"The moment you talk to any totalitarian leader, and even if you tell him hard truth you recognize him as a valid partner in a democratic debate Both Hitler and the communists realized that engaging in some kind of debate with the democratic adversary
http://michelgurfinkiel.com/articles/139-Columbia-Mr-Bollingers-devastating- mistake.html MR BOLLINGER'S DEVASTATING MISTAKE BY MICHEL GURFINKIEL There is no democratic debate with people who actively seek to destroy democracy. The president of Columbia did'nt get the point. On September 23, 2007, the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the special guest of Columbia University as a participant in the Sipa-World Leaders Forum. The name of the game was that Mr Lee C. Bollinger, the president of Columbia, would ask him tough questions, and that he would be allowed to answer at length. Indeed, Mr Bollinger was tough. He raised several burning issues : human rights in Iran, Holocaust denial as condoned and endorsed by the Iranian government, Mr Ahmadinejad's threats to Israel as a nation, Iranian support for terrorism, Iranian proxy war against US and Iraqi troops in Iraq, Iran's illegal nuclear build up. However, I am afraid Mr Bollinger missed two essential points : 1) The moment you talk to Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or any totalitarian leader, and even if you tell him hard and bitter truths, or scorn him, you recognize him as a valid partner in a democratic debate. And you introduce the subliminal possibility, whatever hard facts you are provided with about him, that he might be right up to a point. 2) To be recognized as a partner in a democratic debate is precisely what Ahmadinejad is looking for. This used to be the tactics of Hitler, who, until 1939, was not adverse to being interviewed by racially Jewish foreign journalists (like the French journalist Bertrand de Jouvenel), and of the communist tyrants. Both Hitler and the communists realized that engaging in some kind of debate with the democratic adversary was a very effective way to inhibit him. It was the tactics of Yassir Arafat at the White House in 1993. Arafat knew that the mere fact to stand in front of Rabin and at Clinton's side turned him into a respectable leader, and the Palestinians into the winners of the Israeli-Arab dispute. The actual content of the Oslo Accords or whether Arafat would or would not abide by them was irrelevant. Policies are shaped by ideas and thus by words. Politics, however, is shaped by images rather than by words. Mr Bollinger gave Mr Ahmadinejad an image he was in need of . Maybe Mr Bollinger is a decent man. But I have doubts about his political instinct. RETROUVEZ MICHEL GURFINKIEL SUR http:// www.michelgurfinkiel.com <http://www.michelgurfinkiel.com/> STAY IN TOUCH WITH MICHEL GURFINKIEL AT http:// <http://www.michelgurfinkiel.com/> www.michelgurfinkiel.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
