Brian Williams & Christine Amanpour Have Luxury Dinner With Ahmadinejad
Dinner with Ahmadinejad
by Richard Stengel
The invitation was on creamy stationery with fancy calligraphy: The Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran “requests the pleasure” of my company to dine with H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The dinner is at the Intercontinental Hotel — with names carefully written out at all the place settings around a rectangular table. There are about 50 of us, academics and journalists mostly. There’s Brian Williams across the room, and Christiane Amanpour a few seats down. And at a little after 8pm, on a day when he has already addressed the U.N., the evening after his confrontation at Columbia, a bowing and smiling Mahmoud Admadinejad glides into the room.
his is now an annual ritual for the President of Iran. Every year, during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, he plots out a media campaign that — in its shrewdness, relentlessness, and quest for attention — would rival Angelina Jolie on a movie junket. And like any international figure, Mr. Ahmadinejad hones his performance for multiple audiences: in this case, the journalists and academics who can filter his speech and ideas for a wider American audience.
The format of the evening is curious. In his calm and fluent voice — “dear friends,” he calls us — he requests that we not ask questions, but make statements, so that he can react to them in a form of dialogue. The academics are not shy. They make statements not only about the need for dialogue and reconciliation, but castigate the Iranian government for chilling press freedoms and for arresting Iranian-American scholars who were only trying to foster better relations between America and Iran. Throughout, Ahmadinejad is courtly, preternaturally calm, and fiercely articulate.
After an hour, he is ready to respond. He does so first with a half-hour ode to the relationship between man and God that might have been dictated by the Iranian poet Rumi. “I believe that Almighty God created the universe for mankind. Man is God’s most important creation and it is through him that we appreciate the beauties of the universe. God has sent man here on a mission.” That mission, he says, is to pursue love, justice, kindness and dignity. In fact, he repeats those works so often that it begins to sound like a mantra: Love. Justice. Kindness. Dignity. He speaks with the quiet zeal of a not-very-flamboyant televangelist. “The pursuit of justice through love and kindness and human dignity can end all conflicts on earth,” he says. “Inshallah.”
When it comes time for him to address the comments, he does so by citing each speaker by name — 23 in all, he notes. In contrast with what he calls the lack of respect and dignity accorded to him at Columbia — where, he says, he found it odd that an academic institution which prizes tolerance would treat him without any — he addresses each person carefully and patiently. Some highlights:
- Iran has not violated any of the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ahmadinejad says. He has proposed a multilateral uranium enrichment program with different nations, and can’t understand why no one has taken up his offer.
- The US and Iran can play a positive role together in Iraq. “If the US withdraws from Iraq, good things will happen,” he says. “I believe that the Iraqi people can rule themselves.”
- In the Middle East, Ahmadinejad says the world must allow the Palestinians to decide their future for themselves: “That is the human solution to sixty years of instability.” He refers to Israel only as “the Zionist regime” and does not mention the Holocaust.
- Ahmadinejad claims there are thirty newspapers published in Iran that are opposed to his government, citing that as evidence of press freedom in Iran.
- In answer to a question about how he viewed Hitler’s legacy, he says, “I view Hitler’s role as extremely negative, a despicably dark face.”
- He notes that Americans don’t understand Iranian history, saying that the movie 300 — with which he seems intimately familiar — was a “complete distortion of Iranian history.” Iran, he says, has never invaded anyone in its history.
Finally, in response to a question about whether war with Iran was growing more likely, he says, “Mr. Bush is interested in harming Iran. But I believe there are wise politicians in America who will prevent such a war. We hate war. We would not welcome it. But we are prepared for every scenario. Yet I don’t think war will happen.”
With that, Ahmadinejad says he has an early morning appointment the next day, and that he welcomes greater dialogue like this evening. And then, still composed, and with the same slightly mysterious smile that never leaves his face all evening, he bows deeply and heads upstairs.
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I just shake my head as I grind my teeth. A goat fucking terrorist given rock star status instead of being strapped to a waterboard. Wassup?
September 26th, 2007 at 9:03 amThose who think we can sit down with radical Islamists like the Iranian fucktard are naive. This is just another flowery showing by the leftists in the media, while they attempt to give our enemies the strength to hold on.
These leftist media pukes do not have the resolve to stand up to evil, because they can’t even define it themselves.
September 26th, 2007 at 9:20 amThese two media moonbats are just as dangerous to the GWOT as are AQ.
Sweeeet!!
Think they all bowed their heads at A-job’s signature prayer? Exchanged phone numbers and email addies? Toasted each other? Shared hugs and kisses upon departing?
Fucking clueless idiot limo-lib-elitist-media shitheads …
September 26th, 2007 at 9:53 amThese two media moonbats are just as dangerous to the GWOT as are AQ.
And Harry Reid and his butt buddies are MORE dangerous. It’s not even close.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:01 amMaybe they missed the dinner in Iraq where the dinner was the attendees baked child….
September 26th, 2007 at 10:02 amTraitors.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:02 amWhat was the entree? Snake in the grass encircled with bleating sheep?
September 26th, 2007 at 10:12 amThe speech George W. Bush SHOULD give:
Normally, I start these things out by saying “My Fellow Americans.” Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don’t know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and
that you’re really not fellow Americans any longer.
I’ll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: there’s been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.
The reason I’m quitting is simple. I’m fed up with you people.
I’m fed up because you have no understanding of what’s really going on in the world. Or of what’s going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and fig ure it out.
Let’s start locally. You’ve been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. And that’s despite record numbers of homeowners including record numbers of MINORITY homeowners. And while we’re mentioning minorities, I’ll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high. Our unemployment rate is as low or lower than it ever was during the Clinton Administration. I’ve mentioned all those things before, but it doesn’t seem
to have sunk in.
Despite the shock to our economy of 9/11, the stock market has rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets. Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there’s
increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and be ach front property than your economic security.
We face real threats in the world. Don’t give me this “blood for oil” thing. If I was trading blood for oil I would’ve already seized Iraq ’s oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don’t give me this ‘Bush Lied - People Died’ crap either. If I was the liar you morons take me for, I could’ve easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be ‘discovered.’ Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty. Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named ‘ Clinton ‘ established that policy. Bet you didn’t know that, did you?
You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the Cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamental ly, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to outspend
and out-tech them.
That’s not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don’t care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That’d be fine, as long as they weren’t also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you. And the bastards are all over the globe.
You should be grateful that they haven’t gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you’re not. That’s because you’ve got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that. When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I’m disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of ‘Survivor’.
Instead, you’ve grown impatient. You’re incapable of seeing things through th e long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat’s political campaign, well, dammit, you might just as well Fedex a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.
In this day and age, it’s easy enough to find the truth. It’s all over the Internet. It just isn’t on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you’d be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol.
I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you’re too stupid to leave a city that’s below sea level and has a hurricane approaching. I could say more about your
insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I’ve c ome to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.
So I quit. I’m going back to Crawford. I’ve got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I’m done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. Maybe
I’ll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.
Oh, and by the way, Cheney’s quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there are just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.
So that’s it. God bless what’s left of America . Some of you know what I mean.
The rest of you, P*** off!
September 26th, 2007 at 10:38 amThis is worse than that bitch Fonda taking pictures with the NVA…
September 26th, 2007 at 10:49 am“Washbasins” (read: Muslim footbaths) are back in the news. These refer in particular to washing stations installed in public restrooms to accommodate the five-times-daily ablutions required for prayer.
Gee, I hope I don’t mistake one of these for a urinal.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:57 amTo raldy-nice speech-you should apply for a speechwiting postition. I do not get why so many people are enamored by people like him-he is trash, and should be treated as such.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:59 amIts like a reporter having a burger and fries with Hitler.
Whatever happened to journalistic integrity.
DAMN the MSM. They are irresponsible. They feed misinformation and spew tendentious BS to try and sway people to think like them. How ironic that they are more fascist than any right wing group they vilify.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:03 amI honestly could not eat in the same room. I would lose my appetite, even if it was my job to be there, which it wasn’t. The press shouldn’t accept invites to dine with him. They KNOW he is a proven liar, as his first interview with their colleague on 60 Min. a few years ago showed. He just blathers lies. So, why would they think he’s going to say anything credible at a later time?
“Throughout, Ahmadinejad is courtly, preternaturally calm, and fiercely articulate.” What a complete idiot the Time writer is to write that. Articulate? Has he heard that jackass speak? The hard left surely has seized the MSM. They are like Chamberlain, and the “intellectuals” of the day (GB Shaw, HG Wells, Chas. Lindberg) when Hitler was around.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:42 amJAM: Please do….
September 26th, 2007 at 11:48 am[…] Brian Williams & Christine Amanpour Have Luxury Dinner With Ahmadinejad — Pat Dollard […]
September 26th, 2007 at 12:14 pmFrom Christiane:
A-jad ur my new bff!
From A-jad:
Bush’s war lmao
From Brian:
Yeah, totally lol
From Christiane:
Will u b my myspace friend?
From A-jad:
OMA! Totally!
From Brian:
Can i goto T-ran w/u?
From A-jad:
y?
From Brian:
IDK. 4 121 time.
From A-jad:
what kind?
From Brian:
IDK, mayb 69
From A-jad:
I saw u looking at me
From Christiane:
dont u hav a un speech 2 do?
From A-jad:
o yeah, gotta call Bush Evil, BRB!
From Brian:
do u think he likes me?
From Christiane:
yeah. but cant hav relationshp. iran has laws against that.
From Brian:
killer
From Christiane:
yeah, by hanging.
From A-jad:
back! cool!
From Brian:
howd it go
From A-jad:
same waiting 4 12 imam and all
From Christiane:
Cool.
From A-jad:
Cool.
From Brian:
Cool. cumming over
now luvr xoxoxoxo
September 26th, 2007 at 12:31 pmIf I was invited I would have accepted the invitation and I would have brought with me a bottle of Manischewitz and smacked it across his forehead, a fatal blow, no more dinnerjacket.
September 26th, 2007 at 12:53 pmMaybe we can get all the liberal leftist spunk monkeys to move to Iran since according to A-Job it is the center of all that is good and right with the Universe.
September 26th, 2007 at 12:57 pmMr. President, please send one way tickets to Tehran to:
Sean Penn
Tim Robbins
Susan Sarandon
Sally Fields
Brian De Palma
Danny Glover
Kevin Spacey
Half of Congress
the New York Times
Washington Post
LA Times
CNN
MSNBC
ABC
CBS
Dan Rather
Katie Couric
The View, excepting Liz Hasselbeck
most of the Public School Teachers
all University faculty and administration.
New York City
Los Angeles
San Francisco
most of Oregon and Washington (state and DC)
Michael Moore
Cindy Sheehan
Alec Baldwin
Please add to this list… I can’t remember all the traitors of the United States. There just to many of them.
September 26th, 2007 at 1:20 pmWatch this crap, it’s exactly like Stalin said of our open press, ..”useful Idiots.”
September 26th, 2007 at 2:03 pm“And like any international figure, Mr. Ahmadinejad hones his performance for multiple audiences: in this case, the journalists and academics who can filter his speech and ideas for a wider American audience.”
ROTFLMAO!!!
“Throughout, Ahmadinejad is courtly, preternaturally calm, and fiercely articulate.”
“….the Iranian poet Rumi.”
“….he welcomes greater dialogue like this evening. And then, still composed, and with the same slightly mysterious smile that never leaves his face all evening, he bows deeply and heads upstairs.”
Contrary to your ‘rumi’nations, journalism ain’t a romance novel you useless prick.
September 26th, 2007 at 3:08 pmIt’s about time we go after this pompas ass Brian Williams.
September 26th, 2007 at 5:31 pmThis guy needs to be thrown out of the news business once and for all. NBC pays this pretty boy pussy three million dollars a year, and his news program has the lowest ratings. Dig up the dirt on this fuck head, post it everywhere, and bring him down hard…