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Let me start by saying that I do not believe that Columbia University President Bollinger’s bold exchange with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would have happened if there were not a massive outcry from Americans. I stated yesterday that I was “pleasantly surprised”; but I want to make it clear that I believe that this was a “power to the people” moment. Had people not expressed their views so dramatically I think that Columbia University’s exchange with Ahmadinejad would have been much less confrontational.

However, the subject today is what I find amusing and somewhat telling about the Iranian response regarding yesterdays exchange at Columbia. Apparently Iranians think that Americans should be warm to their president because in their culture “they welcome all visitors with open arms”.

Let’s consider this for a moment to see if we can parse the cultural differences between the definition of open arms in America and Iran.

Recall that incident in 1979 when the Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy; after all, those diplomats were guests within Iran, weren’t they? Even as recently as this year Iranian authorities jailed an Iranian-American consultant working for George Soros; no friend of George Bush but a person who does practice free speech. Likewise Iranian authorities arrested the director of the Middle East Program at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. Haleh Esfandiari was held as a spy. And lets not forget the open arms that Iran gave to those British marines who were operating in international waters.

The bottom line is that Ahmadinejad is a cruel, anti-American, anti-Zionist supporter of terrorism who has American blood on his hands. The proof that the open arms screed is nothing more than propaganda can be seen as just that by the most recent demonstration at last weekends’ parade in which the Iranians held banners with welcoming slogans such as “Down with USA”, “Down with Esrail”; complete with images of the United States flag burning.

The following quote is another example of Iranian “goodwill” toward America:

Students burned American flags and effigies of President George W. Bush on Wednesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, while a top Iranian official accused Washington of undermining his country’s goodwill gestures.

To chants of “Death to America,” about 3,000 students gathered outside the former U.S. Embassy to mark the Nov. 4, 1979, storming of the building by militant students who held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. By the Iranian calendar, the anniversary of the siege fell on Wednesday.

By the way, these gatherings occur every year to celebrate the 1979 takeover. I wonder if Americans visiting during these times feel welcome or maybe this would make them uncomfortable? I will assume the latter versus the former.

Americans are not blind to these facts. With media being what it is today we are witness to these occurrences. So when it comes to accepting Ahmadinejad with open arms I think we can safely count that out.

I find that radical Islamic Middle Eastern countries have a double standard with everything. They want people to accept their religion yet the do not accept any other. In fact, they hate all other religions to the point that they call for the deaths of those who they consider infidels or non-believers, and in too many cases succeed. They want others to respect their culture but they do not respect any other cultures, especially American culture. They display this belief by initiating American flag burning parties every chance they get. They also do not respect their own culture as demonstrated by the various infighting that they often encounter; for example, Sunnis against Shiites. They also feel free to insult other religions, but if you insult Islam, watch out, you have a bounty on your head. It is all a gigantic double standard.

When Iranians or in this case, the Iranian president, are met with confrontational questions regarding their society they become insulted. This is yet another double standard in a world where free speech and freedom are alien concepts. Welcome to America, the land where free speech is a God given right. Like it or not this country is here to stay. Stick that in your ghelyoon pipe and smoke it.

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