Ahmadinejad on Obama
EmailJust back from Tehran this morning after trying again yesterday to see Roxana Saberi on the first day of her declared hunger strike. Unfortunately the Iranian government’s Judiciary Department would not entertain our request despite President Ahmadinejad’s suggestion to me that he had nothing to hide.
This was Ahmadinejad’s first U.S. interview since Obama’s election, so I began by asking him what he thought of America’s new President. Playing the pundit, Ahmadinejad said that last November the American people "were calling for change, and they wrote it in the slogan of change. Mr. Obama is a manifestation of the will of the American people."
I reminded the Iranian President that last March he declared that unnamed sinister forces would conspire to "keep Obama out of the White House even if the whole American nation votes for him." So was he surprised and what does that say to Ahmadinejad about the United States? Here’s that exchange:
Ahmadinejad is a cagey interview, and he seems conflicted about how to approach Obama now that his nemesis President Bush is out of office. The mixed messages Ahmadinejad sends may also stem from the uncertain political situation he faces at home. He often answers questions with questions, and doesn’t shy away from a strong challenge. We had several spirited exchanges, as I pressed Ahmedinejad for responses to President Obama’s call for a "new beginning" in US-Iran relations and Obama’s decision to drop pre-conditions and join talks over Iran’s nuclear program; the condemnation heaped on Ahmadinejad following last Monday’s speech at the UN Racism Conference in Geneva; Iran’s refusal to play a constructive role in the Middle East peace process; and how Ahmadinejad is approaching his own re-election campaign with voting coming up on June 12.
All that will air Sunday on This Week, plus we’ll have a brand new poll on how the country sees Obama at the 100 day mark of his Presidency. Joining me to talk about that and all the week’s politics will be George Will, Donna Brazile, and Matthew Dowd, along with the Chief Washington Correspondent for the New York Times, David Sanger, and the U.S. Editor of the Financial Times, Chrystia Freeland.
–George Stephanopoulos
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George this is what is wrong with our country. You gave time to a cruel, stupid little man – who really has no power in Iran.
We give time to murders, cheaters providing them fame albeit not the fame we would want.
I know the arguement – it better to talk than not. Wrong lets talk to good people honest people – lets not use our time putting fools like this clown on a stage.
You could say by doing so you exspose him for what he is. Wrong – expose him as not being worth our time – what he has to say has no importance to the thinking world. Do not offer fools like him and others a stage George.
Posted by: A citizen | April 24, 2009, 11:45 am 11:45 am
Our enemies are forced to give Obama respect given his background and his grass roots popularity with people around the world. That is an advantage no Republican could hope to attain.
http://www.political-buzz.com
Posted by: Matt | April 24, 2009, 11:59 am 11:59 am
Americans (North Americans) are ignorant and vain; they are ignorant of many of the facts not reported by our sensationalist media, and so vain they think their opinions are based on knowledge and accuracy and will actually make a difference. Have faith that those in higher positions are probably there because they are smarter than you (not more ethical) and have at least a small reason for doing something you object to.
Posted by: Samuel Thayer | April 24, 2009, 12:48 pm 12:48 pm
The detention of Saberi and others like her is a tragedy that will hamper the efforts of Iranian citizens to connect with the world. Physicians for Human Rights and a coalition of human rights activists is spearheading a Global Day of Action on May 12 to call for the release of Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei, the two AIDS doctors who have been jailed in Tehran since June 2008 on false charges. Check out IranFreeTheDocs.org to find an Alaei vigil at an Iranian embassy near you.
Posted by: Olga | April 24, 2009, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm
If what I read is correct the true authority in Iran is the Supreme Leader, then why do we hear so much about this individual? Would a replacement still take his final orders from this leader? Maybe we give this man to much press coverage.
Posted by: William | April 24, 2009, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm
Why isnt my comment published, I wrote a night ago. censorship?
Posted by: BoB | April 24, 2009, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
George,
I appreciate it if you summarize your trip to Iran and give your view of ” Is Iran and Iranians really as evil as they have been portrayed by past government or not”?
Posted by: Marie Rea | April 24, 2009, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm
Dear Mr Stephanopoulos:
I am a victim of a financial fruad in california ,that takes place in coopration with the iran government and through many familes who work as their agents here ,I took this matter to fbi head office in 1998 , but they paid them 500.000,to cover up and instead to harss us ,and the agents of the iran government were never held responsible for this large fraud here ,and I like to see if you can bring this to the attention of the president and to see if he can hold their agents here responsible for their criminal activites ,and may be if our justice department took these cases seriously , they will not harss American citizens here and in iran ,the Iran government is invvole in this fruad here in coopration with the local offices and they pay them to pull criminal conspiracies here and between the two countires with the help of a cia contractor Farrkh Shadab who has put this organized crime ring toghter here to their mutual benefit ,there is a government agent on this case ,who can confirm this information , please feel free to contact me if you like to have more information ,(213)925-3411
thank you ,
Posted by: Hengameh Saghafi | April 24, 2009, 5:29 pm 5:29 pm
Dear “A citizen”;
We cannot ignore Mr. Ahmenedijad. He dislikes Americans profusely, but dialogue is surely the way to progress. President Obama said he will set preconditions for dialogue between our two countries and I agree! No dialogue keeps us at a standstill. We can no longer ignore this country with its backward ways and inhumane treatment of women.
Posted by: Grecian Lady | April 24, 2009, 6:04 pm 6:04 pm
It was always Sunday mornings with George…until this week… is your ego so big that you think it’s a coup de grâce your interview with Ahmadinejad would Hitler also be welcomed on your program?
Posted by: barbara | April 24, 2009, 7:28 pm 7:28 pm
shameful! Why would u give such a vile thug a podium to peddle his hatred around? shame on ABC
Posted by: winston | April 24, 2009, 9:02 pm 9:02 pm
Tell me….why would a ‘Sane” leader of a “Sane” country Not talk to an enemy, that can either benefit us or harm us?
Posted by: sngeorgia | April 24, 2009, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm
The media has sunk to a new low. To even give this guy the time of day is beyond me. How many times does Achmed have to say he hates America before we isolate him and his country forever? Will George apologize for America causing Iran’s problems.
Posted by: TBlueAmerican | April 24, 2009, 11:43 pm 11:43 pm
I’d like to see some newscaster with enough nerve to show that Ahmadinejad
moron a picture of some of the piles of Holocaust victims and respond that that didn’t happen. I doubt that will happen either. So much for the truth.
Too bad,
Not even a Jew.
Posted by: bob | April 25, 2009, 6:52 am 6:52 am
Roxana Saberi! This woman went to Iran at her own risk! She lived and worked in Iran for six years–almost three years after her press credentials expired. She STILL stayed! And working for FOX? How stupid could she be? She was not a baby. She knew what country she was in, how things worked there and how they felt about foreign journalists, or at least she SHOULD have! She knew when she set foot in Iran that she was now considered by that country to be an Iranian citizen! She should have known she was not free to do anything she pleased and that her safety could not be guaranteed. She chose to stay anyway. I have absolutely no sympathy for this incredibly stupid woman who is causing an international incident with our enemy, Iran, just because she was too dumb to come home! I’m sure Iran will milk this for all its worth and get any concessions it can from the U.S. before it agrees to let her go! This country doesn’t need this right now with all we have on our plate already. As far as I’m concerned she lived there for six years, what’s eight more? I’d let her rot. (if we’re lucky her hunger strike will shorten her stay and make all this moot!) Maybe one day these “journalists” will get the idea that freedom loving capitalist countries, rather than repressive dictatorships are nicer places to live and work.
Posted by: Roxi | April 25, 2009, 9:48 am 9:48 am
Obama and Imanutjob are very simular in thinking!
Posted by: yes i can | April 25, 2009, 9:58 am 9:58 am
I have my doubts about the Iranian President especially when elections are coming soon in Iran.
We need a decent person in charge.
Posted by: World Conspiracies | April 25, 2009, 10:54 am 10:54 am
George — as you know, Ahmadinejad is no dummy….he’s hateful as hell but not stupid…he wants a nuke big time and won’t stop enriching uranium for a minute for any of these talks going on. At what point do we stop talking and start acting to prevent him from getting a nuke. At what point should Israel act to prevent this existential threat from occurring? If Iran gets a nuke, would you like to explain to your viewers how that would effect power politics in the region?
Posted by: Dave | April 25, 2009, 12:11 pm 12:11 pm
A Citizen (and others), it is better for Americans to get a sense of how various national leaders think and operate than for us to ignore them. We need whatever knowledge of them we can obtain. That sometimes requires our media to interact with and interview them. Dismissing and disdaining them, claiming that they are not worth our time, only serves to perpetuate our sometimes self-destructive ignorance of the world. You needn’t like or respect a given leader to understand that you should try to take the measure of his mind, for your own sake, not his.
Posted by: Eleonora27 | April 25, 2009, 12:19 pm 12:19 pm
The most potent weapon we can throw at lunatics like this is rendering them irrelevant. By the news media giving interviews; by the US audience talking about this idiots views and answers; by our President giving idiots like this the time of day – we are giving them a legitamacy in the working world that is not justified. In case ABCNews has forgotten this, Iran is a terror sponsor state. They would have no qualms about issuing nuclear threats, nuclear blackmail, or providing nuke capability to their little allah freak buddies. If I can figure that out, you wonder why the ‘brainpower’ in DC and NY cannot!
Posted by: Bill | April 25, 2009, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm
Good for you George. I like to see someone take this wacko to task, and I bet the questions you posed to him challenged him more than anything anyone has said to him for years. I also love how Obama’s election dismantles ‘great evil’ label this country had gained under bush. We have Obama dismantling the torture policies, things like that rob our enemies of their ammunition they can use against us. It makes them look at THEIR behavior when OURS is above board which is exactly what we want them to do. You always speak from a higher ground when you ARE on higher ground. I hope cons remember this before they drag us into the ditched again.
Posted by: frank | April 25, 2009, 1:03 pm 1:03 pm
The most potent weapon we can throw at lunatics like this is rendering them irrelevant—-well, considering we are not all powerful, and we do not control all international media, that is impossible. This man DOES give money and support to folks who want to attack Israel and attack us in Iraq. He DOES have a voice that the arab world listens to and likes to listen to. He HAS fans in the middle east who love to hear him insult our president, when it was bush, and take
Bush to task for what Bush had done that was immoral and everyone in the middleEast would snicker because this man was RIGHT about that, and that hurt us immensely. Well, Obama is now dismantling all the wrongs of Bush. Obama can’t stop the Iraq war that Bush started, so no one blame shim for that, not even arabs, and while
Obama dismantles torture, and makes the US a righteous place again, this guy is left is less and less ammunition to throw at us, and it’s time for HIM to think about how THEY have carried themselves and what they have said and done and stand for. If the great evil is no longer some great evil, then what exactly are you railing against – George will ask. The wind has been taken out of this man’s sails by us becoming a more decent society with Obama. THAT makes this man irrelvant.
Posted by: just sayn | April 25, 2009, 1:09 pm 1:09 pm
George is good but Chris Wallace is more aggressive and would nail this pipsqueak to the wall on the Holocaust question. Let them talk; the more this guy opens his mouth, the easier it is to see he is nothing to fear.
Posted by: Tom Campbell | April 25, 2009, 4:41 pm 4:41 pm
ABC is more concerned with Iran that Obama is.
Posted by: Mihann | April 25, 2009, 4:58 pm 4:58 pm
Obama has to grow up and stop thinking that he can influence any serious leader by force of personality. They may like him but it is clear that there is no respect for Obama. He has blown it.
Posted by: brian | April 25, 2009, 7:34 pm 7:34 pm
America got it right this time by electing the smartest, brightest, most intelligent, most articulate president we have ever had and probably would ever have. If his plans for this country are not blocked by the Republicans who wants to get back into office and do more damage to this country internally and externally, than this country would return to economic soundness. Obama is brilliant! Sorry, can’t say that about the last president.
Posted by: Stanley | April 25, 2009, 7:42 pm 7:42 pm
Brian,
Yea! and they had respect for George W Bush, Right! Stop drinking the Rush Limbaugh Koolaid. Obama is a diplomat and with his leadership there will be greater harmony between countries and the US..even our so called enemies..most of which were created by the Bush doctrine of “Do it our(US)way of take the highway..I can tell you Brian..if you were from another country..you would not have appreciated that. America is part of the world..America is not the world…Obama understands that.
Posted by: Stanley | April 25, 2009, 7:46 pm 7:46 pm
President Obama cares about this country and the average man..and he wants to make a difference in the lives of ordinary Americans..no wonder his ratings are so high in the polls..have you seen the latest cnn polls..Americans think that he is a strong leader and cares about people. Americans can spot a fake quickly..and Obama is not a fake..the public has spoken. President Obama,you are doing a good job!
Posted by: Stanley | April 25, 2009, 7:50 pm 7:50 pm
President Obama! A breath of fresh Air. It seems that most of America..at least 70% think so.
Posted by: Stanley | April 25, 2009, 7:52 pm 7:52 pm
Have you noticed since Obama became president the Rhetoric of the presidents from countries which were in the habit of saying nasty things about the US have changed? Obama has inspired these leadership to take a look at their rhetoric and to realize that unmeaningful Rhetoric makes no sense. President Obama is an inspiration to the world.
Posted by: Stanley | April 25, 2009, 7:56 pm 7:56 pm
A citizen, I fully agree with you. This is like giving Hitler air time. The dude’s a waste of our valuable air space.
Posted by: EmiDaShogun | April 25, 2009, 8:15 pm 8:15 pm
How much credibility do you have with the Iranian president or any other world leader when they know that you are keeping this from the American public, George?
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/the-rest-is-silence/
Posted by: 4thestate | April 25, 2009, 8:38 pm 8:38 pm
Ahmadinejad Ahmadinejad Ahmadinejad…
We keep giving him the opportunity to speak as if we think his message is going to change. It won’t.
I look at his eyes and see evil. I listen to his mouth and hear pathological lies.
What more do people want to know about him? Only his hairdresser knows for sure… but yeah, it looks like he’s dying his hair — a vain SOB.
Posted by: anon | April 25, 2009, 8:44 pm 8:44 pm
why is media making ahmadinejerk so respectable? hes tortured and murdered dissedents. I don’t trust anything from his lying lips. The world including obama hillary clinton ready to sell out Israel for appeasement to this guy. Bad policy to talk with this thug.
Posted by: ragemania4 | April 25, 2009, 8:45 pm 8:45 pm
GEE ABC why don’t you send Barbara Walters and her team to do a show with this guy? I’m sure he’d just love to sit down with Barbara (a Jew) and talk about wonderful and funny issues.
Posted by: BUDDY IN PA | April 25, 2009, 10:12 pm 10:12 pm
Congratulation M. Stephanopoulos. It’s always interesting to follow you. You’re surely an inspiration to many people.
I’m anxious to see this interview. I’m wondering if you thought M. Ahmadinejad was trying to spin this interview to his advantage.
Iranians will have to decide democratically in a few months what kind of government they want. I know that the political process is controversial in Iran but at least there’s a choice for the people between two candidates.
Lets hope Iranians will do the right thing in the next election and choose a candidate that wants peace for the region.
.
Posted by: Benoit | April 25, 2009, 11:10 pm 11:10 pm
Stanley — America got the smartest, brightest, most intelligent, blah blah blah. I don’t see Obama’s name on the MENSA list. Don’t know what that is? Not surprising. Next time you take a trip, use a “pilot” who has read and discussed all about flying and has all the knowledge ever needed. Maybe you’ll realize actual, accountable experience does make a difference. Why do you think Obama’s hiring back scores of old Clinton appointee’s??
Posted by: Tired | April 25, 2009, 11:54 pm 11:54 pm
oh my gosh this is going to be a great interview am going to have to miss part of the draft to see. Keep up the good work george After the june election Iran and the U.S can work on peace
Posted by: gil | April 26, 2009, 1:16 am 1:16 am
I just wish that ONE news organization would actually LISTEN to what he says about his problems with the United States. He talks about 30 year old grievances and I still don’t know what they are because ALL reports shift the entire damned conversation to his denial of the Holacaust or his disdain for Israel. Ok, I know all that stop repeating it already. What is his grievances with the United States, my country…and do they have merit. Thats my question.
Posted by: Willie Jones | April 26, 2009, 3:09 am 3:09 am
Wwho cares what ahmadinejad thinks about obama presidency? I am sick and tired of popular american journalists interviewing this liar and dont even mmention the severe human rights violations taking place there EVERY DAY.
Why give in to these dictators? Why be afraid to ask? Look what they doing to women, minorities, students with most bbarbaric methods.
What benefit you get by keeping silent?
Bring in human rights violations by that government to them CASE BY CASE.
You asked about atomic and denial of holocust 100 times and heard same bullcrap why not cover human rights there?
Posted by: cyrus | April 26, 2009, 4:06 am 4:06 am
You two make a cute couple, George. I like that you posed for the photo with the nice woods in the background like you are at an outdoor wedding or something.
Posted by: John L. Griffon | April 26, 2009, 5:16 am 5:16 am
Dear George,
Evidentally, with the kinds of letters I read on your “blog”, freedom of speech is still legal!
But, is the “freedom of intelligence” legal?
If so, when will you (and ABC) do a weekly story (not a one time thing) about a book called “THE DELIBERATE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA” by Charlotte Iserbyt? Then, maybe, freedom of speech would be a lot more effective and maybe the “free” world will get better, instead of worse.
Posted by: Jjacky | April 26, 2009, 10:34 am 10:34 am
I am so angry that George interviewed the president of Iran. Did he forget that Iran is our enemy, that they do not treat us with respect? I think it is shameful and an insult to Americans to have him in our county, given a public forum and George looks happy!
This disturbs me much, I will no longer watch ABC.
Posted by: Patricia Manning | April 26, 2009, 10:51 am 10:51 am
Funny, I thought this Iranian Problem was just going to Disappear as soon as Obum was on the scene. He is just so Nice & Diplomatic that Ahmadinejad would just melt like butter in his hands, especially since Obum promised to meet & discuss face to face with him (whatever happened to that promise anyway).
Posted by: Mr Reality | April 26, 2009, 3:27 pm 3:27 pm