Columbia Students May Dine With A Dictator

Four years ago, on September 24, 2007, Columbia University invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address the campus.

Alumni threatened to remove their funding from the University and students and concerned citizens protested in uproar over the university’s decision to provide a public forum for a man who many say embodies cruelty, tyranny, aggression and intolerance.

Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of Israel, denied the Holocaust and promoted the preposterous theory that the United States planned the 9/11 attacks as an excuse to launch wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. He is prosecuting homosexuals, blatantly violating human rights in Iran and is widely believed to be actively pursuing nuclear weapons and sponsoring al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. He rejects all forms of democracy and expels brazen, discriminatory dialect.

But Columbia University President Lee Bollinger defended his invitation to Ahmadinejad, arguing that providing Columbia as a forum for Ahmadinejad “is the right thing to do” because “it is required by the existing norms of free speech, of Columbia University, and of academic institutions.”

After a cold introduction from Bollinger, in which he referred to Ahmadinejad as “ridiculous” and a “petty and cruel dictator,” Ahmadinejad maintained his infamous reputation and made rash, hatred-filled comments about the state of Israel, questioned the extent of the Holocaust and denied the existence of homosexuals in the Islamic Republic.

“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” Ahmadinejad said during that 2007 speech to Columbia students. “In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have this.”

Ahmadinejad then defended Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons by stating that the United States has developed nuclear capabilities so it’s only fair that Iran can as well.

Unfortunately, it seems that Columbia University has not learned from its mistakes.

Rumors have been circulating that the University’s President Lee Bollinger and 15 members of the Columbia International Relations Council and Association (CIRCA) may be attending a private dinner with Ahmadinejad on September 21 in Midtown Manhattan while he is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. 

According to Bollinger’s office, however, it is just a rumor.

“At no time has there been any University event planned or considered involving the president of Iran and President Bollinger, nor has there ever been any plan for a dinner involving the Iranian president on campus,” Bollinger’s office told TRNS. “Media reports to the contrary have no basis in fact and we hope they will be corrected.”

CIRCA’s involvement, however, was confirmed by the Columbia Spectator.

CIRCA vice president of academics Tim Chan told the Spectato that group members are “enthusiastic” about their potential dinner with Ahmadinejad and are “thrilled to have this opportunity.”

Chan, however, stressed that the meeting is still tentative.

In an op-ed published in the Spectator on Wednesday entitled, “Say No to Ahmadinedinner,” Columbia Junior David Fine argued that “the moral burden of our Columbia education and human dignity requires us to examine whether it is right for us to sit down to dinner with a man who facilitates, even encourages, such executions.”

“What will this dinner accomplish? Nothing, except a sating of the human urge to be in the presence of greatness, no matter how unbridled or pernicious,” Fine wrote. “Since no public report can be made, nor Ahmadinejad’s opinions changed, this intimate dinner is, at best, the moral equivalent of sitting down with Jeffrey Dahmer or Charles Manson just for the “thrill.” At worst, it is a small, but useful, affirmation for Ahmadinejad that his thoughts deserve to be heard by the best and brightest that American universities can offer.”

CIRCA did not respond to TRNS’s request for comment.

Four Al Qaeda Prisoners Escape U.S. Forces In Iraq

U.S. and Iraqi officials announced Thursday that four prisoners being guarded by American troops escaped from a maximum-security prison in Baghdad.

According to a military statement, U.S. troops patrolling the prison found two detainees attempting to escape but when they conducted a sweep of the entire facility, four prisoners remained unaccounted for. The four fugitives, with ties to al Qaeda, remain at large after a breaking out of Karkh Prison, formerly called Camp Cropper. 

“U.S. Forces-Iraq, Iraqi Security Forces and the [Ministry of Justice] are working to apprehend these individuals,” said Maj. Gen. Jerry Cannon, head of American detainee operations in Iraq. “This event is under investigation.

The Associated Press reports that the breakout is an “embarrassment” for the U.S. military after it handed over control of all detention facilities they ran to the Iraqi government. At the request of the Iraqi government, American forces retained control of the most dangerous prisoners, including those with ties to terrorist groups or Sadaam Husein’s former regime.

This event marks the second escape since the U.S. handed custody of the detention facility to Iraq. Just seven days after the transfer, four other al Qaeda linked prisoners escaped.

Ex-Defense Official Says Obama Must Push For Self-Sufficient Iraq

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb told reporters Tuesday that President Obama needs to push the Iraqi people to take responsibility for the future of their government and country.

In a prelude to the president’s Tuesday night Oval Office address, Korb said he believes the American mission in Iraq is complete and the president must push for a more self-sufficient Iraqi government.

“It’s up to the Iraqis now, we’ve done what we can,” Korb said. “They’ve got to get their act together, they’ve got to have a government… and that’s really the key.”

The panel agreed that the president’s remarks regarding the transition from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn will not focus on whether the current or previous administrations should take credit for Iraq success, but recognizing and giving credit to the people of Iraq.

“This is not going to be a mission accomplished moment,” said Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. “I think in our debate, we tend to credit too much what we’ve done and not enough of what the Iraqis did.”

The president is scheduled to address the nation tonight at 8:00 p.m. from the Oval Office.


Pence: Credit Bush For Iraq Success

One of the most popular conservative lawmakers in Congress is accusing the Obama administration of unfairly attempting to take full credit for the U.S.’ ability to pull combat forces out of Iraq.

In an op-ed in today’s Washington Times, Mike Pence (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Republican Conference, argues that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are wrong to claim it was they who created an end to the war. “That’s not the whole story,” writes Pence.

However, in a primetime address to the nation tonight, Obama is expected to discuss his efforts to end America’s combat mission in Iraq, fulfilling a promise he made during his 2008 campaign.

According to Pence, most of the credit is owed to former President George W. Bush, who, with violence against NATO-led forces escalating, famously ordered a ‘surge’ of 60,000 American troops to Iraq in 2007. Pence wrote that contrary to the position of Democratic leaders in Congress at the time, Bush had “decided not to lose.”

Pence notes in his piece that then-Senator Obama opposed Bush’s surge and made remarks questioning whether sending additional forces to Iraq would improve the country’s condition. Along with then-Senator Biden, Obama voted 10 times to establish a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from the nation at war, writes Pence.

Republicans have generally been critical of Obama for invoking his predecessor’s name amidst debate over various issues during the past 19 months. Yet, Pence says he wouldn’t mind seeing that happen tonight.

“As the president addresses the nation tonight, let’s hope he gives credit where credit is due: to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces who wrought stability from tyranny and terrorism in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and, for once, let’s hope the president gives credit to a predecessor who refused to accept defeat.”

Biden: Iraqis Ready To Take Charge

Vice President Joe Biden applauded the success of the United States military in Iraq and said the people of Iraq are ready to step up to the plate and “take charge” of their country.

At a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Indianapolis Monday, the Vice-President expressed his confidence in the Iraqi people and said that political leaders must rise up and match the commitment made by the people.

“It’s time for them to match the courage of their citizens,” Biden said. “I’m absolutely confident that Iraq will form a national unity government that will be able to sustain that country.”

Despite U.S. success in Iraq, the omnipresent statement seems to echo from the mouths of all political leaders addressing the issue; the war is not over.

“Drawing down our troops does not mean disengaging from Iraq,” Biden said. “In fact, quite the opposite is true.”

Biden’s address comes just eight days before President Barack Obama plans to address the military’s official transition from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn on the last day of the month.