Monday, November 2, 2015

Do You Recall David Ignatius Saying of Iran, "the Nation That Chanted in Unison 'Death to America' Is Probably Gone Forever""?



Do you remember David Ignatius writing in a March 31, 2015 Washington Post opinion piece  entitled "Deal or no deal, the Iran talks have borne fruit" :

"Whatever the endgame produces, it’s useful to focus on the process of negotiation itself, which is nearly as important as whether there’s a sustainable deal.

First, there is the fact of U.S.-Iranian engagement. For more than 18 months, Iran has been in direct talks with a power it once demonized as the 'Great Satan.' Iranian hard-liners certainly remain, but the nation that chanted in unison 'Death to America' is probably gone forever."

When I sent emails to Ignatius and provided evidence that he was wrong, he wrote back to me and declared:

"You miss my point entirely. What I said was that the NATION will never again chant it in UNISON. There will still be fanatical hardliners but they are beginning to be outliers."

Well, in case there was ever any doubt except in the minds of Ignatius and Obama, have a look at a November 2, 2015 Yahoo! News article entitled "'Death to America' stands despite nuclear deal: Iran MPs," which informs us:

"Tehran (AFP) - A clear majority of Iranian legislators said Monday the Islamic republic will not abandon the slogan of "Death to America" despite its July nuclear accord with world powers.

'The martyr-nurturing nation of Iran is not at all prepared to abandon the slogan of 'Death to America' under the pretext of a nuclear agreement," 192 members of Iran's 290-seat parliament said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.

They said the slogan, chanted at the weekly Friday prayers in mosques and at protests, had "turned into the symbol of the Islamic republic and all struggling nations'."

Of course, "moderate" Iranian President Hassan "the Hangman" Rouhani explained in September:

"This slogan that is chanted is not a slogan against the American people. Our people respect the American people."

Or stated otherwise, when Iranians cry "Death to America!," they don't really want to kill you. Yeah, right.

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