Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the former mayor of Tehran. Since coming to power, on a campaign based on stamping out corruption, in 2005, he has pursued an agenda defined by support of Islamic fundamentalism, strong anti-Americanism, and anti-Zionism. Under Ahmadinejad's rule Iran has put a large amount of effort into producing nuclear technology, possibly for nuclear weapons, although Iran has not yet been successful in this endeavor. His politics are mixed as best, as he retains a strong, conservative view towards homosexuality, infamously stating that there are no homosexuals in Iran. However, he has also eliminated some rights such as freedom of speech and the press.
Photographs appear to implicate Ahmadinejad in the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis as someone involved with the hostage taking. Five former American hostages have stated that Ahmadinejad was one of their captors. A former US intelligence officer, said "I recognized him right off. … I remember so much his hatred of Americans. It just emanated from every pore of his body." BBC correspondent John Simpson recalled seeing Ahmadinejad on the embassy grounds. Abholhassan Bani-Sadr, a former president of Iran long living in exile, asserted that Ahmadinejad "wasn't among the decision-makers but he was among those inside the Embassy."Pipes, Daniel Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the 1979-1981 U.S. Embassy Takeover (2006) Capitalism Magazine Accessed 7 February 2008 However, some former hostages dispute this claim. http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/014049.php Additionally, a number of terrorists who were actually involved in the hostage taking have denied Ahmedinejad's involvement.http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-7-2005_pg4_16 http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/30/ldt.01.html A CIA report was commissioned to determine whether or not Ahmedinejad was involved in the hostage taking, and that report determined that the evidence was at best inconclusive. http://www.nysun.com/article/19982?page_no=2 http://www.cfr.org/publication/8831/takeyh.html
Ahmadinajed's foreign policies have been criticized by many within his country and government, who think he is too extreme and will cause their country to be attacked by the United States.
Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often compared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler.Lappin, Yaakov Bibi: Iran president more dangerous than Hitler YNetNews. Accessed 7 February 2008Hirschberg, Peter Netanyahu: It's 1938 and Iran is Germany; Ahmadinejad is preparing another Holocaust Haaretz. Accessed 7 February 2008
==Rerefences==
Category:Iran
Category:Heads of State
Category:Muslims