CBS misses the opportunity to ask about Iran’s war declaration
Back in May, you might recall, Iran declared war on the US through Ahmadinejad’s writing a letter — a dawa — to President Bush. A dawa is an invitation to conversion given to an infidel by Muslims as a precursor to engaging in war, a courtesy extended by Mohammed to those he later conquered. The NY Sun even wrote an editorial about this declaration of war by Iran; nonetheless, CBS apparently failed to ask about it in a Mike Wallace interview of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. What kind of journalism is it not to ask about this matter?
Speaking about President Bush’s failure to answer his 18-page letter that criticized U.S. foreign policy, Ahmadinejad said, “Well, (with the letter) I wanted to open a window towards the light for the president so that he can see that one can look on the world through a different perspective. … We are all free to choose. But please give him this message, sir: Those who refuse to accept an invitation will not have a good ending or fate.
You see that his approval rating is dropping every day. Hatred vis-à-vis the president is increasing every day around the world. For a ruler, this is the worst message that he could receive. Rulers and heads of government at the end of their office must leave the office holding their heads high.”
On what the “conducive conditions” would be for Iran to establish relations with the U.S., the president said, “Well, please look at the makeup of the American administration, the behavior of the American administration. See how they talk down to my nation. And this recent resolution passed about the nuclear issue, look at the wording. They have given us — presented us with a package which we are studying right now. We even gave them a date for our response.
“We even gave them a date for our response.” That’s a bit chilling, isn’t it? The date is August 22, which Princeton professor emeritus Bernard Lewis wrote about here. We sometimes wonder, given their lack of inquisitiveness about what drives the Islamists, what percentage of the MSM would be totally surprised if Ahmadinejad acts decisively to eliminate Israel in “one storm” as he has promised the Zionist regime would end.