At Least Mitt Romney Gets It
Hat-Tip: Hugh Hewitt
As our readers know, Mohammed Khatemi, Iran's former president, is coming to America. He was allowed a visa from the United States State Department in a move that we can only classify as utterly idiotic. And we are not the only ones. The elite center-right blogs in the blogosphere have also weighed in on the Khatemi visit. Not surprisingly,. that majority of center-right blogs are 100% against the stupid move from the State Department, and would prefer Khatemi was turned away at the airport. Enter Mitt Romney, who is still the governor of Massachusetts, despite some presidential hopes coming up in 2007/2008.
And if this does not send a clear and concise message to hi critics, to his supporters--Indeed, all of America--then I do not know what whill. Hugh has the following press release up on his site, but no link. So here is the press release as he has it:
Governor Mitt Romney today ordered all Massachusetts state government agencies to decline support, if asked, for former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami’s September 10 visit to the Boston area, where he is scheduled to speak at Harvard University.
“State taxpayers should not be providing special treatment to an individual who supports violent jihad and the destruction of Israel,” said Romney.
Romney’s action means that Khatami will be denied an official police escort and other VIP treatment when he is in town. The federal government provides security through the U.S. State Department.
Romney criticized Harvard for honoring Khatami by inviting him to speak, calling it “a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of extremists, especially on the eve of the five-year anniversary of 9/11.”
Said Romney: “The U.S. State Department listed Khatami’s Iran as the number one state sponsor of terrorism. Within his own country, Khatami oversaw the torture and murder of dissidents who spoke out for freedom and democracy. For him to lecture Americans about tolerance and violence is propaganda, pure and simple.”
Romney cited a litany of hateful actions by Khatami, including his support for violent jihadist activities:
*During the period of time he was in office, from 1997 to 2005, Khatami presided over Iran’s secret nuclear program. Currently, the Iranian Government under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is snubbing the international community’s request to cease nuclear weapons production.
*In the recent conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border, Khatami described the terrorist group Hezbollah as a “shining sun that illuminates and warms the hearts of all Muslims and supporters of freedom in the world.”
*Khatami has endorsed Ahmadinejad’s call for the annihilation of Israel.
*During Khatami’s presidency, Iran refused to hand over the Iranian intelligence officials who were responsible for the attack on the Khobar Towers that killed 19 U.S. military personnel.
*In his own country, Khatami oversaw the torture and murder of Iranian students, journalists, and others who spoke out for freedom and democracy. Khatami relaxed freedom of speech laws giving democracy reformers a false sense of security only to engage in one of the largest crackdowns in the country’s history.
*In Khatami’s Iran, there was no religious tolerance. According to the U.S. Office of International Religious Freedom, Iran was one of the worst offenders of religious persecutions. Minorities, such as Evangelicals, Jews, Catholics and others, have suffered.
“Khatami pretends to be a moderate, but he is not. My hope is that the United States will find and work with real voices of moderation inside Iran. But we will never make progress in the region if we deal with wolves in sheep’s clothing,” said Romney.
Now, for all those people out there who dislike Governor Romney for reasons ther than his politics, you are entitled to your opinion, but the good man has just sent a clear message to America. We want to resolve this crisis through diplomacy; such negotiations have already been predicted to fail, given Iran's current track record. They have refused to address the world's concerns regarding its nuclear program, and its refusal to come clean leads many to believe they are indeed working on weapons. Some may argue his style--this press release--reeks of cowboy mentality.
Unfoirtunately for those people that is precisely what we need right now. It should be considered unacceptable, by every American, that Khatemi is visiting this nation. He is not here for a cheesesteak sandwich, or to take in a Yankees game. He is here to spread Iranian propoganda to the American extremists (read: Leftists) at Harvard. He will be speaking at another public function, one sponsored by CAIR, and it will be a much different topic of conversation at that event, to be sure. So why are we letting him into the country?
Lord knows, and I am positive that Governor Romney is thinking something very similar right now. I applaud Governor Romney for having the testicular fortitude to stand up, and make a statement. And while he did not condemn the visit openly, one can clearly gauge from his words that he is not pleased with the decision. And he makes it very clear that nothing that the taxpayer must pay for, in terms of services from the state of Massachusetts, will be utilized by Khatemi.
There will be no private security provided to him, unless it is done so through the State Department. There will be no state provided transportation that will be free to him. He will be treated with indifference, and only mild respect, I am guessing, by people in an official capacity. (Personally, if I see one gushing senator or representative I am going to puke; such a message to the voters should ring even louder than Governor Romney's press release.) And I hope someone in the White House is watching this, and taking note of a hopefully-soon-to-be-unemployed diplomat in the State Department. If I were the president I would not be happy with this one iota.
Marcie
Hat-Tip: Hugh Hewitt
As our readers know, Mohammed Khatemi, Iran's former president, is coming to America. He was allowed a visa from the United States State Department in a move that we can only classify as utterly idiotic. And we are not the only ones. The elite center-right blogs in the blogosphere have also weighed in on the Khatemi visit. Not surprisingly,. that majority of center-right blogs are 100% against the stupid move from the State Department, and would prefer Khatemi was turned away at the airport. Enter Mitt Romney, who is still the governor of Massachusetts, despite some presidential hopes coming up in 2007/2008.
And if this does not send a clear and concise message to hi critics, to his supporters--Indeed, all of America--then I do not know what whill. Hugh has the following press release up on his site, but no link. So here is the press release as he has it:
Governor Mitt Romney today ordered all Massachusetts state government agencies to decline support, if asked, for former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami’s September 10 visit to the Boston area, where he is scheduled to speak at Harvard University.
“State taxpayers should not be providing special treatment to an individual who supports violent jihad and the destruction of Israel,” said Romney.
Romney’s action means that Khatami will be denied an official police escort and other VIP treatment when he is in town. The federal government provides security through the U.S. State Department.
Romney criticized Harvard for honoring Khatami by inviting him to speak, calling it “a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of extremists, especially on the eve of the five-year anniversary of 9/11.”
Said Romney: “The U.S. State Department listed Khatami’s Iran as the number one state sponsor of terrorism. Within his own country, Khatami oversaw the torture and murder of dissidents who spoke out for freedom and democracy. For him to lecture Americans about tolerance and violence is propaganda, pure and simple.”
Romney cited a litany of hateful actions by Khatami, including his support for violent jihadist activities:
*During the period of time he was in office, from 1997 to 2005, Khatami presided over Iran’s secret nuclear program. Currently, the Iranian Government under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is snubbing the international community’s request to cease nuclear weapons production.
*In the recent conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border, Khatami described the terrorist group Hezbollah as a “shining sun that illuminates and warms the hearts of all Muslims and supporters of freedom in the world.”
*Khatami has endorsed Ahmadinejad’s call for the annihilation of Israel.
*During Khatami’s presidency, Iran refused to hand over the Iranian intelligence officials who were responsible for the attack on the Khobar Towers that killed 19 U.S. military personnel.
*In his own country, Khatami oversaw the torture and murder of Iranian students, journalists, and others who spoke out for freedom and democracy. Khatami relaxed freedom of speech laws giving democracy reformers a false sense of security only to engage in one of the largest crackdowns in the country’s history.
*In Khatami’s Iran, there was no religious tolerance. According to the U.S. Office of International Religious Freedom, Iran was one of the worst offenders of religious persecutions. Minorities, such as Evangelicals, Jews, Catholics and others, have suffered.
“Khatami pretends to be a moderate, but he is not. My hope is that the United States will find and work with real voices of moderation inside Iran. But we will never make progress in the region if we deal with wolves in sheep’s clothing,” said Romney.
Now, for all those people out there who dislike Governor Romney for reasons ther than his politics, you are entitled to your opinion, but the good man has just sent a clear message to America. We want to resolve this crisis through diplomacy; such negotiations have already been predicted to fail, given Iran's current track record. They have refused to address the world's concerns regarding its nuclear program, and its refusal to come clean leads many to believe they are indeed working on weapons. Some may argue his style--this press release--reeks of cowboy mentality.
Unfoirtunately for those people that is precisely what we need right now. It should be considered unacceptable, by every American, that Khatemi is visiting this nation. He is not here for a cheesesteak sandwich, or to take in a Yankees game. He is here to spread Iranian propoganda to the American extremists (read: Leftists) at Harvard. He will be speaking at another public function, one sponsored by CAIR, and it will be a much different topic of conversation at that event, to be sure. So why are we letting him into the country?
Lord knows, and I am positive that Governor Romney is thinking something very similar right now. I applaud Governor Romney for having the testicular fortitude to stand up, and make a statement. And while he did not condemn the visit openly, one can clearly gauge from his words that he is not pleased with the decision. And he makes it very clear that nothing that the taxpayer must pay for, in terms of services from the state of Massachusetts, will be utilized by Khatemi.
There will be no private security provided to him, unless it is done so through the State Department. There will be no state provided transportation that will be free to him. He will be treated with indifference, and only mild respect, I am guessing, by people in an official capacity. (Personally, if I see one gushing senator or representative I am going to puke; such a message to the voters should ring even louder than Governor Romney's press release.) And I hope someone in the White House is watching this, and taking note of a hopefully-soon-to-be-unemployed diplomat in the State Department. If I were the president I would not be happy with this one iota.
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:04 PM
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