The United Nations General Assembly is a wonderful thing in theory. It is a place where every nation can be respected and represented equally. This year, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (who is in his last year of office) delivered an interesting speech. Many feel that he was planning something extravagant because it was his final time to address the U.N. but, his speech was unsatisfying. Ahmadinejad’s speech has many characteristics of a usual Ahmadinejad tirade; Iran is under threat from so called ‘Uncivilized Zionists’, hiding behind God, how horrific the state of the world is, how he wants to rebuild, etc., til ad nauseam.
Ahmadinejad stated in his speech, “I am now here for the eighth time in the eighth year of my service to my noble people; in this August assembly of peoples and brothers from across the world, to show to the world that my noble nation, like its brilliant past, has a global vision and welcomes any effort intended to provide and promote peace and stability and tranquility which can only be realized through harmony, cooperation and joint management of the world.” These are some pretty inspiring words coming from a man who has denied the very existence of the holocaust.
The sheer audacity of everything that Ahmadinejad stands for is the exact opposite of a free society. When he was the mayor of Tehran he endorsed anti-western lifestyles such as closing internet cafes and fast food restaurants (not because of their unhealthy or greedy qualities.) Lest we forget that during his 2009 election, he was originally have thought to have lost at first but after the re-count was announced President.
He begins his rant with a message of prospering peace and understanding, “Peoples of different colors, inclinations, languages, customs and traditions to fulfill their aspirations to build a noble society for a most beautiful life blessed with lasting peace, security and happiness.” Yet, only a couple of months after, he had the gall to say that “The Zionist regime [Israel] and the Zionists are a cancerous tumor. Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of [Palestinian] land, in the future this story [of Israel’s existence] will repeat.” This sounds like two opposite ends of the emotional spectrum now doesn’t it? It doesn’t even sound like the same person does it?
His speech comes off as self-important ramblings from a self-help guru, trying to pander and bring enlightenment. “Fortunately, we are now at a historic juncture. On one hand, Marxism is no longer around, and is particularly eliminated from the management systems. And on the other, capitalism is bogged down in a self-made quagmire and it has indeed reached a deadlock and does not seem to be able to come up with any noteworthy solution to the various economic, political, security and cultural problems of the world.” He talked about restructuring the United Nations and their policies but what he didn’t talk about was Iran’s nuclear ambitions, something that is a concern to everyone in attendance. Needless to say that there was no response from the American or Israeli reps.
