The Ahmedinajab Matter

In recent times there have been a lot of furore over the views of the president of Iran, Mr Mahmud Ahmadinejab. Many people in the western world now see him as the ultimate devil in the Middle East. He has taken over this title from the late Saddam Hussein. His fiery anti American and anti Israel rhetoric has been responsible for this. In view of the fact that there is a lot of media manipulation going on out there, I have decided to write this short piece which I believe contains some basic truths that people may need to know.

Let me begin by saying that I am neither a fan of the guy nor a hater. To me, he is just another politician doing what other politicians do: taking advantage of situations to acquire power or retain it (as the case may be). He came into power in Iran, riding the crest of nationalistic and religious sentiments. His first term in office was marked by failure in general performance, leading to a lot of resentment among the people. His only hope of retaining political relevance was to take maximum advantage of his selling point: nationalistic and anti American/anti Zionist  sentiments.This entrenched his hold on the religious conservatives back at home and made the religious political establishment to stand up behind him, so much so they were prepared to manipulate the electoral process in his favor in the last presidential election in Iran. The man continues to use his joker. That is what he did in Lebanon this week.

Let us face it. There are issues of concern to many people (especially Arabs) in the Middle East. The Palestinian issue is a serious matter for them. However, the likes of Ahmadinejab are merely smart politicians playing to the gallery. Unfortunately, he is playing into the hands of manipulators of public opinion in the west. They are now presenting him as the great ogre who wants to acquire enough weapons to wipe out America and Israel. We are now seeing the kind of scare mongering that led to the wild goose chase in Iraq from which the US is yet to recover. They told us that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq by taking advantage of the loud mouth of Saddam, and the destroyer image they were able to paint of him. Now, stupid Ahmadinejab is playing into the hands of the right wing extremist and pro Israel lobby in Washington.