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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Bush 'using language of Hitler' |
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| sabri |
| 08/15/02 at 22:19:43 |
| [slm] By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 15/08/2002) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, accused President George W Bush yesterday of talking like Hitler, in an outburst seemingly intended to crush reform-minded Iranians' attempts to reach out to America. "Arrogance has drawn the bullying West into disgrace," Ayatollah Khamenei said. "The president of the country which claims to enjoy freedom and human rights talks to the people of the world using the language of Hitler." His remarks came a day after Iranian officials confirmed that they had handed over 16 suspected al-Qa'eda fighters to Saudi Arabia, despite knowing that their surrender was likely to prove an intelligence windfall for the Americans. The handover of the suspects, who had crossed into Iran from Afghanistan, was hailed by some analysts as proof that reform-minded officials, led by President Mohammed Khatami, were trying to reach out to America as Washington prepares to attack the country's arch-enemy, Iraq. The gesture was brushed aside by Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, who said Iran was still harbouring al-Qa'eda members. "It may very well be that they, for whatever reason, have turned over some people to other countries, but they've not turned over any to us," Mr Rumsfeld said. Many Iranians fear that they will be next on the US hit list after Iraq, as Iran was named by Mr Bush as a fellow-member of the "axis of evil", and a leading sponsor of terrorism. There is also concern over the US-backed regime in Afghanistan, which shares a 600-mile long border with Iran. Mr Khatami used a visit to Kabul this week to give a warning that the war on terror could backfire on America, accusing the Bush administration of having "misused" the September 11 attacks "to create an atmosphere of violence and fear in the world". Mr Khatami has repeatedly condemned the September 11 attacks as "horrific", and his close allies continue to call for the opening of talks with Washington. The Bush administration has very publicly lost patience with Mr Khatami, pointing to Iran's support for Palestinian terror groups and its suspected attempts to build weapons of mass destruction. Mr Bush recently called on the Iranian people to overthrow their Islamic regime, promising American support and friendship if they installed a democratic government in Teheran. Some US allies, notably in Europe, continue to pin their hopes on reformers within the Iranian government, urging continued dialogue with Mr Khatami. This summer, the European Union broke with America by agreeing to negotiate a trade and economic accord with Teheran. Supporters of dialogue have criticised Mr Bush's uncompromising stance, arguing that he is playing into the hands of hardline ayatollahs, who used the US president's recent call for revolution to paint all reformers as US stooges. In Washington, influential conservatives argue that Iran's reformist faction has not proved itself worthy of trust or dialogue, accusing the EU and the former Clinton administration of naive and dangerous "appeasement" of a brutal regime, sworn to export Islamic terror and extremism around the world. www.telegraph.co.uk [wlm] |
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