Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is getting some bad press — again

Poor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president just can’t escape his press stereotype. Marc Wolfensberger has the latest story for Bloomberg: The West has “fabricated a myth under the name ‘Massacre of the Jews,’ and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves,” Iran’s leader told thousands of supporters in the ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Poor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president just can't escape his press stereotype. Marc Wolfensberger has the latest story for Bloomberg: The West has "fabricated a myth under the name 'Massacre of the Jews,' and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves,'' Iran's leader told thousands of supporters in the south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, state television showed in a live broadcast. "If you say and insist it's true that you killed 6 million Jews in crematoria during World War II, then why should the Palestinians pay for that?'' Ahmadinejad asked. "Our proposal is that you give a piece of your land in Europe, the U.S., Canada or Alaska. If you do that, the Iranian people will no longer protest against you.'' This is the strongest anti-Israeli public comment by Ahmadinejad since he took office in August. The Iranian president drew international condemnation on Oct. 26 after saying that Israel should be "wiped off the map.'' On Dec. 8, he prompted another outcry when he said Europe should host Israel on its soil. Some 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis until Germany's defeat in the 1939-1945 war. Now, far be it for me to pass up an opportunity to poke some fun at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but if I were his spinmeister, I'd stress that he really didn't say anything new in these statements. He's articulated his belief that the Holocaust did not happened, and he's articulated his belief that Israel should be removed from the Middle Eastern region. All Ahmadinejad did in his recent utterances was reaffirm his previous positions. So, I'd make darn sure the press got the following bullet point: The President of Iran has not ratcheted up his anti-Israeli rhetoric -- his views on Israel have remain unchanged since he took office.

Poor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president just can’t escape his press stereotype. Marc Wolfensberger has the latest story for Bloomberg:

The West has “fabricated a myth under the name ‘Massacre of the Jews,’ and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves,” Iran’s leader told thousands of supporters in the south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, state television showed in a live broadcast. “If you say and insist it’s true that you killed 6 million Jews in crematoria during World War II, then why should the Palestinians pay for that?” Ahmadinejad asked. “Our proposal is that you give a piece of your land in Europe, the U.S., Canada or Alaska. If you do that, the Iranian people will no longer protest against you.” This is the strongest anti-Israeli public comment by Ahmadinejad since he took office in August. The Iranian president drew international condemnation on Oct. 26 after saying that Israel should be “wiped off the map.” On Dec. 8, he prompted another outcry when he said Europe should host Israel on its soil. Some 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis until Germany’s defeat in the 1939-1945 war.

Now, far be it for me to pass up an opportunity to poke some fun at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but if I were his spinmeister, I’d stress that he really didn’t say anything new in these statements. He’s articulated his belief that the Holocaust did not happened, and he’s articulated his belief that Israel should be removed from the Middle Eastern region. All Ahmadinejad did in his recent utterances was reaffirm his previous positions. So, I’d make darn sure the press got the following bullet point:

The President of Iran has not ratcheted up his anti-Israeli rhetoric — his views on Israel have remain unchanged since he took office.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

Tag: Theory

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