September 24, 2007
This Charming Man: Ahmadinejad & The U.N.
Another opening of the U.N. General Assembly, another chance for America's foes to take a whack at President Bush on a world stage.
The star of this year's production is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His visit to Columbia University and his request to visit Ground Zero (did anybody really think there was any chance that would happen?) have ensured that the theme of this week's convention, global warming, will be eclipsed by an entirely different kind of heat.
So why the fuss now, when Ahmadinejad's audience before the Council of Foreign Relations last year generated so much less controversy? Easy -- we're going to war in Iran.
Not really. (We think.) The jaw-jaw over taking Iran's nuclear facilities out by force has ratcheted beyond a level many thought possible, given the U.S. entanglements in Iraq.
But anyone who caught Ahmadinejad's squinty-eyed, non-response responses on "60 Minutes" last night probably has a clue into why the West finds this charismatic leader so very maddening.
There's just no bluster in his bluster. As apart from, say, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, whose veins visibly bulge when he rails on about that American devil, George W. Bush. When Ahmadinejad is confronted with his Holocaust-denying, Israel-hating, dictatorial ways, that smile never wavers. More confusingly, he also resembles a certain dreamy television doctor.
So what's the deal -- is he really as innocuous as his own people say, as reported by the New York Times today? It's no secret that the mullahs, led by Ayatollah Khameinei, hold the real power in Iran. It was the Ayatollah who reportedly ordered Ahmadinejad to cool it with his nuclear rhetoric.
Iran's recent openness toward IAEA inspectors is probably a result. But that says little about Tehran's ultimate nuclear ambitions, only that the Ayatollah determined Ahmadinejad's policy of daring the world to invade Iran was less than helpful. Khameinei's predecessor, Ayatollah Khomeini, predicted that Iran would emerge triumphant in a great war with Israel and the U.S. It's difficult not to factor nuclear weapons into that scenario.
Ahmadinejad controls domestic policy in Iran, and as we've reported before, he's not faring particularly well in that sphere. When Iranians go to the polls in 2009, they could very well decide not to re-elect Ahmadinejad, who won the office on an anti-poverty platform and has little to show for it two years later. Will his leaving change the dynamics of U.S.-Iran relations?
Probably no. Those protesting Ahmadinejad's visit to New York may have forgotten that for all the anti-Israel sentiment he spews, he lacks the power to pull the trigger. Ayatollah Khameinei controls the military, and if the West is forced to invade that country, it is with the Ayatollah they will tangle.
In a Q&A session this morning with the National Press Club, Ahmadinejad had the charm factor set on High. Asked his thoughts about other faiths, he replied, "All their views should be respected. We should build a prosperous community together." Confronted with a Reporters Without Borders report of two Kurdish journalists who've been sentenced to death in Iran, he begged ignorance. "Can you let me know who they are so I can be aware of who they are too? I would be certainly grateful. That would be very helpful to me."
Again, with that smile. Here, however, it was creepy, given Iran's frightening record on human rights abuses. The world is pretty fascinated with Ahmadinejad this week. They might take the time to ask what about him, exactly, has so captivated their attention.
Posted at 1:40 PM
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Bush Administration, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, President Bush, Terrorism
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