Security for the event was very tight and as our group stood in line to enter the reception room a reporter from Church World Service questioned why we would consider meeting with Ahmadinejad and Ambassador Graham's response was a firm, "why wouldn't we?" Our delegation believes strongly that the current policy of isolating Iran and refusing to have dialogue with them on any level is wrong headed and has accomplished nothing.  The official US position of refusing to open up direct diplomatic channels with Iran without preconditions over the past 8 years has done nothing to resolve the issues that exist between the two countries and has arguably caused the situation to deteriorate.  And as the event Thursday evening evolved it was clear to me that the decision to engage in dialogue with President Ahmadinejad was much more effective than what the protesters were accomplishing outside.

Instead of feting Ahmadinejad the religious leaders laid out some serious concerns they have about public statements the President has made in the past and asked him to re-evaluate his positions.  These are the five main points the leaders brought to his attention:

1. Recognition of the Holocaust as an historical fact and one of the greatest crimes in history.
2. Advocacy for a nonviolent and just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the conviction that any solution to that conflict should provide peace with justice for both peoples and respect for their religions. 
3. Opposition to nuclear proliferation and a call upon all nations with nuclear weapons to work toward disarmament.
4. Belief in human dignity and human rights for all. (Read respect minority religions in Iran and concerns over humane treatment of social minorities).
5. Rejection of terrorism in all its forms. 

President Ahmadinejad seemed to listen patiently to the various speakers addressing the group and when it was his turn he certainly didn't hold anything back.  He started out calmly affirming the theme of the evening, that in his view, religion is a single truth, and that God did not send several religions down to us.  He then shared his belief that the problem in many societies is that religion has been separated from public life and that this separation (unlike in Islamic countries) is what has brought immorality, pain, and suffering. 

On the nuclear issue, he raised that the United States has in excess of 50% of the world's nuclear weapons.  He posed the question, "Will these nuclear war heads turn into a tool that will be healthy for mankind, a tool for kindness?  He continued, "Who is building them?  Who is stock piling them?  It is those that seek to dominate, and humiliate and create insecurity."

In reference to the holocaust issue, President Ahmadinejad spoke about the current situation in Iraq where several hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children have lost their lives and been displaced.  His main point was unlike the holocaust this situation is not part of history, that it is happening now and he implored the audience to acknowledge that reality and do something about it.

On the Palestinian/Israeli issue he remarked that for more that 60 years over 5 million Palestinians have been displaced without proper access to opportunity and the basic needs of life, and argued that no amount of rhetoric could change that reality.  He asked, "Why do rulers of the world today who claim to be peaceful not empathize with the Palestinian people?  On a slightly different note, he added that he didn't blame the Jewish people but the "Zionist Regime" and the "European selfishness" that created the situation in the first place.

President Ahmadinejad went on to point out inequities in the decision making mechanism at the United Nations and how it has negatively impacted the Palestinian situation and what he views as a double standard on nuclear issues.

I found President Ahmadinejad to be a skillful speaker- part professor, part religious scholar and completely skilled politician.  While I think many of us in attendance may have concerns about his intentions and ambitions in the region, he raised some interesting points in my view regarding some American hypocrisies such as the ridiculous size of our nuclear arsenal, our own recent poor track record on human rights issues, and the lack of more empathy with the plight of the Palestinians on the part of our government and the media.  I think he deserves credit for attending the event and listening to the concerns of the various leaders-in fact it really amazes me that he agreed to come.  

I left wondering why President Ahmadinejad intentionally provokes the West's sensibilities by questioning the Holocaust and talking about Israel in apocalyptic terms.  My guess is that he has made the political judgment that it is more important for him to play to hardliners in his own region that are emboldened by his stance against western interests. What else is there to accomplish with such statements?   My concern is that the rhetoric increases anxiety in the mind of the US public that a military conflict of some sort might happen and the belief that perhaps President Ahmadinejad is irrational and should be feared. I do think his penchant for bellicose rhetoric undermines the legitimate points he makes about US hypocrisies, UN structural deficiencies, and the injustices against the Palestinians.     In a recent gallop poll almost 60% of Americans thought it was a good idea for the US President to meet with the President of Iran, that's a pretty big bipartisan number and I hope President Ahmadinejad cares about that audience too. 

http://www.gallup.com/poll/107617/Americans-Favor-President-Meeting-US-Enemies.aspx