Iranian President Speech

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University. Mr. Bollinger introduced President Ahmadinejad as a man who exhibited “all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator” and appeared to lack “intellectual courage,” had a “fanatical mind-set” and may be “astonishingly undereducated.” President Ahmadinejad then criticized Mr. Bollinger for judging his speech before it had even begun and suggested that such a move was unforgivable in a university setting. He then proceeded to speak about international sanctions, scientific development and academic freedom. He also answered sometimes confrontational questions from the audience on his call for the destruction of the state of Israel, civil rights and freedoms in Iran, and Iran’s nuclear program. At one point he was laughed at when he insisted that Iran did not have any homosexuals. close