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Iran's leader gives thumbs down during Bush speech at U.N.

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Add bad manners to Mahmoud's list of faults.

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Sarge- Great post, and a great speech from our president.

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“Your words have been very strong about Cambodia’s sovereign right and sovereign duty to protect your country, and the United States wants to help,” Nixon said about the incursions into Cambodia, which have caused a rift in U.S.-Cambodian relations.

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Then Bush got less than 10 seconds of polite applause at the end of a speech tells the whole story

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad needs to be admired alteast he offered some sort of 'reaction' whereas others just had 22min 'recess'

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Yup, that less than 10 seconds of "polite applause" speaks volumes and is way more telling than what Iran's leader did. Humiliating, dubya.

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Bush has been a global nightmare for 8 years now. I am surprised he got even 10 seconds of applause. What we think today is not as important as how history will remember Bush. I imagine history books will have at least the following to say about him.

The greatest opporunity to unite the world against violence and terror was lost when American president George W. Bush failed to seize upon global sympathy in the wake of 911 to unite a broad coalition of nations to combat global terror. The decision to take unilateral military action, and the unrelated initiation of the war in Iraq, alienated many and lost other potential allies in the effort to eliminate terrorism. Had president Bush worked within the confines of the global community to combat terror, signigicant improvements in relations with Mid East and Muslim countries could have been made, and grass roots economic and engagment policies to help build resistance to terror could have proven a decisive factor in eliminating local support for terrorist groups.

Bush remains one of the worst presidents in American history.
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One other note. I honestly think Ahmadinejad and Bush are cut from the same poor quality fabric of common sense and usefulness. In another life they would make a great comedy team and would likely be good friends. They both lack any common sense in public and both badly represent their countries. Both look more like idiots than presidents.

Why do people choose such inept leaders? Especially frat boy hick types like these two?

Then again Japan is about to make Aso PM. And Ishihara has been in office forever.

Depressing.

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People applauded merely because it was the last time they would have to hear Bush and his insane thoughts on what's 'democratic' and what's 'terrorism', etc. Hell, I'll clap too when bush is done, but you can bet it won't be because I'm applauding a 'job well done', it's because he's simply done.

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"Bush remains one of the worst presidents in American history."

He does not.

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A "moral stand"?

Pot... kettle... black.

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For all his faults, it is asinine to compare Bush and Ahmedinejad. Politically correct relativism at its worst.

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Bad manners?

Because he did not pay attention as Bush "denounced Tehran as a sponsor of global terrorism"? Because he waved to people in the audience who must also not have been paying attention? Because he gave a thumbs down sign?

You know, some people might think it was bad manners for the leader of one country to use a farewell address to denounce another country whose leader does not have an immediate opportunity to rebut.

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Talk about a loose cannon:

"Syria and Iran continue to sponsor terror, yet their numbers are growing fewer. They are becoming more isolated in the world.Like slavery and piracy, terrorism has no place in the modern world."

Whats next? Is bush going to ask the 57 nations of the The Organisation of the Islamic Conference why not one of them ever approved the UN's Declaration of Universal Human Rights?

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Only 5 years ago, bush derided the UN as a waste of space.

Now he claims multinational orgnaizations are now "needed more than ever."

Whereas bush once used to receive standing ovations and leaders jostling to meet with him, now he gets "10 seconds of polite applause," a meeting with Pakistan’s new president, Asif Ali Zardari, and a last-minute meeting with Uganda’s leader, Yoweri Museveni.

The world has given up on George W. Bush and rightly so.

The Worst U.S. President Ever.

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George W. Bush failed to seize upon global sympathy in the wake of 911 to unite a broad coalition of nations to combat global terror.

tkoind2, the global war on terror is a broad coalition of nations created to combat global terror. You can't seriously tell me you've never heard of it before...?

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SuperLib - "the global war on terror is a broad coalition of nations created to combat global terror"

If only those nations would take it seriously, sadly most of them don't and realize when they have been taken for a ride.

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Is it in any way surprising that Ahmadinejad wasn't impressed? Certainly it doesn't qualify as bad manners to merely give the scumbag the thumbs down. In many countries he would have been heckled and jeered to the point where he lost track of his speech and turned 2 pages by mistake without noticing. That's bad manners.

George W Bush denounced Tehran as a sponsor of global terrorism

So speaks the man who many believe should be tried as a war criminal.

Now if Ahmadinejad had nodded his head to someone who proceeded to blow out GWB's brains, that could potentially be called bad manners. Although some might think it was a really cool action, and they would not all be Muslims.

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A whole 10 seconds of polite applause? wow. The UN is ultra-polite.

Sez & Sushi - very good points.

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Turning to an aide as Bush spoke, Ahmadinejad made a fist and turned his thumb down to the desk.

Watch it there, Mahmoud. Bush finds out about that and he'll attack your country. After all, he went after Saddam because Saddam was the guy who tried to hurt his daddy.

The Iranian president should have been giving a thumbs-up. Bush has done far more than any other single individual over the past 8 years to cause harm to the United States.

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The president, humbled by economic turmoil that has darkened the final days of his presidency - That he brought on himself. < :-)

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adaydream- the economic turmoil was brought on by greedy bankers who abused the system.

It had nothing to do with Bush, who in fact is known as a prudent president.

Iran`s leader is a jerk, so he can be ignored, Bush is a victim of very greedy businesses, but he has done his best.

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USANeoCon - Turn off the I Love bush strobelight.

I heard Ahmadinejad's speach and it sounded pretty sane and diplomatic for him.

I didn't listen to george bush, I decided to take a high calonic instead. < :-)

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"Bush remains one of the worst presidents in American history."

He does not.

Another masterstroke by the legendary debator.

Does too.

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Does too, times one million, no come backs.

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It had nothing to do with Bush, who in fact is known as a prudent president.

By WHO??!?!

Y'know, all politics aside, your debate style is atrocious. If you are, by some chance, "right," then nobody would be able to tell from your third grade level rhetoric.

I'd like to point out that Iran's leader has the credibility of a Branch Davidian. As does Bush. The enemy of my enemy is not my friend.

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adaydream- I heard Ahmadinejad's speech, it was vile and full of hatred, especially to America. The guy says he wants peace and spouts hatred.

Iran better watch out, this behaviour is not going to be tolerated for much longer.

Bush gave a great speech to great applause, speaking sense with his usual humility.

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If only it'd been a gladiator movie.

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We all know Bush can not speak well.. We all for the most part agree that he has so far been the worse president (I beg to differ sometimes though, but I think his daddy was worse).

But to give a thumbs up to a guy who has his country on alert at all times in the name of Islam, has personally handed out fatwas, has a goal of getting rid an entire religion, is in my mind is incredible. You have guy who has befriended deniers of the Holocaust, is incredibly right wing and you are cheering for him because you don't like Bush?? I guess you all would have cheered Hitler, Jeffery Darmer, Ted Bundy too..

Even Obama states that Iran should not have the capabilities to manufacture nukes, why? Are you going to then cheer for AJ Dinner Jacket if he does the same to Obama?

I really can't wait for the election to pass and I do hope many of you come to your senses..

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Sushi: If only those nations would take it seriously, sadly most of them don't and realize when they have been taken for a ride.

Ah, well I can't argue with that vague string of unsubstantiated catchphrases. ;)

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TPOJ: The enemy of my enemy is not my friend.

The enemy of Bush is indeed the radical liberal's friend. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone here that even dare criticize the Iranian leader. For those that do, be sure to look for the "but." Usually it's, "Sure, Ahmadinejad is bad, but..."

If you're anti-Bush then you are welcome into their house, even if you are a gay killing holocaust denying genocide supporting hardline Islamic leader.... ;)

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Ahmadinejad is just one in the long list of BDS sufferers.

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Does USAneocon write for the Colbert Report, if not, I think he would do well there.

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He who speaks with fork tongue can not calm waters with snake oil.

He who nationalises the temples of neo-conservatism can not condemn communism.

He who uses terror must condone terror.

He who does all these things should not expect applause

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skip: I really can't wait for the election to pass and I do hope many of you come to your senses..

Agreed. For some people about 90% of their comments are directed at George Bush regardless of the situation. Russia invades Georgia? George Bush. The mortgage crisis? George Bush. Iran building nukes? George Bush. Hotel bomb in Pakistan? George Bush.

We're literally going to be dealing with a very, very large chunk of the world population who will enter January 2009 realizing that the only contribution they can make are catchphrases that are meaningless when Bush is gone. Can you imagine what people like daydream, zurc, smithinjapan, DXXJP, et al, will say if they are not able to mention George Bush in their posts?

I'll admit I'm a bit curious.... ;)

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SuperLib, as before when Clinton took over, they'll just keep blamin' everything that turns out poorly on the past administration.

"Responsibility" ain't one of their strong points.

Herb

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USANeoCon - Bush a "prudent president"? You certainly know how to ignore the obvious...

Bush has blown hundreds of billions of your future taxes on destabilising the Middle East and promoting terrorism, allowed the domestic economy to binge on credit, while the USA's national debt has multiplied to a level where the Chinese are going to own half your country within 10 years.

Not most people's definition of "prudent" - more like a man trying to kill off the USA using a suicide debt bomb

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frontandcentre- I am paying much less taxes since Bush came into power.

I am doing great, why all the doom and gloom. Bush made a great speech, informing the leaders of the threats to us all, and the need to see how much Bush has done personally to rescue the world from the global economic crisis.

His speech was delivered well, and who gives a damn what Irans leader thinks, i was filled with pride for my country.

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Superlib, let's take your points one by one...

Russia invades Georgia - I never heard anyone blame Bush for that, though he did set a precedent in Iraq, didn't he?

The mortgage crisis - hmmm...not entirely, but you have to wonder why the most powerful man in the world made no efforts to stop people giving home loans to hopeless case people without jobs, especially when (like all politicians) he was happy to claim responsibility when things went well.

Iran building nukes - yep, that is very much a consequence of the US policy of describing Iran as part of an empire of "evil" and threatening to attack it, I think we can conclude.

Hotel bomb in Pakistan - yep, US foreign policy under Bush is indirectly to blame there as well. He propped up an unelected dictator there for too long, boosting support for the Islamists and those who opposed international interests. Bombing Pakistani border villages "by mistake" doesn't exactly discourage terrorist retaliation, either.

There's going to be a great big mess for the next President to try and sort out whether he's Democrat or Republican. Mind you, only the same country that elected Bush twice could even contemplate rewarding his party for such massive failures.

Bush will go down as the President who did the most to hasten the decline of the USA as a major and meaningful country in the world

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USANeoCon - you called Bush prudent. Since when was cutting taxes while at the same time increasing government spending require to crippling levels of debt a financially 'prudent' policy? I am starting to doubt that you understand the meaning of the word. Good for you as an individual it may be, good for America it certainly isn't.

The irony is that people like you call yourself "patriots" when you are supporting the destruction of your own country's future prospects and prosperity. Enjoy your Mandarin lessons - you're going to need them

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Skipthesong, I thought it was just Israel that Ahmadinejad wants wiped off the face of the Earth? Israel isn't a religion - perhaps I missed something? Wouldn't be the first time. (Incidentally, according to the CIA site the population of Israel is 76.4% Jewish. The rest are mostly Arab. Do you think he literally wants to destroy the entire country with all those Arabs there? Just saying this because you brought up the comments Ahmadinejad has made about Israel - it'll save me wasting time later because if I don't say it now I'm sure I'll feel obliged to when I'm too busy.)

Superlib, if I think it's GWB's fault I'll say so. Regardless of which man happens to be president. Do you think that once he's gone he'll suddenly be blameless for all the crimes he's committed and caused?

USARonin, I've heard it said that Clinton took over a complete mess caused by Bush Senior and then rebuilt the economy. I personally have no opinions on that, I wasn't taking any notice at the time and wouldn't now if the US didn't have a tendency to elect presidents with trigger-happy fingers. But if Bush wrecked the economy, then it would have been his fault that things were wrong, and his fault that Clinton had to take time to rebuild the economy. These mistakes can't be rectified overnight just by putting another man on the 'throne' so to speak.

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frontandcenter- obviously i am a patriot or i wouldn't be supporting my president and trusting him to look after Americas interests.

Why should we worry what the Iranian leader thinks about Bush? Bush is a leader who stops terror, gives aid to the poorest and supports freedom.

His stance is the exact opposite of Irans policy.

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dammit!

"These mistakes can't be rectified overnight just by putting another man on the 'throne' so to speak."

-and that's just what the Obama folks will say into the eighth year of their adminisration should that obscenity ever occur.

USAR

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USANeoCon, USARonin; Good points guys!

Bush gave a great speech, and you could see the world leaders listening and taking in his message.

The Iranian message was nuts, ranting about morals and America is going to collapse etc, everyone knows the regime in Iran talks nonsense.

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USANeoCon - So supporting a president automatically makes you a patriot, even if that president acts against the country's interests? That's absurd. But if you still think Bush is a good president after 8 years of continuous failure, then there's little point in trying to reason with you.

Why should you worry about the Iranians' viewpoint? Well, since Iran is the world's 3rd largest oil producer, and Bush has done nothing but encouraged America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil, you really should care. Before that, however, you should care about what your allies and World opinion thinks about America - and it won't make pleasant reading for you.

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frontandcenter, that lady is playin' you for fun.

She actually hates Bush and the US. It's all a game for her.

My advice: Don't play unless you knowingly want to.

USAr

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The enemy of Bush is indeed the radical liberal's friend. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone here that even dare criticize the Iranian leader.

Bush is America's Ahmadinejad. Criticism enough for you?

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Like my comrades sushi and frontcentre here I gave Ahmadinejad a thumbs up when he humiliated the Royal Navy last year.

"Bush is America's Ahmadinejad"

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I'm a liberal who’s been pretty consistent in my criticisms of Ahmadinejad. He's dangerous, delusional, and warped by twisted ideology. He’s an enemy of the United States, if ever there were one. No, not the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad.

But that doesn’t make G.W. Bush any less of an asshat extraordinaire.

How's that?

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What will SuperLib find to talk about if he can't post comments about people commenting on Bush?

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LFRAgain - "He's dangerous, delusional, and warped by twisted ideology. He’s an enemy of the United States."

That's a bang on description of George Bush to those of us who don't wrap ourselves in the US flag to escape from the Dreaded Reality. :-)

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SushiSake3- Sure to a deluded person, the guy who leads the fight against terror is the enemy of the USA.

Bush has lead well and whatever setbacks have occured, he never faltered, just like he said in his speech today. Now it is time for our allies to show the same conviction.

Iran look more foolish everytime their leader opens his mouth!

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"The terrorists belive time is on their side"

If the terrorists are prevented for 20 years from launching the next successful major attack, when they finally do, they'll be seen as the victors. There will always be terrorists plotting dastardly deeds. All we can do is try to thwart them and kill or capture as many of them as we can.

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All we can do is try to thwart them and kill or capture as many of them as we can.

For once, Sarge and I are in agreement. Let's go to Afghanistan in greater numbers and start taking out the terrorists' leaders.

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Sarge - "There will always be terrorists plotting dastardly deeds."

But there's no need to go and create more, as the Bush policies you and USANeoCon have supported have done.

That's just dumb, I'm afraid.

You guys have played straight into the terrorists' hands becuase you completely failed to think about the consequences of your actions.

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Can we get any coverage of Ahmadinejhad's speech at the UN ? Apparently it went down big. He believes we are in the final days. And he again says Israel is finished and - bonus for those of us on teh Left! - the american empire is in collapse. As a devout secularist I find his (and any) religion abhorrent but us progressives need the rage that Muslims bring into the mix.

peace.

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So SushiSake what do you propose we do? Sit and look like pretty little targets for terrorists and let the go back to regroup and come back for another hit? Are you are a suicidal defeatist? I really wouldn't vote you into office. Now that would just be DUMB I'm afraid. You have played right into the terrorists hands counting on the west to be as politically correct as when "World Opinion" prevented the UN from taking out Hussein long ago in 1991.

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Well, Ahmedinejad is on the side of our leftist friends... no surprise there.

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sushisake, I'm afraid that you're being a bit naive about this. Just like the anarchists of the late 1800s the present day terrorists don't need a reason to attack, they have their ideaology to drive them to act. Their excuses are just the typical carping of lunatics. Anybody who is going to start blowing up people to press a point is warped. They will just as gladly kill you as they would Sarge. Or me. Or Cleo. It's the nature of the beast. Evil doesn't need an excuse. Ahmedinejad is evil. To his own people as well as to everybody else. Don't think so? Try living in Iran for a bit.

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Looks like Ahmedinejad has replaced Che as the new hero of the left. When will the Ahmedinejad with an AK-47 t-shirts start showing up? Or are they already out?

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No, no, no. You've got it all wrong, guys. Hugo Chavez is the new Che Guevera of the left! C'mon! I thought you guys knew what was up?

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violance only creates more violance. Shooting terrorists will only produce more terrorist. Its good that most of you are agreeing that there seem to be no end of terrorists. Its a matter of time you should realise that violance is not the answer. If you at them they will go at you. Which is terrorist? *shrugs

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Violance is not the answer? Tell that to terrorists. Don't do anything and they think they are winning and are emboldened to continue. Nip it in the bud is my philosophy.

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The fact is, President Bush was telling the truth: Iran supports Hizboullah and Hamas, not to mention the Shiite militias in many parts of the middle east. Ahmadenijad giving a "pollice verso" to President Bush ought to be taken asa badge of honor.

President Bush is not the worst president in USA History: There are many, many who were worse than him, Carter and Clinton being but two...

In fact, I believe History will show that President Bush was as good as gold, and right in so many of his decisions...

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Iran has been dogging us since the Beirut embassy bombing in '83 and the subsequent attack on the marine barracks. Odds are, Iran played a major role in 9/11.

Liberal fundamentalists and "devout secularists" like to believe that the Muslim Brotherhood are their brothers, too. Seeing as how they've exhausted their last flimsy moral fiber "fighting" for abortion rights, it's not surprising that they've fallen into the Kool-Aid again.

5,000 women per year die in "honor killings" but the silly lefties are consumed with paranoia over the Christian Right. Ahmadenijad is feted by the Che Guevara t-shirt set (the most heavily closeted anti-Semites around) after announcing a few months back that there are no homosexuals in Iran. Again, the Kool-Aid besotted idiots prefer to focus their histrionic outrage at the Christian Right.

While the full sound and fury of the fundamentalist left is directed at the safest targets around, jokers like Ahmadenijad and Chavez are combining their ideological forces for the express purpose of bringing down the US. Were they ever to succeed, the hateful left imagines that life would be one big party, an orgy of freedoms. Do they know nothing of Islamic fundamentalism?

In the wake of 9/11, 3 million persons perished when the humanitarian aid they so desperately needed was not forthcoming. But, most tragically, the left prefers throw their breathless support behind the murderers of women, gays and starving Africans.

From Beirut in '83, to Khobar Towers, the World Trade Center bombings of '93, the attack on the USS Cole, and the cowardly despicable attacks on the embassies in Tanzania & Kenya, terrorism was on the rise until Bush went on the offense. Since then, state-sponsored terror has been blunted and decent Muslims in the Middle East are increasingly turning against al-Qaeda. History will be kind to George Bush, even if the Kool-Aid drinkers presently fill the air with their strident, unfocused hysteria.

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jiminezsnyder,

When you begin your post with an unsupported accusation, it's not surprising that you don't get more of a response.

What major role did Iran play in 9/11?

If you mean that Iran was one of the first nations to offer condolences or if you mean that Iran was instrumental to our mission in Afghanistan, fine. But if you mean that Iran contributed to the attack on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, etc., do be good enough to tell us what they did and how you know that.

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Did Ahmadinejad really claim that the American Empire is about to collapse?

Doesn't sound like spiteful rhetoric to me, sounds like a reasonable prediction of the next year or two.

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