Comments:Iran's Ahmadinejad wants change in US policies, not 'tactics'

List your sources
The following quote from the article needs a source citation for verification purposes: "... Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, who said in October that hatred of America runs deep in Iran."

The source is Zahra Hosseinian (writing for Reuters) as far as I can tell. Zahra Hosseinian needs to share the source of information supporting her claim that Khamenei did say that in October 2008.

Hosseinian's source was likely to be an AP report published (without a by-line) in late October 2008 which refers to "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments on state-run television ..."

Footage and/or a transcript of those comments does not appear to be readily available, though it is reasonable to assume Khamenei probably said something like what he's reportedly said. However even if he probably did so, the author of the article should also have clarified the situation, pointing out that Khamenei could be wrong and that the 'hatred' he spoke of may not actually run so deep within the broader Iranian population. That is, unless the author can instead point to opinion poll results showing that 'hatred of America' is highly likely to be generalised in Iran and has a significant depth of intensity across the whole Iranian population, in which case the depth of 'hatred' would be clarified.

Why should the reporters make such clarifying statements? To do less than that is to (1) unthinkingly swallow Khamenei's word as truth, and (2) risk unfairly demonising a whole civilian population (which is what warmongers tend to do).

Checking all the sources cited by the Wikinews author also reveals an noteworthy bias in some reports of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent comments.

Some news outlets (too many) are failing to report that the specific list of 'crimes' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad complains about (and seeks a US apology for) includes CIA support for the Shah's 1953 coup d'état against a popular, elected Iranian government led by Mohammed Mosaddeq, US support for the Shah and the exploitation and repression of his regime, as well as US backing of Saddam Hussein's war of aggression against Iran in the 1980s.124.181.90.146 11:30, 29 January 2009 (UTC)


 * THANK YOU! It's very important that we not forget about Operation Ajax (when the CIA dislodged Mossadegh). People always say the wrong turn in our relations with Iran was when Jimmy Carter let the revolution happen, but in reality Carter did the right thing. The mistake was dragging out an elected Prime Minister who would likely have been more liberal than the Shah. After Mossadegh was taken care of, Mohammed Reza Palhavi returned to power. Over the subsequent 25 years, the Shah became increasingly tyrannical and autocratic. Ajax is only a footnote in American history, but in Iran it meant the 25 more years of a pig. I am curious though, where did you hear that Ajax was on Ahmadinajad's list (I'd be surprised if it wasn't)?


 * 71.96.128.236 21:44, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Items on the list were included in some reports. For example, the BBC did report the complaint re US support for the 1953 coup d'état, but it failed to mention the CIA's covert operation - coded TPAJAX. Nor did the BBC report mention that overthrowing Mosaddegh's government was a British idea, that Churchill championed the idea, and certainly not that the BBC had been used in Britain's 1950s propaganda campaign against Mosaddegh, nor its role in broadcasting the go-code launching the coup d'état. 124.181.90.146 11:38, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

"Real Change, not tactics"
In the name of God, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate. Indeed, a humble approach is the road that Moses always took, we must be patient. Iran has already had 70, 000 years of history and no power will take that away; we in the West however are in jeopardy of slipping into global irrelevance and the manifest hypocrisy attendant in its ignominy. Wayne Niulrana, Ulukhaktok, NT, Canada

Passive Aggression.
The demands Iran has made I feel, are excessive, but still from the point of view of most - politically correct. However, I don't believe America, even with the new administration will be able to meet them. And that this an attempt by Iran to incite renewed hatred of America (and indeed the west) in 'terrorist cells' around the globe. We'll just have to see if America actually meets these demands because, if it does, Iran will have no choice but to accept fresh beginnings otherwise Iran will be exposed as politically incorrect. 78.32.115.66 21:56, 29 January 2009 (UTC)