Monday, March 19, 2007

Iran Hysteria Antidote

How's this for a refreshingly reasonable take on Iran? From an interview in Foreign Policy with Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee: 

FOREIGN POLICY: As a Holocaust survivor, how do you feel about the comments of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Do you think he believes what he says?

Tom Lantos: ...Obviously, I am as appalled as any civilized human being has to be at both his monstrous denial of the Holocaust and his sickening boast of wiping Israel off the map. I haven’t got a clue as to whether he believes this, whether this is ignorance, or whether this is just a desire to whip up anti-Israel sentiment.

But I think it’s very important for us to look beyond Ahmadinejad. The Iranians are an extraordinary, talented, and important group of people. It’s a great civilization, and there is growing disdain and rejection for Ahmadinejad in Iran. So I do not think we should tailor our policies vis-à-vis Iran on the basis of his inflammatory statements, whether these are genuinely believed by him or not.

Posted by Judah in:  Iran   

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