An advance team for the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asked earlier this month that he be allowed to lay a wreath at the World Trade Center site during the opening of the United Nations General Assembly next week, but the request was denied, New York City police officials said today. City Room has the story.
Mitt Romney, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani each issued a statement denouncing Mr. Ahmadinejad’s request:
Mr. Romney:
Ahmadinejad’s shockingly audacious request should be met with a vehement no. It’s inconceivable that any consideration would be given to the idea of entertaining the leader of a state sponsor of terror at ground zero. This would deeply offend the sensibilities of Americans from all corners of our nation. Instead of entertaining Ahmadinejad, we should be indicting him.
Senator Clinton:
It is unacceptable for Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who refuses to renounce and end his own country’s support of terrorism, to visit the site of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in our nation’s history.
Mr. Giuliani:
Under no circumstances should the NYPD or any other American authority assist President Ahmadinejad in visiting Ground Zero. This is a man who has made threats against America and Israel, is harboring Bin Laden’s son and other al-Qaeda leaders, is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. Assisting Ahmadinejad in touring Ground Zero – hallowed ground for all Americans – is outrageous.
From 26 to 50 of 114 Comments
Neither reason nor international dilomacy justify anything but telling Ahmadinejad to go stuff it. The poster-thug of a theocratic autocracy which actively engages terrorist enemies of the United States deserves nothing but spite.
Mitt Romney doesn’t speak for me, and neither does Hilary Clinton. But those who jump at every chance to appease the truly despicable succeed only in legitimizing the worst.
— Michael KorcokAs a conservative who has always voted Republican and voted for Bush - twice - I also recognize the sheer stupidity of the current Republican strategy of waging war and the dishonesty of turning everything into propaganda. I definitely agree we should let Ahmadinejad visit 9/11 and welcome the diplomacy. This isn’t about some warm and fluffy liberal “Can’t we all just love each other” perspective - this is about common sense and how international affairs work. Being Jewish, I also see both sides of the equation and recognize why Ahmadinejad rattles his sword so often - there’s a tremendous frustration in the Middle East toward the US and Israel - and it’s justified. At some point everyone gets tired of being bullied - hence you have nut cases like Osama who gain power and get support for committing unthinkable acts like 9/11. Despite all the propaganda - Ahmadinejad isn’t the problem, US foreign policy is. Let him go to Ground Zero - I know it won’t happen, since that would clearly humanize Ahmadinejad when the current administration and US politicians in general would rather demonize him and make him the enemy when we’re the ones creating an atmosphere of war, but if we did let him go, it would be the first common sense move made in regards to middle eastern foreign policy since 9/11.
— JewishNotExtremistI say as soon as we have control of the oil we are after. We should just claim Iraq in the name of Jesus. Thats what true Christains would do. And then set our sites on the Bastard cousin of Iraq. Yes Iran itself, and after torturing,killing,and enslaving all those who choose not to convert, turn them both in to high class posh resorts for the Mega Rich. And then hold a who has the bigger Yacht contest. So that I can win it. Also if wasnt for King George Senior 9-11 would not have even happend, the same with Slick Willy. So let him put a wreath at ground zero. I mean we have leveled entire cities and they still let us into those countries. Right? It not like everyone the U.S. kills is a criminal. Unless being a women or child is a crime. Maybe it should be. So when civilians die they wont be considered innocent. Whos with me!!!!?
— Savage Henry“….politicians in general would rather demonize ”
American politicians are demonizing a person who himself says that Israel should be wiped off the map of the world and the Holocaust never happened?
I think he did the right thing my putting the two liberals who went to ‘build relationships’ with Iran into jail. And then all the shameless liberals hung on to the coat-tails of the rest of the country to get those two released.
I would have asked what Koolaid you people drink but then again, why abuse Koolaid?
— SandyAhmadinejad at Ground Zero ?
Get ready to meet Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, a very good friend of Ahmadinejad. He will be in NY next week at UN, and just about a month ago Daniel Ortega said ” the terrorits attact in the twin tower of NY where insingnifican ” and then he goes blaming the USA for all the wars on the world. What are U guys waiting to declare him NON-Welcomen in NY>
— Isidro R. ZapataDear Mr Korcok re: post 26
I do not disagree with you. The comments and threats he’s made towards Israel, and Jewish people in general, ARE truly despicable.
But here we now learn he wishes to pay his respects to our fellow countrymen that have been killed at the hands of Islamist terrorists. He desires to show his respect to our fellow Americans. Imagine that! The leader of one of the greatest Muslim nations in the world wishes to pay his respects to some fallen infidels and all the leaders of The Great Satan want to do is deride him and rebuff his overture.
Well, maybe such a gesture could go a long way in telling his fellow Muslims that we really aren’t all that evil. They might even be more open to the idea that most of us are actually quite nice to know. In any event, at this point in time he could be denied access to the site but he’s already gotten the upper hand simply by making the request. What I’m trying to say is that whatever objective he may have had in mind has already been accomplished, whether he visits or not. Now it’s up to us to decide how we can profit from this opportunity or toss it away as he can now walk away without saying one more thing and claim he tried to do the the right thing.
— effodeeThe responses I read here are typical of why I live in fear of the bleeding left running this country.
First of all, this guy doesn’t speak for the Muslim community in his country. He’s a secular nut job.
Second, do any of you remember the absurd things this guy spewed during his diatribe at the UN? Any action that any government agency in this country would take to lend any legitimacy to this whacko would be absolutely insane.
It’s one thing to extend a hand when one is offered by a sane and reasonable person, even if you disagree. But you never put your hand in the face of a mad dog, and that’s all this guy is.
As an aside, I love how some of the posters above used this issue as a forum to vent their feelings about our current president. I don’t recall him being quoted in the article. In fact, he wasn’t even mentioned. The childish, churlish venom never stops.
And it was also interesting to see that most of you who took exception to keeping this wild animal away from Ground Zero seem to fixate on Romney. As I see it, Ms. Clinton’s and Mr. Guliani’s feelings about the issue seemed just as strong.
But you seemed to avoid attacking your idealogical queen (although her main ideology seems to be the same as her husband: getting elected) and the NY folk hero.
— LunacyI’m disgusted by the unchristian and nasty reaction to his request. Could it be this man feels guilty 911 was done in the name if islam. Give him a chance to pay his respects if he wants to.
Ahmadinejad has been brainwashed in Iran all his life and he seems to be coming out of his shell and growing as a person ! Let Him !
— MEIt is just so odd to see such resistance for a visit of a leader whose nation had nothing to do with horrific 911 event.
Mitt’s and likes reactions have nothing to do with it being right or wrong to visit. Politicians and lobbies use this just as they used and hijacked the 911 event for their own purposes.
In fact, the most offending to sensibilities of the nation are comments from politicians and lobbies who send none of their own children to war, care the least for the consequences of their broken policies, and lobby for the policies of another particular middle eastern country.
— GaryDear Lunacy re: post #32
Can’t speak for anyone else but when I made my first post (#5) and commented on Gov. Romney, his was the only quote to be found within the article. It appears it has been updated with the latter quotes as they are being made elsewhere but my feelings are no different towards the comments made by Sen. Clinton and Mr Giuliani as I feel all three of them are being shortsighted.
— effodeeIf he wants to lay a wreath, why not let him? There go our presidential hopefuls picking fights with him instead of worrying about diplomacy.
— PhilipI don’t see the wisdom in denying his request. I see fearmongering, pandering, and politicians claiming ownership of Ground Zero for their own political gain.
— FredWe can actually allow him to come and make a joke out of us. Iran has played with the UN, US and EU. We keep believing their obvious lies. Why not just pretend we are stupid as always and let him come and play his new game.
— LucyIf any of you have actually read the article, they refused to allow him to visit ground zero because of security issues. This makes sense. If they had allowed him, all of New York would have been in protest and someone could have gotten hurt. Regardless of your position on the event, I do not think that you can point fingers at the NYPD and yell at them for not allowing him to visit Ground Zero. They had a good reason for saying no.
— DavidAhmadinejad should be welcomed to the site to pay respects !!
The poor brianwashed Iranian man is just starting to see the light !!
— samiThe wreath would be praising the martyrdom of the terrorists.
— World Trade CenterI am amazed at how these presidential hopefuls react to any chance they get to show how ‘tough’ they are…such morons - if anything, they should let the Iranian President see the sight…may be he is just trying to show that he is not as ignorant/vile as his American counterpart and/or he just wants to display some civility. I don’t think he plans on mocking that site so I really don’t see why he will not be allowed to see it…
— NabeelSoon as he sets foot in the US, arrest him and never let him see the light of day again.
— MAD AS HELLWhy is Iran our enemy? I challenge anyone to come up with a legitimate reason that is based in fact and not merely propaganda-based rhetoric.
Let me start by dispelling a few myths:
Myth #1: Israel - Wiped off the map?
The propaganda hit it’s peak with the corporate media firestorm over Iranian President Ahmadinejad allegedly saying, “Israel must be wiped off the map,” which, it turns out was conveniently mistranslated in the U.S. and Israel. What he actually said, which was barely reported after the fact, was “The regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the pages of history”. Much different. It was clearly a shot at the current Israeli leadership and its illegal and immoral OCCUPATION of Palestinian territory, not the civilian population. Never mind the enormous Jewish population living peacefully in Iran.
Myth #2: Iran’s nuclear weapons program
ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said there is no evidence of ongoing prohibited nuclear or nuclear-related activities in Iran.
Mohamed ElBaradei: “I repeat: we have not seen any undeclared facilities operating in Iran, we have not seen any concrete evidence that the Iran program is being weaponized. We have not received any information to that effect. So, I haven’t heard any other information, to the contrary. So while we are still concerned about the nature of the Iranian program… I do not believe, at this stage, that we are facing clear and present danger that requires that we go beyond diplomacy.”
Myth #3: Foreign fighters?
General Petreus to Congress on 9/11/07, “The Quds Force itself, we believe, by and large those individuals have been pulled out of the country, as have the Lebanese Hezbollah trainers that were being used to augment that activity.”
In fact, by the Pentagon’s own admission, less than 6% of all attacks against American soldiers in Iraq are from “foreign fighters” and the majority of those foreign fighters are from Saudi Arabia.
Anyone? Why, exactly, is Iran our enemy? Because our neo-con, warmongering leadership (hell-bent on invading Iran to install a puppet regime who will cater to our multi-national corporations) says so?
Any REAL reasons?
— Thomas NYCThere are several ways of dealing with Iran. Becoming an indispensable economic partner sounds like the best way.
Being belligerent just reveals fear. Are we really that afraid of Iran or are we just afraid to look at ourselves. l cannot say. But I can say that open, honest discourse is the better place to start, a place that gets farther and farther away with each juvenile remark uttered by our would-be leaders.
Have we never sponsored terrorism? Right. We call it something different. Semantics.
— Johnny DillFirst of all Iran had nothing to do with 9/11!
And neither did Iraq!
Most of the hijackers were Saudis as well as Osama Bin Laden is Saudi, however, we have not broken diplomatic relations with them, nor have we invaded them, or threatened sanctions.
And the enlightened American public swallows this fable hook line and sinker. Can anyone explain how?
Go figure…
— RomuloI propose a trade. If Ahmadinejad agrees to abandon his pursuit of weapons-grade “nuclear power”, then we let him place a wreath at Ground Zero. How’s that for diplomacy? If the pot isn’t sweet enough for him, we can throw in visits to Bunker Hill, Wounded Knee, Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor.
And if he wants to visit Auschwitz, maybe we’ll put in a good word with Germany.
— The NegotiatorIs it a surprise that HRC is mouthing the same comments as Rudy and Romney?
We certainly expect if from Rudy and Romney, but….
Reality check!
— RomuloTo his this is just a PR ploy.
To us this presents a moral dilemma: are all human beings equal before God? If yes, don’t the victims of 9/11 deserve prayers from all people regardless of their political stance? Couldn’t he pray without being near the site? If yes, why should we give him the PR opportunity?
We have to do some cold cost/benefit analysis here: if we allow him he wins hearts in minds of many politically unsavvy people throughout the world and some American liberals. If we don’t allow him, we look like insecure morons to the rest of the world, but we will have protected the honor and memory of the 9/11 victims as perceived by many American people mostly conservatives.
Lastly, does allowing him to lay a wreath at the WTC Memorial help improve the two nations’ relationship? Probably not during the Bush Administration.
Therefore, we have no advantage in letting Ahmdinejad visit the WTC Memorial.
I like the above suggestion from No. 10 Erica Henson a lot: It’s good that Ahmadinejad is willing to see with his own eyes the sight of atrocities. But perhaps he should start with, say, Auschwitz?
Why didn’t Hillary think of that?
— Shohmurod USbekAhmadinejad’s visit, if allowed, to the the Trade Center would probably be a logistical security problem. However, I don’t think that he should be kept from the site for the reasons asserted by Rudy, Hillary, or Mitt. I wish these clowns would button it up for once. Iran had nothing to do with the disaster of 9/11….nor did Iraq. Saudi Arabia certainly did though.
As for Iran exporting terrorists, how do we answer for ourselves? Many people in the ME and in other places consider the US to be a very dangerous country. Many view our actions of invading Iraq, decimating their population, destroying that country’s infrastructure and economy, as well as their educational system (one of the least repressive systems toward women in all of the ME) as terrorist acts. How is it acceptable for this nation to do exactly what we condemn others for doing? Can anyone answer that question?
I am cynical enough to believe that Amadinehad’s request to lay a wreath at the site of the World Trade Center was the worst news Dick Cheney heard all day. The neocons want to continue demonizing this guy, who is admittedly unstable, and they do not want him to appear as anything but a monster. It’s harder to kill someone, or a huge number of innocent people once you have given them a face or a name. This is the ultimate nightmare for the neocons in Cheney’s office. Keep Iranians painted as the evil ones. Keep the progaganda coming full blast. Why? Because these nutjob neocons have already planned an attack on Iran. They want to kill innocent Iranians and they want American citizens to believe that it is for a good and just cause. These are very sick and dangerous people. They are the terrorists that they continue to condemn and they must be stopped at all costs.
— Peter G.