[*TT*]

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i am part of the crowd that thinks ahmadinejad is the scum of the earth, and am skeptical he could possibly have anything but a bad motive.

however obviously our "we hate everyone" approach has sucked. maybe this is an opportunity to have a genuine moment, and perhaps help him and the rest of the world identify with us just a little bit.

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I think you just nailed my POV exactly, our diplomacy has failed, sometimes you have to give a little to get a little. We have more to gain from trying to be diplomatic than Ahmadinejad gains from his photo op - which he can get regardless if he is not granted permission (anyone who has ever been to Ground Zero knows its impossible to stop this from happening). He also gains from telling the world that we denied his request. Sounds like a win-win for him, the only way to defeat his goal is to counter it with kindness.

Interestingly enough yesterday a General was quoted that the US could live with a nuclear powered Iran, after all we have lived with a nuclear China, Russia, Pakistan, etc etc etc. I wish I had a link, I think I read it on MSNBC. Of course he prefers that Iran does not become a nuclear power, but in his eyes we can adjust our defense to counter this new concern.