Stirring the Pot?

Dude!!!
Rule #1: Don't shit where you eat (or live)!
Rule #2: Don't tug on Superman's cape!
Rule #3: Don't let your mouth write checks your ass can't pay for!

Man, you have managed to f*ck all three of these in one shot.

Mind you, I am no fan of Israel's policies and practices regarding the Arab and Islamic world, but, I do know stupid when I hear it or read it. Mr Ahmadinejad's statement has done neither his country, nor his cause, any favours. Does he not realize that Bu$h is already has Iran in the crosshairs and already attempting to compute a firing solution?

--ryan


Iran Leader's Comments Condemned
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map" has drawn widespread condemnation from Israel, Europe and North America.

The UK, France, Spain and Canada are summoning Iranian diplomats to demand an explanation for the remark.

Israel's Vice-Prime Minister Shimon Peres called for Iran to be expelled from the United Nations.

The White House said the comment showed the US was right to be concerned about Iran's nuclear programme.

Washington suspects Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, but Iran says its programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Mr Ahmadinejad made his comments at a conference in Tehran entitled The World without Zionism, the official Irna news agency reported.

Western governments are bound to see it as further proof that Iran's hardline president is disinclined to curb his country's controversial nuclear programme, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says.

They may hope that a co-ordinated diplomatic protest will help step up the pressure, she says.

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report last month said questions about Iran's nuclear programme remained unanswered, despite an intensive investigation.

The UK, France, Germany and the US are pressing Iran to provide more access to its nuclear plans.

'Sickening'

The UK's Foreign Office described the comments as "deeply disturbing and sickening".

"We have seen in Israel today the horrible reality of the violence he (Mr Ahmadinejad) is praising," a spokesman said, referring to a Palestinian suicide attack on Wednesday in the Israeli town of Hadera that killed five people and injured up to 30 others.

Mr Peres said the remark "contravenes the United Nations charter and is tantamount to a crime against humanity.

"We must submit a clear-cut request to the UN Secretary General and the Security Council to obtain Iran's expulsion from the United Nations," he said in an open letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said his country regarded Iran as "a clear and present danger".

"If these comments are true, they are unacceptable. I condemn them with the greatest firmness," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Mr Ahmadinejad's opinion "underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear operations".

Spain, Canada and Germany also condemned Mr Ahmadihejad's comments.

'World oppressor'

Mr Ahmadinejad told some 3,000 students in Tehran that Israel's establishment was "a move by the world oppressor (the West) against the Islamic world".

Referring to Iran's late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."

This is not believed to be the first time a senior Iranian leader has made such comments. In 2001, former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani called for a Muslim state to annihilate Israel with a nuclear strike.

Such calls are regular slogans at anti-Israeli or anti-US rallies.

Mr Ahmadinejad warned leaders of Muslim nations who recognised the state of Israel that they "face the wrath of their own people".

He added: "Anyone who signs a treaty which recognises the entity of Israel means he has signed the surrender of the Muslim world."

Mr Ahmadinejad came to power earlier this year, replacing Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who attempted to improve Iran's relations with the West.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4378948.stm

Published: 2005/10/27 09:12:27 GMT

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