Beautiful. This comes as a very welcome surprise to many Americans. In the days prior to the U.S. visit of Holocaust denier and Iranian dictator Ahmadinejad, there was wild speculation as to what kind of reception Columbia University would give to the Madman of Teheran. Many thought the university would throw softball questions at him. But the president of Columbia introduced Ahmadinejad with scathing venom:
NEW YORK - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended Holocaust deniers and raised questions about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in a tense showdown Monday at Columbia University where the school's head introduced the visitor by calling him a "petty and cruel dictator."
Ahmadinejad, appearing shaken by what he called "insults" from his host, sought to portray himself as an intellectual and argued that his regime had respect for reason and science. But the former engineering professor soon found himself drawn into the type of rhetoric that has alienated American audiences in the past. FULL STORY, Chicago Tribune...
CNN reports:
During the introduction, Bollinger cited the Iranian government's "brutal crackdown" on dissidents, public executions, executions of minors and other actions.
He assailed Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust as "ridiculous." Watch Bollinger slam Ahmadinejad »
"For the illiterate and ignorant, this is dangerous propaganda," he said. He called the Iranian leader "either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated."
"The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history," he said.
"Will you cease this outrage?" he demanded.
Bollinger said he doubted Ahmadinejad would show the intellectual courage to answer questions posed to him.
Ahmadinejad opened his remarks by saying Bollinger's introduction was discourteous, intellectually dishonest and inaccurate.
He said academic freedom should prohibit the "vaccination" of the audience with negative comments about a guest speaker and his ideas. FULL STORY at CNN...
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Beautiful. This comes as a very welcome surprise to many Americans. In the days prior to the U.S. visit of Holocaust denier and Iranian dictator Ahmadinejad, there was wild speculation as to what kind of reception Columbia University would give to the Madman of Teheran. Many thought the university would throw softball questions at him. But the president of Columbia introduced Ahmadinejad with scathing venom:
NEW YORK - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended Holocaust deniers and raised questions about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in a tense showdown Monday at Columbia University where the school's head introduced the visitor by calling him a "petty and cruel dictator."
Ahmadinejad, appearing shaken by what he called "insults" from his host, sought to portray himself as an intellectual and argued that his regime had respect for reason and science. But the former engineering professor soon found himself drawn into the type of rhetoric that has alienated American audiences in the past. FULL STORY, Chicago Tribune...
CNN reports:
During the introduction, Bollinger cited the Iranian government's "brutal crackdown" on dissidents, public executions, executions of minors and other actions.
He assailed Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust as "ridiculous." Watch Bollinger slam Ahmadinejad »
"For the illiterate and ignorant, this is dangerous propaganda," he said. He called the Iranian leader "either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated."
"The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history," he said.
"Will you cease this outrage?" he demanded.
Bollinger said he doubted Ahmadinejad would show the intellectual courage to answer questions posed to him.
Ahmadinejad opened his remarks by saying Bollinger's introduction was discourteous, intellectually dishonest and inaccurate.
He said academic freedom should prohibit the "vaccination" of the audience with negative comments about a guest speaker and his ideas. FULL STORY at CNN...
