USA / IRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad berates President George W. Bush's on U.S. Mideast policy in letter to the American people; Press conference with his Iraqi counterpart President Jalal Talabani

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lambasted President George W. Bush's Middle East strategy on Wednesday (November 29) at a time the U.S. leader has come under pressure to open direct contacts with Tehran. Ahmadinejad, in a five-page letter to the American people, called on Washington to pull out of Iraq and recognize a Palestinian state. He also cautioned Democratic Party legislators who gained control of the U.S. Congress from Bush's Republican Party earlier this month that they would be "held to account by the people and by history." "It is possible to govern based on an approach that is distinctly different from one of coercion, force and injustice," Ahmadinejad wrote. "Undoubtedly, the American people are not satisfied with this behavior and they showed their discontent in the recent elections." "I hope that in the wake of the mid-term elections, the administration of President Bush will have heard and will heed the message of the American people," the letter said. It was given to Reuters by Iran's Mission to the United Nations. The Iranian leader wrote an 18-page letter to Bush last May, to which the U.S. leader never responded. He said he was writing now because Iran and the United States shared a responsibility "to promote and protect freedom and human dignity and integrity." John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, noted the letter was just five pages compared to the previous 18 pages, "so that's a step ahead." The latest letter focused mainly on Iraq, where the United States is mired in conflict three years after invading to topple President Saddam Hussein, and on U.S. support for Israel, which Ahmadinejad has said should be "wiped off the map." Speaking to reporters at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart President Jalal Talabani after bilateral talks in Teheran on Wednesday (November 29) Ahmadinejad said hat with a constitution and government now in place, "would it not be more beneficial to bring the U.S. officers and soldiers home, and to spend the astronomical U.S. military expenditures in Iraq for the welfare and prosperity of the American people?" He accused Wester leaders of not acting according to their political declarations. "I told them (the Westerners) that if they really want to leave Iraq and try to hand over power to Iraqi authorities and government, so their behaviour (the Westerners) should be compatible with what they say about Iraq," Ahamdinejad said. The letter made no overt reference to Washington's push for a Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran over its failure to suspend nuclear enrichment, as demanded by an earlier council resolution. Iran says it wants only to produce electric power but Western powers say it is trying to make a nuclear bomb. Referring to Israel, Ahmadinejad accused the U.S. administration of supporting "oppressors" in the Middle East and disregarding the opinion of the American people in "the trampling of the rights of the Palestinian people." Ahmadinejad also accused the U.S. administration of "illegal and immoral behavior" in mistreating detainees in its prisons in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib outside Baghdad, and in curtailing civil liberties at home "through its proclaimed 'war on terror.'" The letter was made public as the Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State James Baker, prepared to give Bush a report expected to encourage Washington to speak directly with Iran and Syria in hopes of enlisting them in efforts to reverse the spiral of violence tearing Iraq apart.

ITN Source | November 30, 2006

Tags:. .declarations. .baghdad. .recognize. .joint. .resolution