A trip to New York City can cause quite a stir when you are the President of Iran, especially when you are Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and you are causing all the chaos. The main focus of President Ahmadinejad’s visit last month to New York was to speak at the 62nd United Nations General Assembly. With tensions rising between Iran and many western countries, this visit was very crucial in resolving any foreign policy issues and perhaps coming to some sort of agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. Instead, Ahmadinejad’s visit to Columbia University the day before and his infamous words made more of an impact on the world public opinion than his speech to the UN. Only a man with Mr. Ahmadinejad’s determination could cause such controversy, protest and anger, all before entering American soil.
Before his arrival to the U.S. he caused controversy for asking to lay a wreath at Ground Zero. There was so much public backlash and outrage that the New York Police Department denied his request. On the eve of his departure from Tehran, news organizations televised the Iranian military marching and showing off their new long-range ballistic missile. These actions set precedence for what would come to be a very unforgettable visit to the Untied States.
Ahmadinejad’s scheduled talk at Columbia University was met with protest and criticism from the public and members of the U.S. Congress. Angry protestors carried signs that read “No Nuclear Iran” and “Hitler Lives.” Even Presidential candidates criticized Columbia’s decision to invite Ahmadinejad, who claimed that he accepted the invitation to Columbia in order to provide the American people with “correct and clear information.” He also claimed that the American people have been given the wrong information and that they wanted to hear different opinions and voices.
The much anticipated talk started off with a ten minute verbal assault on Ahmadinejad, where the University President, Lee Bollinger accused Ahmadinejad of “exhibiting signs of a petty and cruel dictator” and called his denial of the Holocaust “brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated.” These words became the subject of much debate. Some regarded Mr. Bollinger’s words as the truth; others considered the assault to be rude and unnecessary.
Columbia University invited Ahmadinejad to answer questions regarding Israel and the Holocaust, Iran’s nuclear program, and human rights violations in Iran. Ahmadinejad did not directly answer any of the questions, typical of his rhetoric. Instead, he would answer a question with a question or go off into one of his many rants. When asked about the Holocaust, he claimed he never said that it didn’t happen at all, and that it should be more researched “from different perspectives.” His most pressing concern on this matter was that the Palestinians had nothing to do with the Holocaust, and that they are the ones who are paying the highest price. When asked by the University Dean John Coatsworth “Do you or your government seek the destruction of the state of Israel? Yes or No?” he did not give an answer, and once again he replied with a question.
Perhaps the most infamous part of Ahmadinejad’s speech was when he was asked about the human rights conditions in Iran, the treatment of women and the persecution of homosexuals. Ahmadinejad famously replied, “In Iran we do not have homosexuals. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon.” The crowd erupted in laughter and scorn. Forever, he will be known as the President who denied the existence of homosexuals in his country. With the deliverance of those words, all the other important issues that he brought up in his speech lost all meaning and credibility.
Ahmadinejad spoke before the world bodies the next day, but all attention in the media was on his visit to Columbia University and those bizarre statements. The most important matter to be discussed at the UN and perhaps one of the most important international issues was Iran’s nuclear program. Both sides of this issue stood by their claims and absolutely nothing was resolved. Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric made him popular in the Middle East and hated in the western world. Islamic countries praise him as leader who is defiant towards the West and represents the voice of the Middle East. The people most impacted by his words are the Iranian people, who as a result of his rhetoric are even more isolated and suffer the most with the economic sanctions to come. Too much focus was spent on trying to figure out his outrageous and ignorant claims, all which were spoken only to arouse more publicity and controversy. Not enough attention was given to the Iranian people, the human rights condition in Iran and the declining economy. As a result of the public engaging him on his controversial claims, he is becoming more empowered and as a result, more dangerous.
