[UPDATE 9.23.08] While George W. Bush, with his hat in hand, pleads with American taxpayers to support the largest financial bailout in U.S. history, as he hopes to avert the Second Great Depression, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the world before the U.N. General Assembly that the "American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road."

Ahmadinejad blamed a few bullying powers in the world for creating the current global problems.

"As long as the aggressors, because of their financial, political and propaganda powers, not only escape punishment, but even claim righteousness, and as long as wars are started and nations are enslaved in order to win votes in elections, not only will the problems of the global community remain unsolved, but they will be increasingly exacerbated," the Iranian leader said.

Commenting on the Iraq war, Ahmadinejad accused the US of oppressing Iraqis with six years of occupation, saying that the Bush administration was "still seeking to solidify their position in the political geography of the region and to dominate oil resources."

He furthered his call for help in the Middle East, as Palestinians have undergone "60 years of carnage and invasion ... at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists." Adding that the Zionists "have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to other people's land, by displacing, detaining and killing the true owners of that land."

Ahmadinejad reiterated his call for "a free referendum in Palestine for determining and establishing the type of state in the entire Palestinian lands." US media still attempts to confuse Americans by claiming Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map.

The Iranian president insists, however, that he and his country wish no harm to Jews. "We have no problems with Jewish people. There are many Jews who live in Iran today ... but please pay attention to the fact that the Zionists are not Jews. They have no religion ... they just have -- wear masks of religiosity. How can you possibly be religious and occupy the land of other people?" Source: CNN Online

[UPDATE 4.5.08] Although the Bush administration and Pentagon officials continue to falsely blame Iran for US failures in Iraq, the truth is that Iran has an interest in a peaceful neighbor. The AP reported on April 5th:

Officials in Iran confirmed for the first time Saturday that the country played an important role in brokering a recent truce between the Iraqi government and anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Iran's Shiite government helped end the clashes between Iraqi government troops and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia for the sake of Shiite unity, said a senior Iranian official who deals with Iraq.

"It is in Iran's best interests to see unity among Shiite factions," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"Iran played a mediating role and helped ease things a lot," said the Iraqi official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. "Given its influence over al-Sadr, Iran convinced the Sadrists to stop fighting," he said. US officials in Baghdad have acknowledged an Iranian role in the talks as well. Source: AP Google

[UPDATE 4.2.08] InfoImagination has repeatedly called attention to the hypocritical US policy relative to Iran. We do not argue that Iran is a perfect nation. They make mistakes and could do more to further human rights and international harmony, but so could the United States. We all have a lot of work to do.

According to John McGlynn, an independent Tokyo-based economic and financial analyst, the United States of America officially declared war on Iran on March 20, 2008 -- a date the author claims will be "another day of infamy." Source: Asia Times Online

While the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a unit within the US Treasury Department, attemps to bring Iran to their knees by disrupting the country's banking system, we learn more about our "friends" in the Middle East:

Saudi Arabia remains the world's leading source of money for Al Qaeda and other extremist networks.

Stuart A. Levey, a Treasury undersecretary, told a Senate committee that the Saudi government had not taken important steps to go after those who finance terrorist organizations or to prevent wealthy donors from bankrolling extremism through charitable contributions, sometimes unwittingly.

"Saudi Arabia today remains the location where more money is going to terrorism, to Sunni terror groups and to the Taliban than any other place in the world," Levey said under questioning. Source: LA Times

Saudi Arabia, a kingdom we protect and nurture -- a kingdom! Women can't drive a car. Democracy is not permitted. George W. Bush walks hand in hand with Saudi princes. Bill Clinton puffs cigars with Saudi dignitaries. Every day Americans rely on our "friends" to fuel their gas guzzling SUVs.

Another close friend in the region is Pakistan -- the hiding place of Usama Bin Laden and the Taliban. Your government, under George W. Bush, has ignored these threats. The man who engineered the 9/11 attacks, killing 3,000 Americans and devastating New York City, continues to direct al Qaida efforts while we look the other way -- towards Iran!

Why are Americans both stupid and hypocritical?

[UPDATE 3.10.08] The US government, particularly the Bush administration, continually lies to the American people about Iran. Yet these are lies that are easily exposed. Why are Americans unwilling to do their homework or demand responsible leadership from our elected politicians?

Bush repeatedly calls the current Iranian leader, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an evil dictator. Because of this deceptive label, the Bush administration is dedicated to "regime change" and allocates $75 million/year of your taxpayer money to a "democracy-promotion plan" in Iran.

Yet the reality about Iran, the truth, is that even within the limits imposed on the Iranian system by clerical authorities, the "Islamic Republic's political system is among the most democratic in the Muslim Middle East."

By comparison, a key U.S. ally such as Saudi Arabia has no elected national legislature to speak of, while in Egypt — another long-standing American partner — the people have no meaningful voice in the People's Assembly. Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq have parliaments of great promise, but all are gravely undermined or even totally paralyzed by factionalism and violence.

By contrast, in Iran later this week some 20 million voters will select a new 290-seat parliament, called the Majlis ash-Shoura Eslami, whose makeup may well alter the course of Iranian foreign and domestic policies — and determine the political future of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

George W. Bush and the "neocons" have consistently lied to the world about Iran. Iran is not interested in pursuing nuclear weapons, as President Ahmadinejad has repeatedly stated. Iran is not interested in "wiping Israel off the map" as the traditional American media falsely reports.

Yet the World's Most Dangerous Man, George W. Bush, continues to lie to America. He has imposed economic sanctions against Iran's 70 million people -- they go hungry because of lies we spread. Bush has demanded that the US Congress pass legislation designed to overthrow the Iranian government.

Now, a declassified National Intelligence Estimate concludes with "high confidence" that the Islamic republic halted efforts to develop nuclear weapons in 2003 :: Download NIE Report.

We ask you to "stand in the shoes" of a typical Iranian -- people who want friendship and good relations with the US. If China imposed economic sanctions on us, would we not want war? If they froze our financial assets, blocked food imports into the country, would you not be angry? If they officially worked to overthrow our government ... well, as long as Bush occupies the Whitehouse, that may be an idea worth considering!

On Tuesday, December 4th, Bush furthered these lies:

"Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

InfoImagination wants to be clear: Iran is not a danger to America, to Americans or to the world. Bush and the neocons are pushing the Iranian people away from us. Their policies teach the good and decent people of Iran to hate us.

Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham had this to say about our policies toward Iran:

"US officials have so far inflicted ... damage on the Iranian nation by spreading lies against the country and by disturbing public opinion, therefore, they have to pay the price for their action."

On the day that Secretary of State Rice announced the new Bush administration sanctions against the Iranians, Putin commented pointedly:

"Why worsen the situation by threatening sanctions and bring it to a dead end? It's not the best way to resolve the situation by running around like a madman with a razor blade in his hand."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wave as they stand for a group photo during the Caspian Sea leaders summit in Tehran, Iran. Putin drew a line against any attack on Iran and reaffirmed Tehran's right to continue their civilian nuclear enrichment program.

"Russia is the only country that has assisted Iran in implementing its peaceful nuclear program," Putin said. "We believe all countries have the right to a peaceful nuclear energy program."

One would think that after the disaster Iraq has become that Americans would be more skeptical when the Bush/Cheney administration makes claims about other nations and their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, ignorance and fear appears to reign in this nation. Maybe it's time to listen to other world leaders!

Russian President Vladimir Putin reported to the world on Wednesday that he has not seen any real evidence that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. The Russian president said:

"We do not have data that says Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. We do not have such objective data. Therefore we proceed from a position that Iran has no such plans but we share the concern of our partners that all programs should be as transparent as possible."

American pundits from both the right and left insulted and belittled Iran's president and may have scored points with their American audiences. Yet Ahmadinejad scored "major points among the target audience that really matters: worldwide Muslim public opinion ... Ahmadinejad has been carefully positioning himself as a Muslim folk hero capable of standing up to Western arrogance and defending the rights of the weak (the Palestinians)."

The Persian empire is an experienced nation. While the Columbian University president may find it amusing to question his intelligence and various publications may increase American readership by calling him a "madman," Iran's president is an astute politician. When asked by a CBS reporter:

But the American people, sir, believe that your country is a terrorist nation, exporting terrorism in the world. You must have known that visiting the World Trade Center site would infuriate many Americans.

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad: Well, I'm amazed. How can you speak for the whole of the American nation? You are representing the media and you're a reporter. The American nation is made up of 300 million people. There are different points of view over there.

Ahmadinejad even had the luxury of joking about fabled Western "freedom of information" -- as so many are still "trying to prevent people from talking." Other key remarks that won hearts and minds around the world:

"We oppose the way the US government tries to rule the world;" there are "more humane methods of establishing peace." He assured that no Iranian weapons are flowing into Iraq, adding that "regional countries in the Middle East don't need outside interference."

On Israel, Ahmadinejad said, "We do not recognize a regime based on discrimination, occupation and expansionism," and he said the country "last week attacked Syria and last year attacked Lebanon;" pretty much what most of the Middle East agrees with.

On the Holocaust, Ahmadinejad remarked, why should the Palestinians pay the price for something that happened in Europe? He said he wanted a "clear" answer. No one deigned to provide it.

Regarding the Iranian hostage crisis in the early days of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, he said one would need to "go back to US intervention in Iran since 1953" (when the CIA helped to overthrow Iran's democratically elected president). American hosts changed the subject after that.

Our pundits and leaders charge that Ahmadinejad wants to "wipe Israel of the map." No one had the intellectual decency to point out that what he really said, in Farsi, in a speech on October 2005 to an annual anti-Zionist conference in Iran, was that "the regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time." He was quoting the late ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini -- hoping that an unfair regime (toward Palestine) would be replaced by another one more equitable; he was not threatening to nuke Israel. Warmongers anyway don't bother to check the facts.

Each of us are aware how American politicians "spin" facts about "progress in Iraq," our economy, health care, public schools, etc. Yet we are too afraid to listen to the truth about our imperialist and violent nature -- as the world views our actions.

Lee Bollinger, Columbia University president, introduced Iran's president to the college audience saying, "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator" (apparently Bollinger, this uneducated American college president, doesn't realize the Iranian President faces reelection in 2009). How many civil rights has George W. Bush stolen from us? Bush has engaged in secret wiretapping of Americans, fascilitated secret prisons and torture, ended habius corpus, and allowed CIA rendition of suspects to foreign prison for the purpose of torture. These are examples of petty and cruel dictators.

In light of this, would we tolerate a university president speaking this way to our national leader? When MoveOn.org criticized General Petraeus (Betray-Us), Bush called their play on words disgusting.

Bollinger criticized Iran's "widely documented government abuse of women and homosexuals in his country." Yet we treat homosexuals as second class citizens in our country and buy about 20 percent of our oil from Saudi Arabia, which denies women the basic right to drive a car. The current driving ban applies to all women in Saudi Arabia, whatever their nationality. Do we, as Americans, boycott Saudi oil due to our concern for women's rights?

Bollinger chided Ahmadinejad for his position on Israel. Ahmadinejad only asks that the status of Israel be determined by a free election. "Let the people of Palestine freely choose what they want for their future," he said.

The US media and our leaders continually distort Ahmadinejad's words. He said history would wipe Israel off the map if fair elections were held in Palestine. Yet Americans imply that Ahmadinejad [Iran] would use violence to "wipe Israel off the map."

As Americans, we lie, distort and inflame tense situations through our hypocritical actions! See the examples below:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in an interview with Maine television station WMTW: "He's [Ahmadinejad] denied the Holocaust; he's threatened the future survival of Israel. I believe he's even threatened at various times American interests and he keeps threatening to develop nuclear capacity."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ran a radio ad Monday that called on the United Nations Secretary General to revoke his decision to allow the Iranian leader to speak before the body later this week. "We should be tightening our sanctions against Iran, not welcoming him to the world stage and I've called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to withdraw that invitation," Romney said. "What we should be doing is indicting Ahmadinejad under the Genocide Convention."

In Lally Weymouth's interview posted below, as well as in the 60 Minutes comments, Ahmadinejad fully answers these questions. Why do our politicians lie and distort? Because they want to make you hate and deflect your understanding how US leaders are harming you!

[UPDATE: 9.24.07] 60 Minutes: Are you developing a nuclear bomb?
Ahmadinejad: "No. If it was useful, it would have prevented the downfall of the Soviet Union. If it was useful, it would [have] resolved the problem the Americans have in Iraq. The time of the bomb is passed." The International Atomic Energy Agency reported last week it has verified that Iran's declared nuclear material has not been diverted from peaceful uses.

60 Minutes: Are you sending arms to insurgents in Iraq?
"We don't need to do that. We are very much opposed to war and insecurity [in] Iraq ... American officials, wherever around the world that they encounter a problem which they fail to resolve, instead of accepting that, they prefer to accuse others. I'm very sorry that, because of the wrong decisions taken by American officials, Iraqi people are being killed and also American soldiers."

Henry Kissinger, former national security adviser and secretary of state under President Nixon, said Sunday on CNN that Columbia's invitation to the Iranian president to speak was not "appropriate." Wow! He wants to block conversations that might prevent war. This is how people like Kissinger interpret our nation's First Amendment ... only cowards are afraid to hold peaceful talks.

[UPDATE: 9.24.07] Iran closed its five entry points with Iraq's Kurdish region in protest against the U.S. military's recent incarceration of an Iranian.

American troops arrested the man Thursday in Sulaimaniya, said the US military, which called him a member of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force. The US accuses the Quds Force of training and equipping insurgents in Iraq.

The US claims the detainee -- one of several Iranians in US custody in Iraq -- "has been involved in transporting improvised explosive devices and explosively formed penetrators into Iraq. Intelligence reports also indicate he was involved in the infiltration and training of foreign terrorists in Iraq."

But Iraqi President Jalal Talabani -- who blasted the United States for the arrest -- said the Iranian official is a civil servant who was on an official trade mission in the Kurdistan region.

Who do you believe? US Generals and George W. Bush who are getting their asses kicked in Iraq or the Iraqi President himself?

[UPDATE: 9.20.07] The story below should outrage you ... a foreign leader comes to the United Nations and wants to "pay respects" to the dead at Ground Zero -- your brothers and sisters. Yet our cowardly leaders deny his official request.

Let's be honest: on September 12, 2001, hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens marched through cities in Iran to condemn the al Qaeda terror attacks against you and me. Our media didn't cover this. Instead, they showed pictures of a few radical Arabs jumping for joy.

Our media and leaders want war. War -- blood and spilled guts, bits and pieces of brains, dead bodies of children and innocent men and women -- increases TV news viewership; it sells more newspapers; it provides major corporations with huge military contracts. War means profit to those in Washington and Corporate America.

As a nation, we could plant the seeds that lead to peace, but we allow our leaders to continue down this path of darkness. Rather than working together, they encourage you to fear, to live in an "Us v. Them" world, and to hate!

Iranians don't hate you; you don't hate Iranians. A brief history: in 1952-53, our CIA helped overthrow their democratically elected president. The reasons -- oil. Iran currently wants nuclear power. The reason -- they are running out of oil (just like we are). Bush and the neo-cons accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. We all agree this can't happen. Yet Israel has nuclear weapons -- they built these illegally. Remove Israel's nukes and end their WMD program and Iran will have no need for such weapons. Fair and balance policy will lead to peace. Hypocrisy leads to war. It's up to you!

NEW YORK (CNN) -- City officials in New York have denied Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's request to visit the site of the destroyed World Trade Center next week, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

The controversial, outspoken president wanted to "pay his respects" and lay a wreath at the site of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks during his visit to the U.N. General Assembly, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, citing Iranian officials.

Iran is ruled by a Shiite Muslim government hostile to the fundamentalist Sunni al Qaeda. Ahmadinejad's predecessor at the time of the September 11 attacks, Mohammed Khatami, condemned them, and Tehran cooperated with the U.S.-led campaign to topple al Qaeda's Taliban allies in Afghanistan that followed.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, "It is appalling that President Ahmadinejad, one of the world's leading sponsors of terror, would find it appropriate to visit this hallowed ground."

Hillary Clinton, the New York senator and Democratic front-runner, called the request "unacceptable." Mitt Romney, a leading Republican, called it "shockingly audacious." Rudy Giuliani said that "under no circumstances" should Ahmadinejad be allowed to visit the World Trade Center site." SOURCE: CNN.com

The NY Daily News ran an cowardly front cover (9.21.07) shown at right. What is wrong with Americans? The Iranian president wanted to lay a wreath at Ground Zero to show respect. He opposes terrorism. Iran teamed up with the US to fight radical Muslim extremists in Afghanistan after 9/11.

Where are America's Christians? Love your brother as well as those you consider your enemy, Jesus said. Why are we such ignorant, selfish and cowardly hypocrits? How disgusting!

[UPDATE: 9.17.07] Invoking the war in Iraq, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, criticized talk of attacking Iran as "hype," saying the use of force should only be considered as a last resort and only if authorized by the U.N. Security Council. "I would not talk about any use of force."

ElBaradei urged the world to remember Iraq before considering any similar action against Iran. "There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons."

He was alluding to a key U.S. argument for invading Iraq in 2003 -- without Security Council approval -- that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms. No such arsenals have been found.

Americans lie to themselves about the Iraq war. Bush failed to convince the UN Security Council of his urgent need to rush to war. They did not give him legal authority to proceed. Now hundreds of Iraqis are dead and Iraq is in shambles due to his decision. Bush broke international law and nearly an estimaged million+ people are dead. Yet we do not hold Bush accountable!

Let's put this in perseptive: your neighbor accuses you of stealing his garden hose and kills your wife and children as a result. Later, he finds his hose in the back of his garage. Not only did he falsely accuse you, but he murdered your family. You would rightly demand justice. Bush falsely accused Saddam Hussein and his war has killed countless innocent Iraqi men, woman and children. George W. Bush is a war criminal and he deserves to go to prison. If you do not agree, then you are an accompliss to his murderous behavior.

This past week, political figures in the United States of America debated the issue of torture. While millions of Liberals and traditional Conservatives expressed their outrage, George W. Bush and top Republican leaders pushed forward to authorize brutal and inhumane treatment of alleged enemies of the United States. America is a great nation, and we do not engage in torture; we do not maintain secret prisons; and, we do not deny any individual reasonable due process of law! Only cowards live this way...

The mainstream media and neo-con politicos appear to enjoy furthering distortions of truth about Iran. We constantly see a newspaper report or hear politicians and pundits allege that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be wiped off the face of the map. This is a lie. Just as allegations that Saddam Hussein had WMDs or had assisted the 9/11 attackers were false, you are being mislead about Iran.

The phrase, "wiped off the face," does not exist in Persian. What Ahmadinejad actually said was, "This occupation regime over Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time." You can cite the renown historian Juan Cole who translated Ahmadinejad's original comments (see Informed Comment 5.4.06).

People have told you what to believe and think about Iran. We have posted an interview with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad so you can hear his words directly. Become informed! Do not fall into the coward's trap. Do your part to ensure America once again becomes the "Home of the Brave..."