Seeing him in full outrage


Seeing him in full outrage, I had this vague recollection of the prime minister of Vietnam trying to come to Boston last year -- you know, the same prime minister who presides over a government that blocks Internet sites from citizens, restricts religious freedoms, heavily regulates citizen expression, and bans privately owned media companies.

Reasons to disagree:

  1. Limiting internet use is not as bad as:
    1. “State taxpayers should not be providing special treatment to an individual who supports violent jihad and the destruction of Israel,” Governor Mitt Romney: Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
    2. It is a “a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of extremists, especially on the eve of the five-year anniversary of 9/11.” Governor Mitt Romney: Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
    3. “The U.S. State Department listed Khatami’s Iran as the number one state sponsor of terrorism. Within his own country, Khatami oversaw the torture and murder of dissidents who spoke out for freedom and democracy. For him to lecture Americans about tolerance and violence is propaganda, pure and simple.” Governor Mitt Romney: Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
    4. During the period of time he was in office, from 1997 to 2005, Khatami presided over Iran’s secret nuclear program. Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
    5. Currently, the Iranian Government under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is snubbing the international community’s request to cease nuclear weapons production. Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
    6. In the recent conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border, Khatami described the terrorist group Hezbollah as a “shining sun that illuminates and warms the hearts of all Muslims and supporters of freedom in the world.” Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
    7. Khatami has endorsed Ahmadinejad’s call for the annihilation of Israel. Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
    8. During Khatami’s presidency, Iran refused to hand over the Iranian intelligence officials who were responsible for the attack on the Khobar Towers that killed 19 U.S. military personnel.
    9. In his own country, Khatami oversaw the torture and murder of Iranian students, journalists, and others who spoke out for freedom and democracy. Khatami relaxed freedom of speech laws giving democracy reformers a false sense of security only to engage in one of the largest crackdowns in the country’s history.
    10. In Khatami’s Iran, there was no religious tolerance. According to the U.S. Office of International Religious Freedom, Iran was one of the worst offenders of religious persecutions. Minorities, such as Evangelicals, Jews, Catholics and others, have suffered.
    11. “Khatami pretends to be a moderate, but he is not. My hope is that the United States will find and work with real voices of moderation inside Iran. But we will never make progress in the region if we deal with wolves in sheep’s clothing,” Governor Mitt Romney: Source: 09-05-2006 Press Release
  2. We are not at war with Vietnam, however we are at war with Iran, who is supporting violence in Iraq, and Syria. Vietnamese have not killed Americans recently. Iranians hhave.
  3. Iran is in the axis of evil. Vietnam is not.
  4. Are you arguing that we should cut off relations with Russia and Chili because they have taken over private media? Is taking over media the same as killing journalist?
  5. Human Rights Watch thinks giving a kid a bronze meddle is mental torture, everyone should get gold.

 

[Reasons to agree

 

  1. Human Rights Watch wrote of Vietnam earlier this summer: ``There is compelling evidence of torture and other mistreatment of detainees. Police officers routinely arrest and detain suspects without written warrants. The judicial system is vulnerable to government or party interference and pressure."