Ahmadinejad's Letter to Bush: Full

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Despite the White House's one-word denunciation of the Iranian President's letter as
"rambling," upon closer inspection, this fascinating piece of writing demands far more
critical an analysis than that offered by the U go!ernment"
Editor's Note: We ha!e reproduced the #hmedine$ad letter below in its original
form, with only slight alterations to the punctuation where it was truly necessary"
%r &eorge 'ush,
President of the United tates of #merica
(or sometime now I ha!e been thin)ing, how one can $ustify the undeniable
contradictions
that e*ist in the international arena -- which are being constantly debated, specially in
political
forums and amongst uni!ersity students" %any +uestions remain unanswered" ,hese
ha!e
prompted me to discuss some of the contradictions and +uestions, in the hopes that it
might
bring about an opportunity to redress them"
-an one be a follower of .esus -hrist /P'UH0, the great %essenger of &od,
(eel obliged to respect human rights,
Present liberalism as a ci!ili1ation model,
#nnounce one2s opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and W%Ds,
%a)e 3War 4and4 ,error5 his slogan,
#nd finally,
Wor) towards the establishment of a unified international community 6 a community
which
-hrist and the !irtuous of the 7arth will one day go!ern,
'ut at the same time,
Ha!e countries attac)ed8 ,he li!es, reputations and possessions of people destroyed
and on
the slight chance of the 9 of a 9 criminals in a !illage city, or con!oy for e*ample
the entire
!illage, city or con!ey set abla1e"
:r because of the possibility of the e*istence of W%Ds in one country, it is occupied,
around
one hundred thousand people )illed, its water sources, agriculture and industry
destroyed,
close to ;<=,=== foreign troops put on the ground, sanctity of pri!ate homes of
citi1ens
bro)en, and the country pushed bac) perhaps fifty years" #t what price4 Hundreds of
billions
of dollars spent from the treasury of one country and certain other countries and tens
of
thousands of young men and women 6 as occupation troops 6 put in harms way, ta)en
away
from family and lo!e ones, their hands stained with the blood of others, sub$ected to
so much
psychological pressure that e!eryday some commit suicide and those returning home
suffer
depression, become sic)ly and grapple with all sorts of aliments8 while some are
)illed and
their bodies handed of their families"
:n the prete*t of the e*istence of W%Ds, this great tragedy came to engulf both the
peoples
of the occupied and the occupying country" >ater it was re!ealed that no W%Ds
e*isted to
begin with"
:f course addam was a murderous dictator" 'ut the war was not waged to topple
him, the
announced goal of the war was to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction" He
was
toppled along the way towards another goal8 ne!ertheless the people of the region are
happy
about it" I point out that throughout the many years of the 9 war on Iran addam was
supported by the West"
%r President,
?ou might )now that I am a teacher" %y students as) me how can theses actions be
reconciled with the !alues outlined at the beginning of this letter and duty to the
tradition of
.esus -hrist /P'UH0, the %essenger of peace and forgi!eness"
,here are prisoners in &uantanamo 'ay that ha!e not been tried, ha!e no legal
representation,
their families cannot see them and are ob!iously )ept in a strange land outside their
own
country" ,here is no international monitoring of their conditions and fate" @o one
)nows
whether they are prisoners, P:Ws, accused or criminals"
7uropean in!estigators ha!e confirmed the e*istence of secret prisons in 7urope too" I
could
not correlate the abduction of a person, and him or her being )ept in secret prisons,
with the
pro!isions of any $udicial system" (or that matter, I fail to understand how such
actions
correspond to the !alues outlined in the beginning of this letter, i"e" the teachings of
.esus
-hrist /P'UH0, human rights and liberal !alues"
?oung people, uni!ersity students and ordinary people ha!e many +uestions about the
phenomenon of Israel" I am sure you are familiar with some of them"
,hroughout history many countries ha!e been occupied, but I thin) the establishment
of a
new country with a new people, is a new phenomenon that is e*clusi!e to our times"
tudents are saying that si*ty years ago such a country did no e*ist" ,hey show old
documents
and globes and say try as we ha!e, we ha!e not been able to find a country named
Israel"
I tell them to study the history of WWI and II" :ne of my students told me that during
WWII,
which more than tens of millions of people perished in, news about the war, was
+uic)ly
disseminated by the warring parties" 7ach touted their !ictories and the most recent
battlefront
defeat of the other party" #fter the war, they claimed that si* million .ews had been
)illed" i*
million people that were surely related to at least two million families"
#gain let us assume that these e!ents are true" Does that logically translate into the
establishment of the state of Israel in the %iddle 7ast or support for such a state4 How
can
this phenomenon be rationali1ed or e*plained4
%r President,
I am sure you )now how 6 and at what cost 6 Israel was establishedA
- %any thousands were )illed in the process"
- %illions of indigenous people were made refugees"
- Hundred of thousands of hectares of farmland, oli!e plantations, towns and !illages
were destroyed"
,his tragedy is not e*clusi!e to the time of establishment8 unfortunately it has been
ongoing
for si*ty years now"
# regime has been established which does not show mercy e!en to )ids, destroys
houses
while the occupants are still in them, announces beforehand its list and plans to
assassinate
Palestinian figures and )eeps thousands of Palestinians in prison" uch a phenomenon
is
uni+ue 6 or at the !ery least e*tremely rare 6 in recent memory"
#nother big +uestion as)ed by people is why is this regime being supported4
Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of .esus -hrist /P'UH0 or %oses
/P'UH0
or liberal !alues4
:r are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these lands 6 inside
and
outside Palestine 6 whether they are -hristian, %uslim or .ew, to determine their fate,
runs
contrary to principles of democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets4 If
not, why
is there so much opposition to a referendum4
,he newly elected Palestinian administration recently too) office" #ll independent
obser!es
ha!e confirmed that this go!ernment represents the electorate" Unbelie!ingly, they
ha!e put
the elected go!ernment under pressure and ha!e ad!ised it to recogni1e the Israeli
regime,
abandon the struggle and follow the programs of the pre!ious go!ernment"
If the current Palestinian go!ernment had run on the abo!e platform, would the
Palestinian
people ha!e !oted for it4 #gain, can such position ta)en in opposition to the
Palestinian
go!ernment be reconciled with the !alues outlined earlier4 ,he people are also saying
3why
are all U@- resolutions in condemnation of Israel !etoed45
%r President,
#s you are well aware, I li!e amongst the people and am in constant contact with
them --
many people from around the %iddle 7ast manage to contact me as well" ,hey do not
ha!e
faith in these dubious policies either" ,here is e!idence that the people of the region
are
becoming increasingly angry with such policies"
It is not my intention to pose to many +uestions, but I need to refer to other points as
well"
Why is it that any technological and scientific achie!ement reached in the %iddle
7ast
regions is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Bionist regime4 Is not
scientific
CDD one of the basic rights of nations4
?ou are familiar with history" #side from the %iddle #ges, in what other point in
history has
scientific and technical progress been a crime4 -an the possibility of scientific
achie!ements
being utili1ed for military purposes be reason enough to oppose science and
technology
altogether4 If such a supposition is true, then all scientific disciplines, including
physics,
chemistry, mathematics, medicine, engineering, etc" must be opposed"
>ies were told in the Ira+i matter" What was the result4 I ha!e no doubt that telling
lies is
reprehensible in any culture, and you do not li)e to be lied to"
%r President,
Don2t >atin #mericans ha!e the right to as), why their elected go!ernments are being
opposed and coup leaders supported4 :r, why must they constantly be threatened and
li!e in
fear4
,he people of #frica are hardwor)ing, creati!e and talented" ,hey can play an
important and
!aluable role in pro!iding for the needs of humanity and contribute to its material and
spiritual progress" Po!erty and hardship in large parts of #frica are pre!enting this
from
happening" Don2t they ha!e the right to as) why their enormous wealth 6 including
minerals 6
is being looted, despite the fact that they need it more than others4
#gain, do such actions correspond to the teachings of -hrist and the tenets of human
rights4
,he bra!e and faithful people of Iran too ha!e many +uestions and grie!ances,
includingA the
coup detat of ;EFG and the subse+uent toppling of the legal go!ernment of the day,
opposition to the Islamic re!olution, transformation of an 7mbassy into a
head+uarters
supporting, the acti!ities of those opposing the Islamic Cepublic /many thousands of
pages of
documents corroborates this claim0, support for addam in the war waged against
Iran, the
shooting down of the Iranian passenger plane, free1ing the assets of the Iranian
nation,
increasing threats, anger and displeasure !is-H-!is the scientific and nuclear progress
of the
Iranian nation /$ust when all Iranians are $ubilant and collaborating their country2s
progress0,
and many other grie!ances that I will not refer to in this letter"
%r President,
eptember 7le!en was a horrendous incident" ,he )illing of innocents is deplorable
and
appalling in any part of the world" :ur go!ernment immediately declared its disgust
with the
perpetrators and offered its condolences to the berea!ed and e*pressed its sympathies"
#ll go!ernments ha!e a duty to protect the li!es, property and good standing of their
citi1ens"
Ceportedly your go!ernment employs e*tensi!e security, protection and intelligence
systems
6 and e!en hunts its opponents abroad" eptember ele!en was not a simple operation"
-ould it
be planned and e*ecuted without coordination with intelligence and security ser!ices
6 or
their e*tensi!e infiltration4 :f course this is $ust an educated guess" Why ha!e the
!arious
aspects of the attac)s been )ept secret4 Why are we not told who botched their
responsibilities4 #nd, why aren2t those responsible and the guilty parties identified
and put
on trial4
#ll go!ernments ha!e a duty to pro!ide security and peace of mind for their citi1ens"
(or
some years now, the people of your country and neighbours of world trouble spots do
not
ha!e peace of mind" #fter E";;, instead of healing and tending to the emotional
wounds of the
sur!i!ors and the #merican people 6 who had been immensely traumati1ed by the
attac)s 6
some Western media only intensified the climates of fear and insecurity 6 some
constantly
tal)ed about the possibility of new terror attac)s and )ept the people in fear" Is that
ser!ice to
the #merican people4 Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and
panic4
#merican citi1en li!ed in constant fear of fresh attac)s that could come at any
moment and in
any place" ,hey felt insecure in the streets, in their place of wor) and at home" Who
would be
happy with this situation4 Why was the media, instead of con!eying a feeling of
security and
pro!iding peace of mind, gi!ing rise to a feeling of insecurity4
ome belie!e that the hype pa!ed the way 6 and was the $ustification 6 for an attac)
on
#fghanistan" #gain I need to refer to the role of media"
In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest reporting of a story
are
established tenets" I e*press my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain
Western
media for these principles" ,he main prete*t for an attac) on Ira+ was the e*istence of
W%Ds" ,his was repeated incessantly 6 for the public to, finally, belie!e 6 and the
ground
set for an attac) on Ira+"
Will the truth not be lost in a contri!e and decepti!e climate4
#gain, if the truth is allowed to be lost, how can that be reconciled with the earlier
mentioned
!alues4
Is the truth )nown to the #lmighty lost as well4
%r President,
In countries around the world, citi1ens pro!ide for the e*penses of go!ernments so
that their
go!ernments in turn are able to ser!e them"
,he +uestion here is 3what has the hundreds of billions of dollars, spent e!ery year to
pay for
the Ira+i campaign, produced for the citi1ens45
#s your 7*cellency is aware, in some states of your country, people are li!ing in
po!erty"
%any thousands are homeless and unemployment is a huge problem" :f course these
problems e*ist 6 to a larger or lesser e*tent 6 in other countries as well" With these
conditions
in mind, can the gargantuan e*penses of the campaign 6 paid from the public treasury
6 be
e*plained and be consistent with the aforementioned principles4
What has been said, are some of the grie!ances of the people around the world, in our
region
and in your country" 'ut my main contention 6 which I am hoping you will agree to
some of
it 6 isA ,hose in power ha!e specific time in office, and do not rule indefinitely, but
their names will
be recorded in history and will be constantly $udged in the immediate and distant
futures"
,he people will scrutini1e our presidencies"
Did we manage to bring peace, security and prosperity for the people or insecurity
and
unemployment4
Did we intend to establish $ustice, or $ust supported especial interest groups, and by
forcing
many people to li!e in po!erty and hardship, made a few people rich and powerful 6
thus
trading the appro!al of the people and the #lmighty with theirs24
Did we defend the rights of the underpri!ileged or ignore them4
Did we defend the rights of all people around the world or imposed wars on them,
interfered
illegally in their affairs, established hellish prisons and incarcerated some of them4
Did we bring the world peace and security or raised the specter of intimidation and
threats4
Did we tell the truth to our nation and others around the world or presented an
in!erted
!ersion of it4
Were we on the side of people or the occupiers and oppressors4
Did our administration set out to promote rational beha!iour, logic, ethics, peace,
fulfilling
obligations, $ustice, ser!ice to the people, prosperity, progress and respect for human
dignity
or the force of guns4
Intimidation, insecurity, disregard for the people, delaying the progress and e*cellence
of
other nations, and trample on people2s rights4
#nd finally, they will $udge us on whether we remained true to our oath of office 6 to
ser!e
the people, which is our main tas) and the traditions of the prophets 6 or not4
%r President,
How much longer can the world tolerate this situation4
Where will this trend lead the world to4
How long must the people of the world pay for the incorrect decisions of some rulers4
How much longer will the specter of insecurity 6 raised from the stoc)piles of
weapons of
mass destruction 6 hunt the people of the world4
How much longer will the blood of the innocent men, women and children be spilled
on the
streets, and people2s houses destroyed o!er their heads4
#re you pleased with the current condition of the world4
Do you thin) present policies can continue4
If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop mo!ement were
instead
spent on in!estment and assistance for poor countries, promotion of health, combating
different diseases, education and impro!ement of mental and physical fitness,
assistance to
the !ictims of natural disasters, creation of employment opportunities and production,
de!elopment pro$ects and po!erty alle!iation, establishment of peace, mediation
between
disputing states and distinguishing the flames of racial, ethnic and other conflicts were
would
the world be today4 Would not your go!ernment and people be $ustifiably proud4
Would not your administration2s political and economic standing ha!e been stronger4
#nd I am most sorry to say, would there ha!e been an e!er increasing global hatred of
the
#merican go!ernments4
%r President, it is not my intention to distress anyone"
If prophet #braham, Isaac, .acob, Ishmael, .oseph or .esus -hrist /P'UH0 were with
us
today, how would they ha!e $udged such beha!iour4 Will we be gi!en a role to play in
the
promised world, where $ustice will become uni!ersal and .esus -hrist /P'UH0 will be
present4 Will they e!en accept us4
%y basic +uestion is thisA Is there no better way to interact with the rest of the world4
,oday
there are hundreds of millions of -hristians, hundreds of millions of %oslems and
millions of
people who follow the teachings of %oses /P'UH0" #ll di!ine religions share and
respect on
word and that is 3monotheism5 or belief in a single &od and no other in the world"
,he holy Ioran stresses this common word and calls on followers of di!ine religions
and
saysA JG"KLM ayA : followers of the 'oo)N -ome to an e+uitable proposition between
us and
you that we shall not ser!e any but #llah and /that0 we shall not associate aught with
Him
and /that0 some of us shall not ta)e others for lords besides #llah, but if they turn
bac), then
sayA 'ear witness that we are %uslims" /,he (amily of Imran0"
%r President,
#ccording to di!ine !erses, we ha!e all been called upon to worship one &od and
follow the
teachings of di!ine prophets"
3,o worship a &od which is abo!e all powers in the world and can do all He pleases"5
3,he
>ord which )nows that which is hidden and !isible, the past and the future, )nows
what goes
on in the Hearts of His ser!ants and records their deeds"5
3,he >ord who is the possessor of the hea!ens and the earth and all uni!erse is His
court5
3planning for the uni!erse is done by His hands, and gi!es His ser!ants the glad
tidings of
mercy and forgi!eness of sins5" 3He is the companion of the oppressed and the enemy
of
oppressors5" 3He is the -ompassionate, the %erciful5" 3He is the recourse of the
faithful and
guides them towards the light from dar)ness5" 3He is witness to the actions of His
ser!ants5,
3He calls on ser!ants to be faithful and do good deeds, and as)s them to stay on the
path of
righteousness and remain steadfast5" 3-alls on ser!ants to heed His prophets and He
is a
witness to their deeds"5 3# bad ending belongs only to those who ha!e chosen the life
of this
world and disobey Him and oppress His ser!ants5" #nd 3# good and eternal paradise
belongs
to those ser!ants who fear His ma$esty and do not follow their lasci!ious sel!es"5
We belie!e a return to the teachings of the di!ine prophets is the only road leading to
sal!ations" I ha!e been told that ?our 7*cellency follows the teachings of .esus
/P'UH0, and
belie!es in the di!ine promise of the rule of the righteous on 7arth"
We also belie!e that .esus -hrist /P'UH0 was one of the great prophets of the
#lmighty" He
has been repeatedly praised in the Ioran" .esus /P'UH0 has been +uoted in Ioran as
well8
J;E,GKM #nd surely #llah is my >ord and your >ord, therefore ser!e Him8 this is the
right
path, %arium"
er!ice to and obedience of the #lmighty is the credo of all di!ine messengers"
,he &od of all people in 7urope, #sia, #frica, #merica, the Pacific and the rest of the
world
is one" He is the #lmighty who wants to guide and gi!e dignity to all His ser!ants" He
has
gi!en greatness to Humans"
We again read in the Holy 'oo)A 3,he #lmighty &od sent His prophets with miracles
and
clear signs to guide the people and show them di!ine signs and purify them from sins
and
pollutions" #nd He sent the 'oo) and the balance so that the people display $ustice
and a!oid
the rebellious"5
#ll of the abo!e !erses can be seen, one way or the other, in the &ood 'oo) as well"
Di!ine prophets ha!e promisedA
,he day will come when all humans will congregate before the court of the #lmighty,
so that
their deeds are e*amined" ,he good will be directed towards Ha!en and e!ildoers will
meet
di!ine retribution" I trust both of us belie!e in such a day, but it will not be easy to
calculate
the actions of rulers, because we must be answerable to our nations and all others
whose li!es
ha!e been directly or indirectly affected by our actions"
#ll prophets, spea) of peace and tran+uility for man 6 based on monotheism, $ustice
and
respect for human dignity"
Do you not thin) that if all of us come to belie!e in and abide by these principles, that
is,
monotheism, worship of &od, $ustice, respect for the dignity of man, belief in the >ast
Day,
we can o!ercome the present problems of the world 6 that are the result of
disobedience to the
#lmighty and the teachings of prophets 6 and impro!e our performance4
Do you not thin) that belief in these principles promotes and guarantees peace,
friendship and
$ustice4
Do you not thin) that the aforementioned written or unwritten principles are
uni!ersally
respected4
Will you not accept this in!itation4 ,hat is, a genuine return to the teachings of
prophets, to
monotheism and $ustice, to preser!e human dignity and obedience to the #lmighty
and His
prophets4
%r President,
History tells us that repressi!e and cruel go!ernments do not sur!i!e" &od has
entrusted
the fate of man to them" ,he #lmighty has not left the uni!erse and humanity to their
own
de!ices" %any things ha!e happened contrary to the wishes and plans of go!ernments"
,hese
tell us that there is a higher power at wor) and all e!ents are determined by Him"
-an one deny the signs of change in the world today4
Is this situation of the world today comparable to that of ten years ago4 -hanges
happen fast
and come at a furious pace"
,he people of the world are not happy with the status +uo and pay little heed to the
promises
and comments made by a number of influential world leaders" %any people around
the world
feel insecure and oppose the spreading of insecurity and war and do not appro!e of
and accept
dubious policies"
,he people are protesting the increasing gap between the ha!es and the ha!e-nots and
the rich
and poor countries"
,he people are disgusted with increasing corruption"
,he people of many countries are angry about the attac)s on their cultural foundations
and the
disintegration of families" ,hey are e+ually dismayed with the fading of care and
compassion"
,he people of the world ha!e no faith in international organi1ations, because their
rights are
not ad!ocated by these organi1ations"
>iberalism and Western style democracy ha!e not been able to help reali1e the ideals
of
humanity" ,oday these two concepts ha!e failed" ,hose with insight can already hear
the
sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic
systems"
We increasingly see that people around the world are floc)ing towards a main focal
point 6
that is the #lmighty &od" Undoubtedly through faith in &od and the teachings of the
prophets, the people will con+uer their problems" %y +uestion for you isA 3Do you not
want to
$oin them45
%r President,
Whether we li)e it or not, the world is gra!itating towards faith in the #lmighty and
$ustice
and the will of &od will pre!ail o!er all things"
Oasalam #la %an #taba2al hoda
%ahmood #hmadi-@a$ad
President of the Islamic Cepublic of Iran