September 23, 2010

Congressman Meeks Condemns Ahmadinejad’s Comments on 9/11

(JAMAICA, NEW YORK)– Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) released the following statement condemning Ahmadinejad's comments on 9/11:

“On September 23, less than two weeks after America and the world commemorated the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, using the forum of United Nations General Assembly, made what undoubtedly will go down as among the most absurd, offensive, and irresponsible remarks in the history of the UN.  Although I am among those members of Congress who believe in the need for a dialogue with Iran, I reject and condemn President Ahmadinejad’s incendiary remarks about 9/11, which allege that "some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order also to save the Zionist regime” and that the “majority of the American people as well as other nations and politicians agree with this view."

"Symbolic of how out of touch the Iranian president is with world public opinion, a majority of the delegations to the annual UN General Assembly walked out on Ahmadinejad’s  speech.  Insensitive and insulting to the memory of 9/11 victims, to the suffering of their families, to the continuing trauma of 9/11 survivors, to the heroism of first responders and of our men and women in uniform who are leading the struggle against terrorism, I cannot imagine a more provocative set of comments that could do more to undermine the prospects for dialogue between Iran and the United States. 

"Given the pressure that President Ahmadinejad is facing within Iran for a change in policy, especially in regard to its nuclear program, and given that public opinion polls in Iran show a continuing positive attitude toward the United States — particularly among Iranian youth, maybe diversion, distraction, and deflection of this internal pressure was the Iranian leader’s real goal.  We should not allow obnoxious and uninformed comments by the current Iranian president to divert or distract either ourselves or the international community from the momentum toward dialogue.”

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