http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/454401p-382433c.html
'Let's be friends,' Iran prez now sez BY NANCY DILLON and AUSTIN FENNER DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Iran's fiery leader asked yesterday, "Can't we just be friends?" as 30,000 New Yorkers rallied against the man who said Israel should be "wiped off the map." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became a Rodney King soundalike one day after he told the United Nations that the U.S. was a bully that sought to rule the world with "weapons and threats." Taking a genial tack, Ahmadinejad told a group of policymakers and reporters he is seeking a friendly, two-way dialogue with the United States. "Can't we just be friends?" he asked during a meeting with U.S. News & World Report at his midtown hotel. "We are in favor of dialogue ... but under fair conditions." "We are ready for it," he said. "America can be a friend of Iran. Why are you an enemy?" About 30,000 New Yorkers weren't feeling very friendly toward the Iranian and rallied outside the UN yesterday in support of Israel and to protest his comments about that country. The Iranian president has become notorious for denying the Holocaust and saying Israel should be wiped off the map. It could be relocated, he has suggested, to the U.S. or Germany. Far from the speakers' podium and away from the microphones, "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman was one of the many faces in the teeming crowd to lend her support at the rally. "People don't realize what it's like to be free in this country, and that all of this would be taken away from us," said the Oscar-nominated actress, who was speaking out against terrorism. "Israel needs a lot of support from everyone." "New York rejects him," said Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, 77. "He is inhuman by his inhumanity. It is a crime to advocate the genocide of a member [Israel] of the UN." Gov. Pataki said that to stand with Israel is to stand for freedom in the Middle East. "It is freedom that has made our country great. It is freedom that you can exercise in Israel and not many other places in the Middle East," said Pataki. "We must stand with the free, independent people of Israel." Ahmadinejad also spoke last night to a small group at the Council on Foreign Relations. His presence there had angered Jewish leaders when the council invited them to dine with the Iranian. The meal was canceled. "At times it was quite combative. But he did in the end say that he was open to relations with the United States. And he was clearly looking for the U.S. to take the lead in bringing that about," said Council President Richard Haass. "You come away with the sense he's feeling quite comfortable taking on the world community. ... You sense, at a minimum, a lot of confidence," he said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
