Iran endorses Bush - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Mephisto2 · 10-19-2004, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Bush Receives Endorsement From Iran
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
Associated Press Writer

October 19, 2004, 6:33 PM EDT

TEHRAN, Iran -- The head of Iran's security council said Tuesday that the re-election of President Bush was in Tehran's best interests, despite the administration's axis of evil label, accusations that Iran harbors al-Qaida terrorists and threats of sanctions over the country's nuclear ambitions.

Historically, Democrats have harmed Iran more than Republicans, said Hasan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security decision-making body.

"We haven't seen anything good from Democrats," Rowhani told state-run television in remarks that, for the first time in recent decades, saw Iran openly supporting one U.S. presidential candidate over another.

Though Iran generally does not publicly wade into U.S. presidential politics, it has a history of preferring Republicans over Democrats, who tend to press human rights issues.

"We do not desire to see Democrats take over," Rowhani said when asked if Iran was supporting Democratic Sen. John Kerry against Bush.

The Bush campaign said no thanks.

"It's not an endorsement we'll be accepting anytime soon," Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said. "Iran should stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons and if they continue in the direction they are going, then we will have to look at what additional action may need to be taken including looking to the U.N. Security Council."

Kerry, who says halting nuclear proliferation will be a priority if he becomes president, believes Bush should have done more diplomatically to curb Iran's alleged nuclear weapons ambitions. He says Iran should be offered nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes, but spent fuel should be taken back so it cannot be used to develop nuclear weapons.

"It is telling that this president has received the endorsement of member of the axis of evil," Kerry campaign spokeswoman Allison Dobson said. "But Americans deserve a president who will have a comprehensive strategy to address the potential threat of Iran's growing nuclear program."

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran after militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Iranian clerics were crucial in determining the fate of the 1980 U.S. election when Republican Ronald Reagan won in part because Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter was unable to secure the hostages' release.

The hostages were freed as Reagan was inaugurated.

The United States supported Iraq in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, but by the late 1990s, U.S.-Iranian relations were somewhat better. They plummeted again after Bush accused Iran of being part of the "axis of evil" with North Korea and prewar Iraq.

The Bush administration also accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons and sheltering operatives of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network. Still, Iran was happy to see Bush destroy two big regional enemies -- the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Iranian political analyst Mohsen Mofidi said ousting the Taliban and Saddam was the "biggest service any administration could have done for Iran."

And Bush, he said, has learned from his mistakes.

"The experience of two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the responsibility Bush had, will make it a very remote possibility for him to risk attacking a much bigger and more powerful country like Iran," he said.

Mofidi added that "Democrats usually insist on human rights and they will have more excuses to pressure Iran."

Republican and Democratic presidents have issued executive orders against Iran, with Reagan in 1987 barring Iranian crude oil and other imports, and Bill Clinton in 1995 banning U.S. trade and investment in Iran.

"We should not forget that most sanctions and economic pressures were imposed on Iran during the time of Clinton," Rowhani said. "And we should not forget that during Bush's era -- despite his hard-line and baseless rhetoric against Iran -- he didn't take, in practical terms, any dangerous action against Iran."

Bush has been reluctant to offer Iran any incentives for better U.S.-Iranian relations, but in recent days there have been signs Washington will back European economic incentives if Iran stops uranium enrichment activities.

Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted by state-run television Tuesday as saying Iran is interested in buying nuclear fuel from the West, but will not concede its right to the technology.

The nuclear issue has been most sensitive, and the Bush administration is threatening to press for sanctions against Iran over it. Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, for energy purposes.

Kavoos Emami, another Iranian political analyst, praised Kerry for mentioning the need for dialogue with Iran, and said the Democrat would be better for Iran.

"Bush has insulted Iran more than any other U.S. administration. If Kerry is elected, a U.S. military attack against Iran will never happen or will be a very remote possibility," he said.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

REF: http://www.newsday.com/news/politics...tics-headlines

Who would have thunk it?

I wonder if this will be a hindrance or a benefit to the Bush campaign.

Mr Mephisto

daswig · 10-19-2004, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Mephisto

Who would have thunk it?

I wonder if this will be a hindrance or a benefit to the Bush campaign.

Mr Mephisto

Reverse psychology at it's finest..."Please don't throw me into that Briar patch!!!"

daswig · 10-19-2004, 07:55 PM

Man, now I'm torn....North Korea endorses Kerry, Iran endorses Bush...which madman should I vote for? Wait, who do the Chinese Communists want us to vote for? Silly Chicoms, "Crinton" isn't on the ballot!!!

Mephisto2 · 10-19-2004, 07:56 PM

I don't get it.

I'm actually surprised by this turn of events. If they don't want him elected, you think they are publically endorsing him?

Mr Mephisto

powerclown · 10-19-2004, 08:02 PM

"Crinton"
Hehehehehe.

Kalibah · 10-19-2004, 08:03 PM

Hehe and the Mullahs are rooting for kerry

cthulu23 · 10-19-2004, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerclown

"Crinton"
Hehehehehe.

Yeah, I find atavistic attitudes like that pretty funny too. Can I tell you some ethnic or Helen Keller jokes?

cthulu23 · 10-19-2004, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kalibah

Hehe and the Mullahs are rooting for kerry

Except that they just endorsed Bush? That doesn't make much sense.

powerclown · 10-19-2004, 08:08 PM

What I really want to know is: Who do the Samoans endorse?

daswig · 10-19-2004, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cthulu23

Yeah, I find atavistic attitudes like that pretty funny too. Can I tell you some ethnic or Helen Keller jokes?

Dude, you just have NO sense of humor. Lighten up, Francis...

daswig · 10-19-2004, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Mephisto

I don't get it.

I'm actually surprised by this turn of events. If they don't want him elected, you think they are publically endorsing him?

Mr Mephisto

you don't have children, do you? If you want to get a child to do something you want them to do but they are not naturally inclined to do, the easiest way to do it is to forbid them to do it. For example, if you've forbidden your kid to stomp in mudpuddles, rescind the rule, and ENCOURAGE them to do it. They'll do it a couple of more times, and then get bored of it, because the rule is gone, and they'll stop doing it.

Mephisto2 · 10-19-2004, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daswig

you don't have children, do you? If you want to get a child to do something you want them to do but they are not naturally inclined to do, the easiest way to do it is to forbid them to do it. For example, if you've forbidden your kid to stomp in mudpuddles, rescind the rule, and ENCOURAGE them to do it. They'll do it a couple of more times, and then get bored of it, because the rule is gone, and they'll stop doing it.

So the American people are children?

Nah, I understand reverse pyschology. I just wasn't sure if you were implying that the Iranians were trying it with regards to Bush. You saying that they really don't want him elected, so are therefore endorsing him? Seems a bit far fetched to me, but nothing is impossible; especially with the religiously fundamentalist.

Mr Mephisto

daswig · 10-19-2004, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Mephisto

So the American people are children?

Nah, I understand reverse pyschology. I just wasn't sure if you were implying that the Iranians were trying it with regards to Bush. You saying that they really don't want him elected, so are therefore endorsing him? Seems a bit far fetched to me, but nothing is impossible; especially with the religiously fundamentalist.

Mr Mephisto

For all I know, they'er endorsing him because the prefer a "religious fundamentalist" to a "godless heathen".

I just know the firestorm it caused when North Korea endorsed Kerry, and I'm sure the Iranians get CNN too.

Kalibah · 10-19-2004, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cthulu23

Except that they just endorsed Bush? That doesn't make much sense.

whoops i meant arafat
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=40988

and

his is an overview of the emerging campaign finance scandal involving the Kerry campaign and lobbyists for the terror-supporting regime in Iran.

At the center of the controversy is one Hassan Nemazee, listed as a Vice-Chair by the Kerry campaign, and identified by CBS News as having raised more than $500,000 for the campaign.

Nemazee has served on the Board of the American Iranian Council, the Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC), and the Asia Society, all of which favor negotiations with the mullahs' regime and eventual normalization of relations with Iran.

A group of Iranian-Americans formed the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI) in 1997 to oppose the radical Islamic regime. Last year they wrote an open letter calling on Senator Edward Kennedy to disassociate himself with the then-newly-formed Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC), which they described as a "lobby group for a terrorist regime." The letter, signed by SMCCDI coordinator Aryo B. Pirouznia, described Hassan Nemazee as a "discredited and well-known individual who's seeking to legitimize the tyrannical Islamic Republic regime," and stated that "Nemazee's agenda and ultimate goal has been the promotion and support of relations with it."

The characterization of Nemazee as "discredited" seems to stem from some extremely dubious business dealings outlined in a 1999 Forbes Magazine article titled Warning Flags. Nemazee, then a Clinton Administration appointee for the position of U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, withdrew his name from consideration for that post shortly after the Forbes article was published.

Nemazee filed suit against the SMCCDI and Aryo Pirouznia, alleging defamation of character and denying the charge that he was an agent of the Iranian regime who was promoting that regime's interests in the U.S. The SMCCDI responded with a counter-suit against Nemazee.

Superbelt · 10-20-2004, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daswig

Reverse psychology at it's finest..."Please don't throw me into that Briar patch!!!"

Obviously they knew we would be engaging in reverse psychology. Their endorsement of Bush was really just a show to make obvious the fact that they were endorsing Kerry, which in effect proves they really endorse Bush.

Of course it could be a super-juke and jive where their endorsement of Bush, which makes us think they were endorsing Kerry, but we aren't falling for that so we know they were really endorsing Bush, but in fact it was just a way to endorse Kerry more covertly.

Follow?

irateplatypus · 10-20-2004, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superbelt

Obviously they knew we would be engaging in reverse psychology. Their endorsement of Bush was really just a show to make obvious the fact that they were endorsing Kerry, which in effect proves they really endorse Bush.

Of course it could be a super-juke and jive where their endorsement of Bush, which makes us think they were endorsing Kerry, but we aren't falling for that so we know they were really endorsing Bush, but in fact it was just a way to endorse Kerry more covertly.

Follow?

The man in black: Truly you have a dizzying intellect.
Vizzini: Wait till I get going!

Superbelt · 10-20-2004, 05:41 AM

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is "Never get involved in a land war in Asia", but only slightly less well known is this: "Never go in against a Sicilian, when *death* is on the line."

/Am Sicilian

10-19-2004, 07:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
daswig Banned Location: BFE	Man, now I'm torn....North Korea endorses Kerry, Iran endorses Bush...which madman should I vote for? Wait, who do the Chinese Communists want us to vote for? Silly Chicoms, "Crinton" isn't on the ballot!!!

10-19-2004, 07:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mephisto2 Junkie	I don't get it. I'm actually surprised by this turn of events. If they don't want him elected, you think they are publically endorsing him? Mr Mephisto

10-19-2004, 08:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
powerclown Junkie Location: Detroit, MI	"Crinton" Hehehehehe.

10-19-2004, 08:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
Kalibah Insane Location: Padded Playhouse	Hehe and the Mullahs are rooting for kerry

10-19-2004, 08:08 PM	#9 (permalink)
powerclown Junkie Location: Detroit, MI	What I really want to know is: Who do the Samoans endorse?

10-20-2004, 05:41 AM	#17 (permalink)
Superbelt This vexes me. I am terribly vexed. Location: Grantville, Pa	You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is "Never get involved in a land war in Asia", but only slightly less well known is this: "Never go in against a Sicilian, when death is on the line." /Am Sicilian