OpEdNews » McCain/Palin Continue to Spread Misinformation on Ahmadinejad

Presidential candidate Senator John McCain and his running mate Governor Sarah Palin were watched by millions in the presidential debate held Sept. 26 and the vice presidential debate, Oct. 2, respectively. Both, during their responses on foreign policy matters, mentioned an oft-repeated and assumed-to-be-true allegation against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who, like Saddam Hussein, has been portrayed in American media as an evil, hate-filled demagogue.

McCain in his debate with rival Sen. Barack Obama, and Palin in her match up with Obama's VP pick, Joe Biden, both referenced Ahmadinejad's alleged statement that Israel should be "wiped off the map." Making such a statement, according to Palin, was a sign of the Iranian leader's insanity and instability which, she inferred, called into question Obama's willingness to meet with such leaders without "pre-conditions."

McCain made similar arguments while debating the Illinois senator, going so far as to say Ahmadinejad had advocated the "extermination of the state of Israel" and declaring that Obama would "legitimize" Ahmadinejad and his comments by meeting with him.

Well, it is apparently not of any importance in the West, but Ahmadinejad never made the statement attributed to him and which so many, with blind faith in the mainstream media, have accepted as gospel truth. What he actually said was spoken in 2005 when he addressed "The World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran. That event honored Al Quds Day which was, decades ago, established by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini to promote the freeing of Israel from Zionist control.

When Ahmadinejad spoke, he referenced a Khomeini statement made to express the Ayatollah's desire to see Israel's capital city set free from Zionist rule much in the same way many, during the World War II era, wanted to see Germany free of the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler. Sadly, Ahmadinejad's comments have not been portrayed in this context nor have mainstream outlets clearly shown that he was quoting someone else's words and not speaking an original statement.

In "The Wipe Israel Off the Map Hoax," a 2007 article written by Paul Joseph Watson, he outlined how several analysts reviewed Ahmadinejad's controversial statement and discovered it had not been transcribed properly in the first place, and in no instance was it found that the word "map" was even used.

"The closest translation to what the Iranian President actually said is, "The regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time," or a narrow relative thereof," Watson explained. "The acceptance of the word "map" seemingly originated with the New York Times, who later had to back away from this false translation. The BBC also wrongly used the word and later accepted their mistake but refused to issue a retraction."

Unfortunately, this accurate portrayal of Ahmadinejad's words has never received the same media attention as the "wipe Israel off the map" phrase which has been, and continues to be, used by prominent American leaders, such as McCain/Palin, who are unaware they are contributing to the spread of falsehood and frankly, propaganda, designed to manipulate the thinking and emotional reactions of unsuspecting, sheep-like individuals who do not bother to verify the authenticity or accuracy of inflammatory statements carelessly tossed about and spread in the mainstream media.

Not to excuse Obama/Biden from criticism, neither one voiced any disagreement with McCain's or Palin's characterization of Ahmadinejad's words but instead Obama described Ahmadinejad's alleged statements as the spewing of "nonsense and vile comments." Biden made the case that Obama never said he would sit down, without preconditions, with the Iranian leader who, he added, was not the one in charge of that country's "security apparatus" anyway.

Most likely, the Democratic duo believes the propaganda they've heard repeated over and over again and believe the phrase "wiped off the map" really was said, and thus they, along with McCain/Palin, are just as gullible and puppeted as the vast majority of people in the country they are seeking to lead.

Where are the politicians who will recognize and stand up for truth? Isn't that the real "change" that should be coming and that we all should be able to believe in? Until we have elected officials who are unafraid to tell the truth regardless of circumstance, we can expect "politics as usual" in Washington, D.C. no matter who wins this presidential election or any thereafter.

http://bhonline.org

Adeeba Folami is a freelance journalist residing in Denver, Colorado.

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6 comments

Born in Philadelphia, I spent most of my adolescent and adult years in Europe. I began my journalistic career at the French News Agency in Rome, then worked as on-set press officer for the shooting of the Fellini film '8 1/2' in order to write a book about it. Spent two years in Cuba with the money from the book to find out whether Fidel and companions were Communists before they made the revolution. Also wrote the only book that foresaw the fall of the Berlin Wall AND the dissolution of the ...

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Deena StrykerBorn in Philadelphia, I spent most of my adolescent and adult years in Europe. I began my journalistic career at the French News Agency in Rome, then worked as on-set press officer for the shooting of the Fellini film '8 1/2' in order to write a book about it. Spent two years in Cuba with the money from the book to find out whether Fidel and companions were Communists before they made the revolution. Also wrote the only book that foresaw the fall of the Berlin Wall AND the dissolution of the ...

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"The map"

Adeeba,

Thank you for this detailed rebuttal. I hope it will be read widely.

Deena Stryker

by Deena Stryker (16 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 32 comments) on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 12:58:14 PM

Adeeba Folami is a freelance journalist residing in Denver, Colorado.
adeeba folamiAdeeba Folami is a freelance journalist residing in Denver, Colorado.

Thanks

thanks for reading and replying, deena.

by adeeba folami (7 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments) on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 3:06:49 PM

Theresa "Darklady" Reed is Editor at YNOT.com, Director of Market Stimulation for RadioDentata.com, a member of the Free Speech Coalition board of directors, adult industry liaison for the Woodhull Freedom Foundation and has nearly two decades of experience covering adult entertainment, internet technology, and alternative sexuality beats online, in print, and via traditional and web radio. Learn more at www.Darklady.com.
Theresa "Darklady" ReedTheresa "Darklady" Reed is Editor at YNOT.com, Director of Market Stimulation for RadioDentata.com, a member of the Free Speech Coalition board of directors, adult industry liaison for the Woodhull Freedom Foundation and has nearly two decades of experience covering adult entertainment, internet technology, and alternative sexuality beats online, in print, and via traditional and web radio. Learn more at www.Darklady.com.

Why No Rebuttal?

Given the mistranslation that you highlight, why has Ahmadinejad made no attempt to clarify his true meaning?

Personally, I think there's plenty to loathe about Iran's political politicies without beating the drum about Israel, but it's good to have a better idea about what is and isn't actually being said. Thanks.

by Theresa "Darklady" Reed (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 24 comments) on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:44:10 PM

Adeeba Folami is a freelance journalist residing in Denver, Colorado.
adeeba folamiAdeeba Folami is a freelance journalist residing in Denver, Colorado.

Good question

Given the mistranslation that you highlight, why has Ahmadinejad made no attempt to clarify his true meaning?

i do not know. it could be that he has never been asked for his version of the story (by US reporters), seeing as how he's been portrayed in american media as such a bogeyman and a person that no patriotic american would ever dialogue with. it could also be that he has clarified what he meant but since the real explanation will contradict american propaganda, it might never get to the light of day.

i think another good question to ask is, why didn't the moderator of the columbia university event ask ahmadinejad about this? i do not recall that he did ask but if someone remembers differently, please let me know.

by adeeba folami (7 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments) on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 3:13:52 PM

Doug Rogers is a composer and playwright and for many years designed ladies' sweaters. He is now a student again at Empire State College in Buffalo NY.
Doug RogersDoug Rogers is a composer and playwright and for many years designed ladies' sweaters. He is now a student again at Empire State College in Buffalo NY.

There was more to the quote

I distinctly remember at the time the Ahmadinejad statement was covered in the media that there was a qualifying statement that went with it. He said (from my memory) that just as the Soviet Union once existed and then ceased to be, so too would Israel cease to be. This gave the utterance an entirely different meaning. Rather than a statement of intended genocide it was a call for a change in the political status quo in the Middle East.

I don't have any reason to defend Ahmadinejad. To me he is the Iranian version of Bush. But the degree to which this misinterpretation is being used to push the United States into further bad policy decisions is sobering. I must have heard this full quote on NPR or possibly Democracy Now but certainly it was heard by thousands of other people and there must be plenty in the news establishment who are fully aware of his true meaning.

More evidence that our media and politicians are operating at a pre-eighties Soviet propaganda level.

by Doug Rogers (15 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 114 comments) on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 3:24:46 PM

Adeeba Folami is a freelance journalist residing in Denver, Colorado.
adeeba folamiAdeeba Folami is a freelance journalist residing in Denver, Colorado.

I didn't know

I distinctly remember at the time the Ahmadinejad statement was covered in the media that there was a qualifying statement that went with it. He said (from my memory) that just as the Soviet Union once existed and then ceased to be, so too would Israel cease to be.

i did not know this. thanks for the 4-1-1 since it helps to paint an even clearer picture. do you recall whether those original reports mentioned that he was speaking at an event in honor of al quds day? al quds, i read, is another term for jerusalem but i've never heard his statement linked to the context in which it was spoken.

by adeeba folami (7 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 25 comments) on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 3:17:40 PM