Salam Niki
Ahmad Zaidabadi has an interesting insight on why Mashaee said what he did without losing his job:
http://www.roozonline.com/archiv...8/
post_8815.php
Apparently after Ahmadinejad's support the leader himself has decided to get involved:
http://www.tiknews.org/display/?...ID=68039&
page=1
IMHO this is so mild a backlash that one could even interpret it as halfhearted support, and I think it conforms with Zaidabadi's explanation.
Thanks, I don't usually read rooz online, but i'll check this out.
ok, i just read it, and as ziadabadi himself said, he is only speculating, and i am not at all moved by his speculation.
Ahmadinejad, as we all know, is not averse to speaking his mind, and he has himself clarified his statements a number of times. I find it hard to believe that he would assign the task to someone else and that this someone else would take the assignment, especially considering the risks it carries.
I'm curious to know why you think that khamenei's speech is a validation of Ziadabadi's not very convincing speculation
well his speculation resonates with me, here's why: I watched in agony as newscasters and politicians always mentioned Iran's nuclear programme and ahmadinejad's [alleged]threats to Israel in the same breath. This was at a time when the threat of war was a a very real thing and i could only see ahmadinejad's statements regarding Israel and Holocaust as resluts of highly misguided policy making.
Now out of the blue we have a close ally of Ahmadinejad, and a relative no less, saying stuff that no IR official has ever said before. At first I wrote it off as a stumble by the guy, a slip of the tongue, and there have been many silly things said by this current administration in Iran. But in previous cases they always tried to write off the issue as a misquote by people with ulterior motives (The Halo of light incident comes to mind). Not this time: the guy is out there repeating his stuff again and even has the President on-board despite the outrage in Qom. I couldn't figure this out but Zaidabdi offers an explanation which is consistent with the behaviour and thought process of Ahmadinejad's administration. If you read Khamenei statement he sounds like he is more concerned about the criticism that has been directed at Mashaee than the outrageous statements -by IR standards at least- that he has made. Khamenei can be very prompt and to the point, if he so chooses. Like with the suggestion of direct talks with US which Mohajerani had made in an article in ettelaat some years back and this compared to that IMHO is like dynamite to matchsticks.
To the previous comment,
Guessing other people's motives is a very hard thing. I fail even with my closest friends (sometimes) and believe me I am reasonably good at it.
Anyway, if the point of the debate is questioning Ahmadinejad's competence in international affairs this is a valid point but not terribly important point to make (why waste time pointing out mistakes he tries to correct rather than focusing on present issues).
On the other hand, it does change the story that the international media (at least some) have put forward.
In short, the story has been that there is this crazy guy who is making nukes and the minute he is finished with making them he will drop them on Israel. It is the story of suicidal eastern dictator told and retold from time immemorial. Never mind that he never threatened Israel he predicted Israel's demise and yes gleefully hoped for it (Nobody claims he is anything less than an enemy of Israel). Never mind that Iran was threatened to use of preemptive nuclear strike twice at least both by US and UK. Never mind that countries who penny pinch in public spending all of a sudden have trillions to bomb Iraq and have to do it right there and then and that is supposed to be rational behaviour. Facts do not matter.
So the question is not that Ahmidinejad is no friend of Israel but rather if he is a suicidal maniac. Unfortunately this story is very hard to change.
Haedeh
Hey N, I loved your first point about hypocrites - so true, and the second point about Mashaee is fascinating - I have not seen any mention of Mashaee's comments. Thanks for bringing this up. Happy Id, and a happy new (Jewish) year to all.
You know when Ahmadinejad said Israel Should be wiped off the map he meant such a nation should not exist. Not that he want's the country turned into a crator . Many of Ahmadinejad's words are lost in translation I must say... as an Iranian-english person who understands both
Niki, I love your blog!
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