Infinite MonkeysSo, I actually read the entire Ahmadinejad letter yesterday. (Hat tip: Rhino Brian) Doesn't exactly come off as the ravings of a madman, you know. Saddam and Osama make much better cartoon villains.
Of course, the whack jobs over at Little Green Footballs appear inclined toward the "thinly-veiled prelude to an attack" interpretation.
Do I think he's sincere? Well, he's a politician, so I think the safest assumption is that his intentions are far more selfish than he would like you to believe. That said, the haste with which anti-Islamite weblogs like LGF rush to find the worst possible interpretation of this document, while simultaneously defending the transparent deceptions and abuses of the Bush administration are telling.
Better not to trust either party. They both have agendas to advance and protect, and neither of those agendas are good ones.
Alternately, evaluate the actual content, rather than deconstructing it. Does Ahmadinejad bring up some valid moral criticisms of Bush and his administration? Yes he does, and he does it politely while avoiding the use of inflammatory rhetoric. There are plenty of things for which we can criticize Iran. I don't think this letter is one of them.
Posted by RobbL at May 10, 2006 06:35 PMFor God's sake, man. Leave the letter reading to the professionals.
Posted by: H.L. Monkey at May 10, 2006 11:38 PMI know that's what President Bush does.
Posted by: Monkey RobbL at May 11, 2006 08:28 AMMonkey Robb,
Have you been eatin' rotten bananas again? This guy is a snake in the grass.
Unfortunately, his agenda doesn't include things that you and I would want to be a part of.
Posted by: Guy at May 15, 2006 06:01 AMSee my latest post. I never said he wasn't a bad guy, only that the letter was not exactly Mein Kampf.
As long as you're bringing up agendas, George W. Bush's agenda is pretty much full of things that I want no part of.
Posted by: Monkey RobbL at May 19, 2006 08:57 AM