ROMNEY DENOUNCES KHATAMI VISIT TO HARVARD: Declines to provide escort, or offer state support for trip
http://www.mass.gov/?page…905_khatami.xml
Strong statement from Romney!
The Press Release is here.
“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.”
“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.”
After a long list of Khatami’s abuses and support of terrorists Romney concluded:
“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,”
Jeff
Addendum:
Bravo to Gov. Romney. It takes a certain moral clarity (if not certainty) to be President of the United States. At times bold statements like this are necessary to remind everyone that all things are NOT equal. Believe it or not, this is depressingly easy for people to forget.
I’ve read a few pieces over the last few days about this guy on our soil lecturing us on how we’re creating terrorists. Despite his label as a moderate, this is a man who has been out of power in Iran for less than a year. As dispicable as Ahmadinejad is, he was not the one who armed Hezbollah with those 4,000 rockets they used against Israel in the recent war. Indeed, the only difference I can see between the policies of Ahmadinejad and Khatami is that Ahmadinejad has been kind enough to shout his intentions from the mountaintop.
This reminds me of the time Rudy Giuliani kicked Arafat out of the Lincoln Center (too socially liberal to be president, but man was that sweet). Look for history to repeat itself and for many to recoil in horror of Gov. Romney not showing Khatami the respect he never earned.
Correctly placed at the top of the list of griviences is this:
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.
With all due respect to President Bush’s speech today, a nuclear Iran, not Bin Laden, is the greatest threat we’re facing today (and it disturbs me how non-serious the whole situation is being taken). Khatami deserves a great deal of the blame for this massively destabilizing program.
~~~Thomas
Addendum #2:
Great comments Thomas!
Also, anyone mad that the Bush Administration granted Khatami a travel visa to be at events in Boston, D.C., and NYC?
Updated coverage from The Harvard Crimson and Reuters.
The Powerline Blog seems to like Gov. Romney’s position.
Other impressed bloggers inclued “The Political Pit Bull“, ““Whizbang”“, “Tongues of Angels,” “Seeker Blog“, “Right Truth“, “New England Republican“, “Archontan“, “Floyd Stuart“, “The Podium“, “Glib & Superficial“, “Degree of Madness“, “China Confidential“, “Carol Platt Liebau“, “Conservative Blogger“, “FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog“, “Strange Women Lying In Ponds“, “Brother Scoob’s Blog“, “Transterrestrial Musings“, “Bluecrab Boulevard“, “سرباز كوچك“, “American Traditionalist“, “And Rightly So!“, etc . . .
Truly, the blogosphere is truly “a buzz” about this one. In following Romney in the Blogs I’ve never seen this strong of support from so many people. Romney took the right stance here and people are taking notice.
Heavy hitters Hugh Hewitt and National Review Online were quite impressed.
Even the hard-core conservatives at Free Republic (who usually like to bash on Romney) responded pretty well when I posted this there earlier today (40+ comments).
Also, 83 comments over at “Little Green Footballs”
So, anyone else think foreign policy will be one of Romney’s weak points?
Jeff
September 5th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Thattta boy MITT!!!
Chris
September 5th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Great stuff Thomas! Thanks for augmenting the analysis.
September 5th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
Just saw Brit Hume on Fox News do a 1 minute snippett on Romney’s stance. Good for Romney and Good for Fox!
September 5th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Mike (myclob),
YOu couldn’t surprise me with the moral and religious perversions of radical Islamist/Jihadists. Evil is evil and Iran is at the top of the list on the “Axis of Evil”.
I just can’t believe that Bush and Co. let him get a Visa . . . I mean, this guy was the head of Iran when Bush called them part of the Axis of Evil. Who was asleep on this one? Bush, Condi Rice, someone else, or all of them? At least Romney and Santorum got this one right.
September 6th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Another great move made by Mitt Romney!
September 6th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
I am curious what message Romney is trying to send here. There are many fallacies in his comments about Khatami, biggest of which is that he does not support the destruction of Israel. But just what message is Romney trying to send to normal Iranians? That he is trying to create a dialog with moderate Iranians? Cetainly not. What does Romney intend to do as president? Does he intend to launch a war against Iran? With what support and how will he pay for it?
This one thing right here has made me, a moderate, and one who is extremely troubled by the Bush Administration’s actions, rhetoric, use of reductio ad Hitlerum, straw men, think Romney will be no better, and that Mrs. Clinton will probably be the best candidate for America. That is not saying much about America, but seriously, if Republicans put up this kind of crap as their representative……seriously sad.
September 6th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
Dan,
Do you too believe that “Hezbollah is a shining sun that illuminates and warms the hearts of all Muslims and supporters of freedom in the world.”?
Let’s call things as they are. Khatami is a terrorist. If you’re fine with the US rolling out the red carpet for visiting terrorist dignitaries, just say so.
September 6th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
Murphy,
All I have to say is this: Nixon went to China and Reagan met with Gorbachev. What were the results? Peace.
Bush starts wars with Iraq. What are the results? Endless death.
Which do you choose? I personally choose to live in peace with my brothers and sisters in this world. It is possible, but you have to look for it. It is much easier to make war, but a whole heck of a lot harder to make peace. However, the result will be infinitely better if you attempt for peace, rather than look forward to wars.
You choose what you like, but if Romney will be this disrespectful to someone like Khatami, then he has lost this moderate’s vote. Furthermore, I will ensure that in the state of Pennsylvania, all my friends and associates do not vote for him.
September 6th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
Were the Chinese or Soviets agitating for the total destruction of another country? The Iranian mission to wipe out Israel is not the same as mutually assured destruction as a defence.
I choose to live in peace with people whenever possible. I also choose not to kiss the butt of someone who supports murder of dissidents, terrorism of the US and its allies, and (last but not least) the screwing of chickens later to be sold to someone atleast 2 houses down from you.
If Pennsylvania is soft on the above issues, the GOP can certainly win without the chicken screwing vote.
September 6th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Um, yes, Russia and China got their nukes for the purpose of destroying the United States, or are Republicans revising even this part of history?
So are you also saying that Reagan was kissing Gorbachev’s butt when he met with him? After all, by being the leader of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev supported the murder of dissidents, terrorism of the US and its allies….and as to the last of your comments, well no comment needed.
If you want peace with Iran, then supporting people like Khatami is your best option. Dissing him only pushes him towards the extremists in his country who keep crowing that America is nothing but the Great Satan. The more that people like Khatami see this with their own eyes when visiting America, seeing how Iranians are being treated by Americans, then the more they will believe the extremists in their country. Is this really what you, and Romney want? You want to turn Iran into a country full of extremists? Well then continue the sabre rattling.
But if you truly want peace, then it must be seen by your actions. As a Mormon and as a Christian, I believe strongly in the principle that you shall know them by their fruits. If Republicans have as their tree peace, then their fruit will show it. To this point, their fruit is war, not peace. They warred with Iraq, and it is now in shambles, and ironically, run by Iran. They want war with Iran, irrespective of the damages such a war will bring, irrespective of who exactly will pay for this war (certainly not the generation that executes the war!), and irrespective of just how more dangerous yet another war makes the world around us. Their fruit shows that they don’t really care, as long as they can turn to their gods of steel and iron for their protection.
You cannot be for peace and advocate war. It is a contradiction in terms, and impossible.
September 6th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Furthermore, Ms. Curling states,
How does his refusal to support a moderate Iranian visiting the United States to try and create dialog prove Romney is a “force of moderation in an increasingly polarizing political landscape?” Does it not, in fact, prove that Romney is no different, and in fact, more extreme than Bush, who actually lended Khatami support? Or is Romney working the Republican crowd first, as that’s what he needs to win the Republican nomination, and only after that will he moderate his actions? If that is the case, can Romney be trusted to stand by his principles, or will he be just another politician who plays with national security for political points?
September 6th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Dan,
You no doubt have the best intentions, but I believe the root question in all of this is something like this:
“Is Romney right to deny state funds for a security escort to a man who supports violent jihad and terrorism?”
I certainly wouldn’t want my money being spend to give VIP services to a man lending rhetorical (and possibly substantial) aid to people trying to kill me.
September 6th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Murphy,
I had some polemic rebuttals proving this point and that point, showing the duplicity of Bush, etc., but realized it didn’t matter. Republicans have found their enemy-of-the-hour and will stick by it until they’ve had their war. It’s unfortunate really, but there it is.
If Romney sticks by this decision, he shall not have my vote, which is too bad for him. Perhaps I will write in Mickey Mouse to run my country; he’d at least not have any reason to pander to any political group for their vote.
September 7th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
the Khatami i remember was a voice of moderation in Iran. he exchanged warm greetings with Israel’s representative at the Pope’s funeral and said in Japan only last month that the Americans should remain in Iraq until the situation is stabilized. and if the United States isn’t willing to encourage Iran’s reformists, who are we willing to support?
…with that said, i still think that Mitt Romney is much smarter than, say, George Allen. if it comes down to those two come primary season, it’s Romney all the way!
September 7th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Payam,
Thanks for cursing a blue streak across this family-friendly blog, as well as questioning my educational background and basic intelligence. Maybe you should crawl back under your rock at the KOS, or any other factually weak explitive rich liberal blog.
What would you call it when a man praises Hezbollah? Do you grasp that Hezbollah is a terrorist group? Now class, what do we call people who praise terrorists?
Sure, Khatami is better than Ahmadinejad. Gonorrhea is also better than AIDS, but that doesn’t mean I want either one creaping into my backyard to do you know what to my chickens (I am a hick, right payam?).
September 8th, 2006 at 12:28 am
Payam,
You must forgive my Republican compatriots here in America. Once the Cold War ended, they searched and searched for an enemy to fill the void the Soviet Union left when it fell. They attempted to fill that with China (they currently have China on the backburner as the go-to bad guy), but now that we were attacked by Islamists, they’ve found their perfect enemy, and now go to their gods of steel and iron and pray to them, worship them to not just protect America, but to crush their enemies.
I am really curious if Republicans can actually live in peace with peoples of other points of view about life. Their actions belie their words.
September 8th, 2006 at 1:32 am
Hey Dan,
Some key words there you mentioned…”now that we were attacked by Islamists”.
Now while it’s all high and noble of you to want to turn the other cheek, it’s time for a little reality check. There is a movement of radical extremists who want to unite all islamic countries under brutal theocracy, reconquer their old territories, and then move on to the rest of the world. That’s a fact, like it or not.
I’m very happy to see America work with real moderate muslims and move the middle east towards modernity. That’s our best hope towards real progress. I’m not happy to see the political left bury their heads in the sand for their own political expediency and accept every terrorist who says nice things in the name of “tolerance”. They are happy to sacrifice the safety of their fellow Americans for the sake of political correctness.
While you may not find it a problem that we were “attacked by Islamists”, I do. And you turning the other cheek won’t make my family feel any better if I’m in a plane that goes down over the Atlantic.
Leading the land of the free and the brave is a job we give to the grownups, not little Chamberlain boys who sell their freedoms down the pike for false comfort.
September 8th, 2006 at 5:33 am
Murray,
Straw man.
reductio ad Hitlerum.
Now, do you want to debate without the use of logical fallacies?
September 8th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Dan,
I doubt the facts will sway you one inch in your support of terrorists like Khatami, but here we go anyway.
Hezbollah receives financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training, from Iran. The US estimates that Iran was giving Hezbollah about $60-$100 million per year in financial assistance. Hezbollah has also received Iranian-supplied weaponry, including 11,500 missiles already in place in southern Lebanon. Three thousand Hezbollah militants have undergone training in Iran, which included guerilla warfare, firing missiles and rocket artillery, operating unmanned drones, marine warfare and conventional war operations. Hezbollah, in turn, provides military training as well as financial and moral support for Hamas. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have the singular goal of the destruction of Israel.
In Beirut, Lebanon, more than 200 people were killed in a Hezbollah suicide truck bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks. Hezbollah participating in the bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans and wounded more than 300.
Khatami, former PRESIDENT of Iran, believes that “Hezbollah is a shining sun that illuminates and warms the hearts of all Muslims and supporters of freedom in the world.” While Khatami isn’t so loony as to claim that the Holocaust didn’t happen, he DOES wrap his arms around a terrorist group that advocates the destruction of Israel and has a history of bombing US and US-ally targets. Khatami oversaw Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program for 8 years and has a history of lying to the international community. Now, why do you think a man who supports the destruction of Israel would want nukes?
You, Payam, and the rest of the Chamberlain party seem to think that because Khatami isn’t as bad as Ahmadinejad, we should roll out the red carpet for his visit and use MA tax dollars to bankroll his VIP escort. Romney has the moral clarity to recognize the fact that although Khatami could be worse, that in itself does not make him a dignitary.
There will be many who call evil good, and good evil. Romney knows how to recognize and choose the right.
September 9th, 2006 at 5:46 am
more logical fallacies. Dude, Murphy, do you even realize you base your replies to me on false premises? Do you want me to show you what logical fallacies are?
Logical Fallacies
Please read that before attempting to debate me, unless of course, the best that Romney supporters can do is base their arguments on a false premise…..
not much different than Bush, who bases his whole foreign policy on reductio ad Hitlerum.
September 9th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
So Khatami supports terrorism? look at what he said about the 9/11 attackers. I know this won’t change your view of him in any way, because you cannot see anything but your own point of view.
This lack of “knowing the enemy” that Republicans portray will surely lead America to fatal decisions that will undermine the country in worse way than any terrorist attack could ever do.
September 9th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
Dan,
Khatami’s rhetoric is against 9/11. That’s good.
Khatami has for atleast a decade supported Hezbollah, a terrorist group with a history of bombing US targets and whose mission is to destroy Israel. That’s very bad.
That means Khatami is bad. Not as bad as he could be, but bad.
You can’t dodge the facts, Dan. Do you think the democrats will carry a successful message for 2008 by telling the entire country to go look up “logical fallacy” on wikipedia?
September 9th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
Murphy,
Conversely, do you think you can support a message based on false logic for so long? I think most Americans are seeing past the bamboozling act, which is why most polls show Americans want someone else in power now.
Finally, was Gorbachev bad?
September 19th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
[...] statement is a strong one which is in perfect harmony with his refusal to provide escort for Khatami to visit Harvard back in Sept. 2006. (Has it been that long?) Romney has the right attitude when if comes to dealing [...]