By Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Is President Barack Obama clueless?  Does he have any inkling of the insidious nature of Iran, with which he just signed a nuclear weapons agreement, an agreement that endangers not only Israel, but also the survival of the United States?

In Part I of this inquiry, we shall examine the mentality of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a disciple of the Ayatollah Khomeini. For this purpose, I will first reproduce an article by Simon Barrett, Chairman of L.E.K. Australia, a major global strategy consulting firm with headquarters in London and Boston, MA.

“Ahmadinejad in His Own Words”

Simon Barrett

 For information about Iran’s well-documented human rights abuses, its role as a major state sponsor of terrorism, and its defiant stance on the international community’s insistence that the nation suspend its uranium enrichment program, go towww.realite-eu.org.

Quoted below are several statements of Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad concerning religious extremism and martyrdom. [The sources are documented in the end-notes below this text]:

• “We don’t shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world.”1
• “The wave of the Islamist revolution will soon reach the entire world.”2
• “Our revolution’s main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi.”3
• “Soon Islam will become the dominating force in the world, occupying first place in the number of followers amongst all other religions.”4
• “Is there a craft more beautiful, more sublime, more divine, than the craft of giving yourself to martyrdom and becoming holy? Do not doubt, Allah will prevail, and Islam will conquer mountain tops of the entire world.”5
• “What is important is that they have shown the way to martyrdom which we must follow.”6 [Re. President Ahmadinejad’s comments on an aircraft crash in Tehran that killed 108 people in December 2005.]
• Ahmadinejad praises Iran for being able to recruit thousands of suicide bombers a day. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised his country’s ability to recruit “hundreds of suicide bombers a day,” saying “suicide is an invincible weapon. Suicide bombers in this land showed us the way, and they enlighten our future.”
• Ahmadinejad said the will to commit suicide was “one of the best ways of life.”7
• “This regime (Israel) will one day disappear.”8
• “The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm.9
• Israel is “a disgraceful stain on the Islamic world”10
• Israel is doomed to be “wiped from the map” in “a war of destiny.”11
• Ahmadinejad said that “the countdown for the destruction of Israel” has begun.12
• Zionists are “the personification of Satan.”13
• “In the case of any unwise move by the fake regime of Israel, Iran’s response will be so destructive and quick that this regime will regret its move forever.”14
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that the Holocaust is a “myth.”15
• “They invented the myth of the massacre of the Jews and placed it above Allah, religions and prophets.”16

Concerning Iran, its nuclear ambitions and sanctions:

• “By the grace of Allah, we (will be) a nuclear power.”17
• Ahmadinejad fired off a fresh barrage of warnings to the United Nations, saying Iran did “not give a damn” about demands to freeze sensitive nuclear work.18
• “Iran does not give a damn about resolutions.”19
• “The Islamic republic of Iran has the capacity to quickly become a world superpower. If we believe in ourselves… no other power can be compared to us.”20
• “Our enemies should know that they are unable to even slightly hurt our nation and they cannot create the tiniest obstacle on its glorious and progressive way.” 22
• “Iran’s enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead.”21
• “In parallel to the official political war there is a hidden war going on and the Islamic states should benefit from their economic potential to cut off the hands of the enemies.”23

For documentation and more information, see the following:

1 Le Monde, January 21st, 2006

2 Pryce-Jones, David, “A Particular Madness: Understanding Iran and Ahmadinejad,” National Review, May 8, 2006

3 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

4 March 5th, 2006

5 MEMRI, July 29th, 2005

6 La Guardia, Anton,  A Divine mission driving Iran and its  new leader Ahmadinejad, The Daily Telegraph, January 14th, 2006

7 Cohen, Dudi, “Iranian President lauds suicide bombers invincible, YnetNews, April 1st, 2007

8 “Iran: Ahmadinejad annonce la «disparition d’Israel‚” Libration, May 11th, 2006

9 Baldwin, Tom, “The state of Israel will soon be history, says Iran’s President, The Times, April 15th, 2006

10 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

11 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

12 “Ahmadinejad: Countdown to Israel’s destruction has begun, YnetNews, June 3rd, 2007

13 “Satan in Person,” deutsche Zeitung Online, March 1st, 2007

14 Williams, Stuart, “Ahmadinejad says Iran ready for ‘final nuclear step,  Agence France Presse, November 16th, 2006

15 “Damascus et Iran” Le Monde, January 21st, 2006

16 Ghazi, Siavosh. “Ahmadinejad qualifie de “mythe” l’Holocauste,  Agence France Presse, 14 December, 2005

17 “Les prix du petrole reculent avec la dissipation des craintes sur l’essence, Agence France Presse, April 27th, 2006.

18 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

29 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

20 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

21 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

22 Agence France Presse, April 28th, 2006

23 “Ahmadinejad threatens the Western world, deutsche Zeitung, January 22nd 2006

End of Part I

(To be continued.)