friendly gesture, And their dictator is going to become frustrated at not getting the attention he deserves. The truth is we want oil. Even if Iran were to attemt to nuke us, we have anti-missile systems that would deter such an attack. Its a dangerous cycle. The truth is the more we attack or endorse war against middle-Eastern countries, the more people hate us (world-wide) the more terrorism breeds, the government knows and wants this as it fuels the propaganda machine the urges more bloodshed, so it can go ahead attacking Middle-Eastern countries, due to Jewish influence in our poliical body, the issue is Jewish lobbies have to be appeased through muslim bloodshed.
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by jbug1969 August 15, 2006 9:53 AM EDT
It's terrible that Wallace and CBS allowed Iran to use the US media as a cog in it's propaganda machine. Ahmadinejihad is our Modern-Day Hitler and the Christians better realize that after he exterminates the Jew, we're next!!!!!!!
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by lisaz713 August 15, 2006 7:16 AM EDT
I was appalled and ashamed that a North American journalist could be so disrespectful to the leader of another nation. Mike Wallace's demeanor throughout his interview with President Ahmadinejad was demeaning and confrontational. I wonder how the press would react if an Iranian reporter had treated George Bush the same. In these dangerous times, we should be doing all that we can to achieve peace and understanding in our world. Rude and arrogant behavior does nothing to achieve that. It's time we took a good hard look at ourselves. I won't be looking to Mike Wallace for any more interviews - at least if I'm looking for decency in fair and objective reporting.
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by houdini991 August 15, 2006 4:41 AM EDT
I find it funny that Wallace didn't mention a glaring human rights issue... Iran executes gay people. If a country had a genocidal policy of executing all black people, or all jewish people, or all white people, we would immediately cut diplomatic ties with them. And yet if gay people are mandatorily murdered, nobody seems to care. We still have diplomatic ties to countries like Saudi Arabia, where being gay will get you beheaded. Why don't we care? Why would Mr. Wallace not even think to mention this? All the people who are charmed by Mr. Ahmadinejad's gentility need to remember this image: http://www.payvand.com/news/05/jul/teens-execution-iran.jpg
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by innov8ion August 15, 2006 4:07 AM EDT
Western philosophy believes there can be no virtue unless it is predicated by the freedom to choose it. On the other hand, Islamic fundamentalists undermine the possibility of virtue; for coerced virtues are not virtues at all. WW III has begun. It began slowly with the advent of airplanes, tv, movies, music, and the internet. As the world became smaller, cultures began to intermingle. The terrorism we see results from the Islamic fundamentalists's resistance to the cultural change of society. To maintain the status quo, the fundamentalist goal is to radicalize Islamic society. One of their tactics is to use Israel as a scapegoat to demonize the West. Iran has succeeded in radicalizing the Palestinian Authority which is now controlled by Hamas. Lebanon is next as we see Hezbollah gaining traction. Iran is targeting Iraq now in its promotion of sectarian violence leading to a Civil War and future radicalization. This trend will continue until a cataclysmic war is reached. Islam respects the autonomy of the individual soul. Salvation, for Muslims no less than for Jews and Christians, is based on the soul freely choosing to follow God. And because freedom is the necessary pre-condition for virtue, we can assert that our free society is not simply richer, more varied and more tolerant; it is also morally superior to fundamentalists' version of Islamic society. Muslims, only you can stop WW III. Regain the freedom to be virtuous once again.
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by kurtkurthart August 15, 2006 2:24 AM EDT
I wasn't the only one who cringed at the behavior of Mike Wallace. A journalist should be objective & neutral when doing his work, and he was anything but. Like others have commented, he was the perfect example of what the Iranian president was describing America to be-- arrogant, not open-minded, and condescending. What a shame that this is who conducted this interview given the opportunity for such important communication. Some posts are saying that we should never give a platform to someone like Amahdinijad, since he is a "terrorist". Even if he were, it doesn't matter. If we want to reach a harmonious existence with middle eastern countries, we need to get over our own self-righteousness. We simply can't go to war with every nation that runs counter to our views. By doing that, we stir up more and more anger and it can only lead to our own destruction. We need to treat this situation with strategy and long sighted thinking. Even if we can't stand the views & actions of other countries, we need to use diplomacy to negotiate. Suppose Iran is building nuclear weapons to blow us up. Would we better off going to war with them, thereby feeding the swell of terrorism against us or would it be better to let them build nuclear weaponry and use diplomacy to prevent them needing/wanting to use it against us? After the Iraq experience, it's easy to see that diplomacy is the answer. I'm glad communication has been started by Amahdinijad. Let's not drop the ball.
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by August 15, 2006 1:59 AM EDT
I forgot about Mike's accusations about Iran arming Hezbolla! And then Mike's disbelief that America was accused by Iran's president of arming Israel! Dead people remain dead people no matter who supplies the arms, and if America, under this president, is not a predominent arms supplier and war profiteer, is not a nation involved in a preemptive, unprovoked, unresolvable quagmire of a war in Iraq, with another ongoing, but reasonable war in Afghanistan where the terrorists were actually trained by Osama to attack America on 9/11, while at the same time supporting and supplying Israel in a war against Hezbolla and the Palestinians, in hopes of soon blowing Iran off the map, then I don't know what a country devoted to war is! Of course, we're really not at war, because congress has never declared it. And, why hasn't congress declared war? Because then the Geneva Conventions would apply, then all of America's detainees would have to have access to the Red Cross and to lawyers and their names would have to be released to the public, whether in Guantanemo, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan or some of the other countries that allow torture. Doesn't Mike Wallace watch C-SPAN? The rest of the thinking world does, and wherever America has troops and arms, those people being killed blame America for eschewing diplomacy, and advocating WAR wherever it can. Tsirois52
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by August 15, 2006 1:12 AM EDT
Well, Mike Wallace was told by the Iranian president that he wasn't being an interviewer; that while the interviewer asked questions several minutes long, the interviewee was expected to give only yes or no, a, b, c or d answers; that perhaps the interviewer didn't like the answers. America is deaf, and the old ears of the current interviewers such as Mike Wallace only show the entire world how deaf and prejudiced Americans can be. I thought that the Iranian president really tried to give full answers, really tried to ask for dialog with America, and, really showed just how savey he was by insisting that the entire interview be shown on C-SPAN so that whatever CBS decided to "edit," the world could witness the unedited version online and globally. I tried, as an American, not to keep cringing as Mike Wallace arrogantly ignored the words spoken by the president of a country, demeaning his efforts over and over. Are Americans arrogant? Well, our president is, and, so is Mike Wallace. I feared Iran's president before this interview, now I fear how this interview will fuel the terrorists; how the demeaning and deafness of Mr. Wallace for any president of any country was tolerated by the producers of CBS. C-SPAN will repeat both the edited and the unedited versions no only again at 11PM ET tonight and probably online viewing will be available. Thank you, TSIROIS52
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by reuben110-2009 August 15, 2006 12:45 AM EDT
Watch how the anti-Iranian propagnda now steps up a gear or two on the back of this interview, amongst our news networks, the powerful Jewish influence in the media will be used to pour water of what is a wild-fire of what is percieved as a unprecedented boost of favourable opinion towards Ahmadinejad.No one seemed to be demostrating outside CBS after learning that the interview was going to be aired. After yesterdays masterclass by the Iranian President, what now follows is Bush-esque propaganda littered across the face of the media. They will think twice before we get another Ahmadinejd inteview.
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by reuben110-2009 August 15, 2006 12:21 AM EDT
vmroad, would it be a believable phrase, had it left the mouth of our Preseident?....According to many across the world and domestically given our current ratings of him..he too i a Lunatic! Its got nothing to do with terrorism supporters voicing their feelings. Just a common global consensus, minus us and Israel.
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by vmroad089 August 14, 2006 11:57 PM EDT
Well, it's pretty obvious we have terrorist sympathizers voicing their feelings here. He said, Quote: "All have the right to live in peace and harmony." If only he really believed that! LUNATIC!
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by reuben110-2009 August 14, 2006 11:49 PM EDT
Cont... Having initially been appauled that the man was going to be given a platform to speak. In hindsight it appears rightly so. To the average neutral, arguements such as Germany as the ones who should have granted Jews their rightful state, as it was the German people who failed to rise to the propaganda that allowed for one of the greatest tragedies the world has ever seen to take place.No palestinians were involved in that process,yet they are the ones who have paid the price, and given Israels global reputation(Not US) as a sedistic state,its been a heavy one. Such arguments like this one must be highly infuriating in the eyes of some, and very logical in the eyes of others. This hasn't turned out to be very good PR for us. And to top it off not only is our reputable journalist outclassed, he is reminded of his anger by Ahmadinejad, and asked such questions as what are you trying to get me to say, are horrid questions to be asked by an interviewee from a journalistic perspective. No wonder there is technical difficulties accessing the video of the clips of the interview, and the actual interview on this site.
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by vmroad089 August 14, 2006 11:46 PM EDT
I am watching the rerun of the interview on C-SPan. He refuses to answer direct questions. He runs amuck with his answers. He lies and will not admit onc ounce of truth. He is a lunatic, plain and simple. I only wonder why such a strong believer of the Islam faith wears no turban? Is he attempting a look of civility?
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