21 Sep The Devil and the Apocalypse
We have rarely if ever seen a week like this one at the United Nations. President Chavez condemning Bush as the Devil Incarnate and President Ahmadinejad calling for the return of the Apocalypse.
Here is an excerpt from Chavez’s speech:
The hegemonic pretensions of the American empire are placing at risk the very survival of the human species. We continue to warn you about this danger and we appeal to the people of the United States and the world to halt this threat, which is like a sword hanging over our heads…. [For] our brothers and sisters in the United States, … their threat is right in their own house. The devil is right at home. The devil, the devil himself, is right in the house. And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the devil came here. Right here. [crosses himself] And it smells of sulfur still today. Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world…. I have the feeling, dear world dictator, that you are going to live the rest of your days as a nightmare because the rest of us are standing up, all those who are rising up against American imperialism, who are shouting for equality, for respect, for the sovereignty of nations…. The government doesn’t want peace. The government of the United States doesn’t want peace. It wants to exploit its system of exploitation, of pillage, of hegemony through war… This is imperialist, fascist, assassin, genocidal, the empire and Israel firing on the people of Palestine and Lebanon…. What we now have to do is define the future of the world. Dawn is breaking out all over. You can see it in Africa and Europe and Latin America and Oceanea. I want to emphasize that optimistic vision. We have to strengthen ourselves, our will to do battle, our awareness. We have to build a new and better world. Venezuela joins that struggle, and that’s why we are threatened…. You know that my personal doctor had to stay in the plane. The chief of security had to be left in a locked plane. Neither of these gentlemen was allowed to arrive and attend the U.N. meeting. This is another abuse and another abuse of power on the part of the Devil. It smells of sulfur here, but God is with us and I embrace you all.
Meanwhile, President Ahmadinejad in his speech called for the return of the Twelfth Imam and indirectly promised to help usher in the Apocalypse:
By causing war and conflict, some are fast expanding their domination, accumulating greater wealth and usurping all resources, while others endure the resulting poverty, suffering and misery. Some seek to rule the world relying on weapons and threats, while others live in perpetual insecurity and danger…. Whether we like it or not, justice, peace and virtue will sooner or later prevail in the world with the will of Almighty God. It is imperative, and also desirable, that we, too, contribute to the promotion of justice and virtue. The Almighty and Merciful God, who is the Creator of the Universe, is also its Lord and Ruler. Justice is His command. He commands His creatures to support one another in Good, virtue and piety, and not in decadence and corruption. He commands His creatures to enjoin one another to righteousness and virtue and not to sin and transgression…. I emphatically declare that today’s world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet. O, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause.
As Andrew Sullivan puts it, “Ahmadinejad is calling upon God to bring about the coming of the Twelfth Imam (“the perfect human being promised to all by you”), who heralds the Apocalypse. He is also saying that he will “strive for his return.” It is the most terrifying statement any president of any nation has made to the U.N. We have a dictator on the brink of nukes, striving to accelerate the Apocalypse.”
I am at a loss for words.
Ahmadinejad also began his press conference today with a quotation from the Qur’an, which I thought was an odd start. Does anybody know which part it was? The translator just said that he was “citing the Qur’an.”
I find this religious rhetoric more than a bit scary.
Bitacle Blog Search Archive – The Devil and the Apocalypse
[…] We have rarely if ever seen a week like this one at the United Nations. […]
Prof. Alford: “I am at a loss for words.” That’s an easy one: double standard. From Glenn Greenwalds recent post at Salon’s War Room (…) President Bush, of course, famously labeled Iran, Iraq and North Korea part of the “Axis of Evil” and recently began using the term “Islamic fascists” in campaign speeches to describe America’s enemies. Meanwhile, Bush officials and their supporters have been repeatedly invoking the now-standard rhetorical tactic of comparing America’s enemies, including other heads of state, to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi threat. American protests over the improper tone of Chavez’s speech were led by U.N. ambassador John Bolton, who decried the “comic book approach to international affairs” and, without any trace of irony, scoffed that nobody above the level of “junior note-taker” was paying attention to what Chavez said. Bolton, of course, was sent to be America’s ambassador to the world despite having once contended that “if the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference,” and despite almost single-handedly destroying American nuclear weapons negotiations with North Korea by calling Kim Jong Il, on the eve of the talks, a “tyrannical dictator” and the leader of an… Read more »
I have no doubt that Ahmadinejad and Chavez use fiery language when addressing their own constituents. I agree that Bush went too far with the Axis of Evil, and other such meaningless and bellicose rhetoric, but I believe it was during his campaign.
Either way, none of this should be on the floor of the UN as a matter of decorum.
Although it could be argued that we did one better by waving around a vial of white powder trying to convince the world to go to war based on “intelligence.” That was pretty insulting too.