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Tancredo Denounces Ahmadinejad
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ShareSeptember 24, 2007 1:32 PM
ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports: Another Republican 2008 Presidential candidate weighed in late today, condemning Columbia University for inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on campus.
“Ahmadinejad is an international criminal and a leading sponsor of terrorism,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado in a statement. “This is a man who has contributed directly to the deaths of American soldiers. For Columbia University’s President to host Ahmadinejad on campus under the guise of free-speech while simultaneously barring the ROTC smacks of hypocrisy.”
Columbia has no official, on-campus Reserve Officer Training Corps program after it was dissolved in 1969. Students at Columbia who wish to participate in ROTC go to either Fordham or Manhattan College for the ROTC curriculum.
“Regrettably, Columbia University thinks it’s ok to ban the U.S. military from campus while allowing a terrorist, responsible for killing dissidents in his home country and American soldiers in Iraq, to speak in their auditorium,” said Tancredo. “It is quite unfortunate that this is what passes for ‘higher education’ in America these days.”
In 2005, Columbia administrators voted to keep the ROTC programs off of Columbia, citing the discriminatory nature of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Tancredo, no fan of gay rights in general as backer of a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, pointed out in his press release, "Homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran."
Just about every Republican candidate has weighed in on the issue. Among others, Rep. Duncan Hunter wants to try and pass a law cutting federal funding for the University. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney aired a radio ad saying he was at the forefront, leading opposition to Ahmadinejad. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had a message read in his name to anti-Ahmadinejad protesters outside the United Nations, where Ahmadinejad is attending the annual general assembly.
Meanwhile, the Columbia speech is just one stop on Ahmadinejad's media tour of the United States. He was interviewed by Scott Pelley on a 60 Minutes episode that aired Sunday night on CBS and also took questions via teleconference from reporters at the National Press Club.
No condemnations yet of those appearances, however.
September 24, 2007 in Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (2)
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I agree with Congressman Tancredo and I believe Ahmadinejad's presence here should have been absolutely restricted to whatever international meetings he needed to attend, if allowed at all!
Posted by: speakengl | Sep 25, 2007 12:51:56 AM
Maybe Columbia University should move its campus to Iran.
Sounds like Mitt Romney is trying to draw attention to himself again (he was at the forefront, leading opposition). I'm certainly glad he found one issue he can legitimately claim the lead for. It certainly isn't illegal immigration!
Tom Tancredo speaks for millions of American citizens who are fed up with the way our country grants rights to everyone in the world (including terrorists), while the rights of American citizens are being ignored!
Posted by: Patrice | Sep 25, 2007 5:19:19 PM
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