Candidates Speak Out On Ahmadinejad Visit

Hopefuls Question Columbia's Decision To Host Iranian President

(CBS)  This story was written by CBSNews.com political reporter Brian Montopoli.

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On the day that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Columbia University in New York, U.S. presidential candidates offered reaction ranging from support for academic freedom to harsh criticism of the university for inviting the Iranian president to speak.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama said he would not have invited Ahmadinejad to speak on campus, noting that the Iranian president has other forums to air his views, among them the United Nations, where Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak Tuesday. But Obama, a Columbia graduate, added that "one of the values that we believe in is the value of academic freedom," and said Columbia officials have the right to invite speakers of their choice.

Obama also stood by his position that he would meet with Ahmadinejad and other rogue leaders if elected. He has been criticized by his rivals for vowing to hold such meetings, a position Sen. Hillary Clinton, his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, has called "irresponsible and, frankly, naïve."

Clinton reiterated her position Monday at a press conference on Capitol Hill.

"We need a much more vigorous, robust and deep engagement, but that does not mean that the president of the United States should take part in such preliminary talks," she said.

Clinton said she " would not have invited" Ahmadinejad to speak if she were a university president. But she said she does not express an opinion about the decision made by Columbia.

Former Sen. John Edwards, a Democrat, also criticized Obama's vow to meet with Ahmadinejad and other leaders.

"In the case of a leader like Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il, Hugo Chavez, any of these leaders, you'd have to be extraordinarily careful that they would not use such a meeting for PR purposes or for propaganda purposes," he said.

Edwards characterized Ahmadinejad's positions as "abhorrent" but said it "is for Columbia to decide whether they want a man like this to be able to speak at their university."

Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and called the Holocaust a "myth." President Bush has called Iran the "world's primary state sponsor of terror."

Former Sen. Fred Thompson, a Tennessee Republican, criticized Columbia while appearing on conservative pundit Bill Bennett's radio show this morning.

"It's a clear double standard and rank hypocrisy" on the part of Columbia to allow Ahmadinejad to speak, he said, and not allow the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or ROTC, on campus. On Thursday, Thompson said he would not have allowed Ahmadinejad into the country if he were president.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, also objected to Ahmadinejad's visit. "Instead of inviting him to speak at the United Nations and Columbia University, I believe he should be indicted under the Genocide Convention," the candidate said in a statement.

Romney also released a radio ad today claiming he is "leading the opposition" to Ahmadinejad's visit.

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain said in a statement that he finds it "astonishing and astounding that Columbia University would welcome the president of a country that has not only dedicated itself to a policy of extinction of the state of Israel, but as he is speaking, most of the lethal and explosive devices are being exported from Iran into Iraq, endangering and taking the lives of brave Americans who are serving."

He added: "Meanwhile, Columbia University's belief in free speech does not extend to Reserve Officers' Training Corps units being allowed on their campus to attract outstanding young men and women to serve in the military."

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who is also running for the Republican nomination, spoke to a reporter today in Portland, Maine, about the Iranian president's visit.

"I think Columbia made the really wrong decision to invite him to be part of a distinguished lecture series," he said. "It makes no sense to give him this type of forum, to give him this type of dignity that Columbia has given him by allowing him to speak there, as if has some kind of serious opinion to offer."

Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican also running for president, harshly attacked the university at a recent press conference.

"If President Lee Bollinger follows through with this hosting of the leader of Iran, I will move in Congress to cut off every single type of federal funding to Columbia University," he said. "If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries."

[grazinggoat]

Posted by afmca at 08:26 AM : Sep 25, 2007

-afmca, nice and well-thought posting! I''d add for the problem seekers, some repukons will concentrate on finding homosexuals in Iran, just to show the world that ggays exist in Iran and that AhMandyNJad has lied to us saying there are no Homos in Iran!

[grazinggoat]

CBS News: ''Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, also objected to Ahmadinejad''s visit. "Instead of inviting him to speak at the United Nations and Columbia University, I believe he should be indicted under the Genocide Convention," the candidate said in a statement.''

-Funny sMutt Romney! isn''t he? Behind his angelic face there is only brown matter in his thick skull. Which contemporary world leader should be prosecuted for such genocide crimes but our Walking-Liar Bush?

[jimbols]

None of the presidential candidates will support Columbia''s wishing to hear from this quite interesting man because they fear the Israeli lobby. Sadly that is true of the Main Stream Media, also. The President of Columbia missed a chance to be his own man, too.

[getloud1]

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[helenuu]

It was great that politicians think we are all imbeciles so they come out and criticize the Columbia
decision to let him speak there. That proves how little freedom they want us to have when they are president. I will not vote for any poltician who
suckers up to those who are brain washed about Iran.
How ironic that they don''t get upset when their president babbles nonsense.

[juwboy]

myusa2 said:

"Non-Arabs are well-represented in government" (in Iran).

Why wouldn''t they be? Most Iranians are not Arabs and their native language isn''t Arabic, it''s Farsi.

There is, however, a minority population of Arabs near the Iraq border. Are they represented in the Iranian government? I''m not interested enough to find out.

[homespunlady]

Thank you Columbia.

It''s ALWAYS good to shine the light of day on what''s REALLY going on in the world.
Yes, there was rudeness, yes, there''s "spin" but there was also HOPE that at least the battle was with WORDS rather than WEAPONS.

Unlike the BLACKWATER "Shooting Gallery" Problem;
NO INNOCENT women and children were maimed or killed in that confrontation - just egos that probably needed some adjusting.

It shows that there are still SOME Americans that aren''t afraid to come out from under their beds and face their imaginary bogeymen with weapons of clear vision, words and logic. It''s the BRAVEST of all options.

That''s what REAL STATESMANSHIP is all about.

In the light of day and reason bogeymen evaporate and we can move on to greater things.

It''s disheartening that there are still NEOCONS and candy-dates such as Hunter that don''t understand that and cling to Genghis Khan style methods and reasoning.

[gkc99]

"Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican also running for president, harshly attacked the university at a recent press conference.
"If President Lee Bollinger follows through with this hosting of the leader of Iran, I will move in Congress to cut off every single type of federal funding to Columbia University," he said.


So this Reaganite is now going to move to have the Reagan library demolished, Ronald Reagan Airport in DC renamed, and Michael Reagan sent to prison. Reagan repeatedly armed the Iranians with U.S. high tech weapons and promoted the military strength of the mullahs and ayatollahs.

Any patriotic American should spit on Reagan''s memory, and brand D. Hunter for the lying hypocrit he is.

[ioweign]

Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican also running for president, harshly attacked the university at a recent press conference.

"If President Lee Bollinger follows through with this hosting of the leader of Iran, I will move in Congress to cut off every single type of federal funding to Columbia University," he said. "If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries."


First - Duncan, you should stop our own government from putting weapons into the hands of our adversaries. A GAO audit shows you/Petraeus lost 190,000 weapons and they are most likely in the hands of our adversaries.

Second - Check out the companies the government hires in an effort to prevent them from smuggling weapons and selling them to our adversaries. aka Blackwater USA



Posted by IOWEIGN at 08:16 AM : Sep 25, 2007

I should have added:

Third - What is the connection between supporting the troops and Iran ? You always bring up supporting the troops this or not supporting the troops that. Stick with apples to apples and oranges to oranges. How about NOT holding the troops in front of yourself as a shield to protect your own misfit behaviour !

[afmca]

Liberal Democrats believe and protect the Constitutional right to free speech; while Conservative Republicans dismiss free speech and further weaken the Constitution. What 6+ years of Bush has shown is that Republicans don''t have the ability to intelligently converse with people they oppose. I don''t agree with Ahmadinejad, but appreciate the right to hear him unedited from his PR machine.

Thompson, Giuliani, Romney, McCain all proved they are not ready to be President. Obviously they will continue the Bush policy of confrontation over communication. It plays well to their base of neanderthals who think we should bomb anyone who doesn''t think, look, or pray like us.

Ahmadinejad showed his bigotry and ignorance. It was for all to see. I laughed at his answers. I hold him in lower esteem than before. Petty dictators are always exposed when they cannot control the forum. Columbia University did us all a favor; they are a lot smarter than the Repub candidates.

[ioweign]

Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican also running for president, harshly attacked the university at a recent press conference.

"If President Lee Bollinger follows through with this hosting of the leader of Iran, I will move in Congress to cut off every single type of federal funding to Columbia University," he said. "If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries."


First - Duncan, you should stop our own government from putting weapons into the hands of our adversaries. A GAO audit shows you/Petraeus lost 190,000 weapons and they are most likely in the hands of our adversaries.

Second - Check out the companies the government hires in an effort to prevent them from smuggling weapons and selling them to our adversaries. aka Blackwater USA

[jrinbelling]

Is there no equation to predict the specific amount of enriched uranium that would be produced by each nuclear plant Iran proposes to operate? And could this uranium not be legally accounted for by the UN? If it goes missing, it won''t take long to figure it out, and we''ll know they''ve become armed. At that point, the guns are pointed, and the war will be quick. I think Iran with nukes is not as dangerous as Iran with a stabilized economy, and a firm handle on its only abundant natural resource. There is no consipiracy in math. An Iran with a healthy middle class is an American/European gas pump with a big number in front of it. Bigger than what we see now, by a lot. And most imported oil isn''t even consumed by you - its consumed in the production of plastics, the transfer of food, the progress in medicine and technology that gives us all the miracles we have come to take for granted. That increase in energy costs, without sufficient alternatives, would lead to a possible Western world econimic crisis (exacerbating the already potentially worrisome effects of climate change). That is, perhaps, what is more at stake. ? If we''re going to talk brass tacks.

[jrinbelling]

It is so refreshing to see a bridge being built, rather than sabotaged. I am in no way convinced that Ahmadinejad was completely forthcoming about his honest thoughts, as I do not believe that anyone in our government is with theirs. He is probably a bigot, a hypocrite, a liar, a thief, ect. And so am I, and so are we all, in some way or another. He might even try to blow Israel off the map, and do to it exactly what we''re working so hard to do with Iraq. I don''t demonize him for seeing the world differently, or else he''d have the right to demonize me for seeing it differently, as well. Behavior like that has never made for any sort of fitful peace. It only makes for injust wars based on ignorance, and fear. I''ve had enough of that to last me the rest of my life.

Thank you, Columbia, for using the brains God gave you, rather than your testicles. I was beginning to believe we''d reverted entirely to the beasts we claim so vehemently not to be.

[socrates392]

Posted by lisainmilo at 12:56 AM : Sep 25, 2007

I also look forward to true diplomacy taking place. That said, I''m not buying his new more, tolerant perspective on the holocaust. What about the holocaust needs to be further investigated? Seems like he doesn''t want to come out and say what he actually thinks out of fear of being lynched.

[lisainmilo]

I am not sure he denied the Holocaust in this speech, he did say he wanted further investigation of the Holocaust. He did sound like he is standing up for the displaced Palestinians.
I don''t know why he wants further investigation, I think it may have been a 1/2 attempt at earlier statements he has made....possilbly out of anger...due to the displaced Palestinians.
However, I listened to his answers and his speech. It wasn''t bad overall. I don''t know alot about the Iranian lifestyle....I think if the students and faculty take up the invitation, it will be a great learning experience.
I am looking forward to a better foreign policy in which true diplomacy can take place. The Council for Foreign affairs has an interactive Time-Line between the U.S. and Iran www.cfr.org.

[homespunlady]

Would they next invite Osama to their graduation if they could find him?
Posted by kraziquban at 06:08 PM : Sep 24, 2007

Sounds like a GREAT idea to me since our President George Bush has been so INCOMPETENT in allowing our military to find and capture that 6 foot tall spoiled SAUDI on dialysis!

Maybe the intellectuals at Columbia can help him out. It''s worth a try at least.

Sure didn''t HELP that our NEOCON Administration HAD Bin Laden''s RELATIVES IN NEW YORK CITY and SENT THEM HOME right after the attack (along with a lot of behind kissing I suspect)Rather than using them as BAIT!

OH! But "we don''t want to OFFEND OUR OIL FRIENDS" now do we?

DIPLOMACY has apparently DIED in this country and the only thing left is a MAFIA STYLE ELITE - bent on CONQUEST, GREED and REVENGE and running our military capability and economy into the ground.

Both SAD and PATHETIC.

Our Constitution and the GREAT PRINCIPLES it showcased has been shredded by selfish morons.
I worry that it''ll be too late before something is done about it.

[talk2chief]

Clinton said she " would not have invited" Ahmadinejad to speak if she were a university president. But she said she does not express an opinion about the decision made by Columbia.
political reporter Brian Montopoli.

WHAT!? Sounds like more I was for the war, before I was against the war flip flopping, safe, don''t really make sense answers.

Both Hilary and Ahmadinejad can''t just say how it is. Good thing they don''t play poker, they don''t have a clue how to bluff and covered in tells.

[feelfree1]

What did Gravel and Kucinich, the only Democrats worthy of consideration, have to say about it?

Or Ron Paul, the only Republican worth considering?

[my2centss]

When I was younger and would get into disagreements, adults would sit us down and say talk about it. This normally resolved the dispute. Why do the leaders not want to discuss their views? A good saying was keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Maybe the candidates haven''t heard that one.

[coffee_guy1]

I can''t understand how a politician could say something like "we don''t talk to people". You got the easy end of the stick, there Mr. or Mrs. Politician. The easy end..