Full Interview With Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Presstitute, Scott Pelley interviewed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran on Thursday. Ahmadinejad talks about his visit to New York, Iran’s nuclear program and his views on Israel.

Full transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT

SCOTT PELLEY: Do you have a greeting to the American people?

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD: In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful, I would like to greet the American people and the good nations around the world. Right now we are in the city of Tehran. It’s in the afternoon of an autumn day. We’re in the open air in a garden. And the air is pleasant. And fall, little by little, is settling in, mixing with the summer breeze, I guess. And I think that right now, you have different time zones obviously and different climates. We have early morning in the U.S. and other time zones perhaps approaching the noon. So once again, greetings to you. I very much hope that nations around the world start their days with peace, friendship, and happiness.

President Ahmadinejad Delivers Remarks to the National Press Club

SEPTEMBER 24, 2007

SPEAKER: IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD

AHMADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful…

TRANSLATOR: The president is reciting verses from the holy Koran in Arabic.

AHMADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I am very glad to sit down and meet with members of the press and congratulate the 100th year of your activities.

And at the outset, I would like to raise a fundamental question on a key issue. I’d like to invite all to look at world events.

When we take a look around us, we are not happy with what we see. Indeed, it is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs. Insecurity, discrimination and threats of war and security concerns have affected everyone. Continuous wars have, in fact, hurt the human spirit.

I believe if we look at the root cause of some of these problems, we will be able to think of how to build a better future, a more prosperous future, based on peace and security for all humanity.

President Ahmadinejad Delivers Remarks at Columbia University

SEPTEMBER 24, 2007

SPEAKER: IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD

[*]

AHMADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful…

TRANSLATOR: The president is reciting verses from the holy Koran in Arabic.

AHMADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi and grant him good health and victory and make us his followers and those to attest to his rightfulness.

Distinguished Dean, dear professors and students, ladies and gentlemen, at the outset I would like to extend my greetings to all of you. I am grateful to the almighty God for providing me with the opportunity to be in an academic environment, those seeking truth and striving for the promotion of science and knowledge.

A Conservative Estimate of Total Direct U.S. Aid to Israel: $108 Billion

A Conservative Estimate of Total Direct
U.S. Aid to Israel: $108 Billion
by Shirl McArthur
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA), 15/09/07

Because of the uncertainties and ambiguities associated with U.S. aid to Israel, arriving at a precise figure for total direct U.S. aid to Israel probably is not possible. Parts of it are buried in the budgets of other government agencies—mostly the Defense Department (DOD)—or in a form not easily quantifiable—such as the early disbursement of aid, allowing Israel a direct gain and the U.S. Treasury a direct loss of interest on the unspent money. Given these caveats, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA) conservatively estimates cumulative total direct U.S. aid to Israel at $107.961 billion.

Pages: 1 2

Attacking Iran: I Know It Sounds Crazy, But…

Attacking Iran: I Know It Sounds Crazy, But…
by Ray McGovern

(Ray McGovern served as a CIA analyst for 27 years – from the administration of John F. Kennedy to that of George H. W. Bush. During the early 1980s, he was one of the writers/editors of the President’s Daily Brief and briefed it one-on-one to the president’s most senior advisers. He also chaired National Intelligence Estimates. In January 2003, he and four former colleagues founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.)

Why Would Iran Want Nukes?

So why would Iran think it has to acquire nuclear weapons? Sen. Richard Lugar, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was asked this on a Sunday talk show a few months ago. Apparently having a senior moment, he failed to give the normal answer. Instead, he replied, “Well, you know, Israel has…” At that point, he caught himself and abruptly stopped.

Recovering quickly and realizing that he could not just leave the word “Israel” hanging there, Lugar began again: “Well, Israel is alleged to have a nuclear capability.”

Is alleged to have…? Lugar is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and yet he doesn’t know that Israel has, by most estimates, a major nuclear arsenal, consisting of several hundred nuclear weapons? (Mainstream newspapers are allergic to dwelling on this topic, but it is mentioned every now and then, usually buried in obscurity on an inside page.)

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MEMBACA PESAN LATIHAN MILITER CHINA-RUSIA

Oleh:
Wawan Kurniawan
Pendiri Kajian Internasional Strategis (KAINSA)

Untuk pertama kali dalam sejarah, Rusia dan China mengadakan latihan militer bersama (joint militray exercises). Latihan dengan nama “Misi Perdamaian 2005 yang diselenggarakan selama seminggu (18-25 Agustus) itu diikuti sekitar 10 ribu tentara (8200 tentara China dan 1200 tentara Rusia) serta 140 kapal perang.

Medan perang simulasinya meliputi Semenanjung Jiadong dan Laut Kuning, termasuk pangkalan Armada Pasifik Rusia Vladivostok. Jiadong menjadi alternatif setelah pilihan tempat Xinjian dan Zhejiang (bersebelahan dengan Taiwan) ditolak karena dianggap terlalu provokatif.

Wajah “Lain” Hamas

Wajah “Lain” Hamas
Oleh: Wawan Kurniawan
Pendiri Kajian Internasional Strategis (KAINSA)

Kemenangan Hamas memang mengejutkan dunia. Sampai-sampai, harian Tne New York Times (27/01) menyebut kemenangan itu dengan “bulan sabit telah muncul”. Bulan sabit merupakan lambang Islam yang mendunia. Selain digunakan sebagai simbol Khilafah Islam terakhir, Ustmani, bulan sabit juga digunakan sebagai lambang organisasi kemanusian Bulan Sabit Merah.

Dalam terminologi sejarah, ada dua simbol lagi yang mengimajinasikan dua komunitas besar dunia; salib untuk umat Nasrani dan Bintang David untuk Yahudi.

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HAMAS DAN SYARAT NAIF BARAT

Oleh:

Wawan Kurniawan
Pendiri Kajian Internasional Strategis (KAINSA)

Kemenangan Hamas di pemilu Palestina 2006 adalah kenyataan yang tidak dapat dielakkan. Melalui sistem demokrasi, Hamas mendapat mandat dari rakyat Palestina untuk membawa bangsanya menuju arah yang lebih baik dari era rezim (Fatah) sebelumnya. Vox populi vox dei.

Sudah lewat sepuluh tahun, sejak pemilu pertama 20 Januari 1996, Fatah berkuasa dengan tidak membawa perubahan yang berarti. Tidak ada kejelasan tentang nasib dan status negara Palestina. Bagaimana dengan nasib pengungsi Palestina yang terdiaspora di negara-negara tetangga. Bagaimana keberadaan Jerusalem Timur dengan tempat suci Masjid Al Aqsa-nya. Atau Israel yang terus-menerus memperbesar area pemukiman di atas tanah Palestina terutama di Tepi Barat. Atau pembunuhan-pembunuhan terhadap warga Palestina yang dilakukan oleh Israel.

HAMAS, HIZBULLAH DAN ISRAEL

Oleh:
Wawan Kurniawan
Pendiri Kajian Internasional Strategis (KAINSA)

Untuk pertama kalinya dalam sejarah Timur Tengah modern (pasca-Perang Dunia II), dua gerakan perlawanan yang paling terkemuka, Hamas dan Hizbullah, beraliansi menghadapi musuh yang sama Israel. Hamas memulai serangan pada 25 Juni melalui terowongan-yang digali dua bulan sebelumnya-di Kerem Shalom dengan hasil: 1 tentara Israel tewas dan satu tentara (Gilad Shalit) lagi ditahan. Sedangkan, serangan Hizbullah terjadi pada pagi 12 Juli dengan hasil: 8 tentara Israel tewas dan dua orang tentara (Ehud Goldwasser dan Eldad Regev) ditahan.

IOF (Israel Occupation Force) melalui operasi “Summer Rain” (29 Juni) membalas dengan membombardir Jalur Gaza, Lebanon selatan, dan Beirut. Memblokade akses-akses darat, laut, dan udara. Merusak fasilitas-fasilitas umum semisal pembangkit listrik, universitas, rumah sakit, bandara, jalan dan jembatan. Artileri IOF terus menyalak. Jet-jet tempurnya (yang sebagian besar adalah F-16 sumbangan Amerika Serikat) terus menghujani dengan bom. Demikian juga kanon-kanon kapal laut IOF. Di Jalur Gaza, bom-bom sonic membuat orang Palestina tidak bisa tidur.

PERTEMUAN SEGITIGA PETRA

Oleh:
Wawan Kurniawan
Pendiri Kajian Internasional Strategis (KAINSA)

Kamis kemarin, sebuah pertemuan tidak resmi terjadi di sebuah kota wisata Petra, Jordania. PM Israel Ehud Olmert dan Presiden Palestina Mahmoud Abbas bertemu dalam sebuah jamuan pagi dengan Raja Yordania Abdullah II (BBC, 22/6).

Pertemuan informal itu merupakan pertemuan pertama Olmert-Abbas sejak Olmert menjadi PM dan Hamas menjadi pemenang dalam pemilu Palestina 25 Januari lalu. Tidak ada kejelasan tentang siapa yang berinisitaif memulai pertemuan itu.