Mostafa Pourmohammadi told The AP that Ahmadinejad's comments were "misunderstood" by the West, Don't Believe it.

Holocaust Remarks Seen As Iranian Strategy

TEHRAN, Iran - Remarks by Iran's hard-line president that the Holocaust was a "myth" and Israel should be "wiped off the map" are not just wild comments by a novice leader, but part of a strategy to keep anti-Israel sentiment alive in the Middle East, analysts said Saturday...... "The man is still living in 1979 and believes Iran represents a revolution more than just a state," said Mustafa Alani, director of security studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. "He believes (verbally) attacking Israel, which was a key principal of the revolution, will serve Iranian interests in the region more than polite, rational policies." Link to article

EU Threatens Sanctions Over Iran's Holocaust Comments
Friday, December 16, 2005

ATHENS, Greece — European leaders threatened sanctions against Iran for its president's remarks about Israel and the Holocaust, even as the regime's interior minister, Iran Mostafa Pourmohammadi told The Associated Press that Ahmadinejad's comments were "misunderstood....." Link to the article

(Bosun's comments) Oh, really. Sounds like this was taken right out of the DNC playbook. If one says something idiotic or controveral, then, all one has to do is sprinkly "BS" dust over the statement and say it was taken out of context or was misunderstood by the listener.

On the surface, it sounds like the EU is stepping up to the plate in condemnations. However, last month there was an associated press article that makes one look at this stepping up to the plate cautiously:

EU downplays leaked memo on east Jerusalem Fri Nov 25,10:08 AM ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission downplayed the significance of the leaking of a report accusing Israel of seeking to prevent Jerusalem becoming the Palestinians' future capital, although admitting it was "unfortunate".

The European Union's executive arm pointed out that EU foreign ministers last week publicly announced that such a report is due to be published, and also publicly made such criticism of Israel at a meeting in Brussels.

"There is no wish to conceal a document. There's a public statement that a document is going to be made public," said Emma Udwin, spokeswoman for EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The preliminary EU report -- it is unclear if it was the final version -- was leaked in Jerusalem by an Israeli group campaigning against demolitions of Palestinian houses in east Jerusalem.

"Israel's activities in Jerusalem are in violation of both its roadmap obligations and international law," said the document. View Complete Article

While discussing the EU, one must also look at the United Nations. It was less that a month ago that the United Nations hosted the UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinan People in which they deplayed a map of Palestine without Isreal being on the map. Eyes on the UN has saved and archived several of the pictures of the event. And, good old Kofi Annan and the boys were there addressing the festivities. Kofi issued a UN Press release "Day of Palestinian Solidarity ' A Day of Morning and a Day of Grief" with this excerpt:

"This Day of Solidarity is a day of mourning and a day of grief. The human and material losses sustained by the Palestinian people in the last two years have been nothing short of catastrophic. The deplorable situation in the occupied Palestinian territory has kept the whole region in a continuous state of crisis for over two years now, with no end in sight. Hundreds of lives have been lost, mostly among Palestinians, but also among Israelis. Tragically, and unacceptably, many of the victims have been children.

Excessive and disproportionate force has often been used by the Israeli authorities, along with extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, deportations and collective punishment measures such as house demolitions. Such actions only intensify rage, desperation and a desire for revenge. At the same time, cruel and devastating terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings, have claimed large numbers of innocent lives, and wounded many more. Such actions only set back the
Palestinian cause. The result of these actions has been the near-total destruction of the belief on either side that there is a genuine partner for a just peace."

We need to fully analyze the motives and the ambitions of both the EU and the United Nations, to find out where they really stand in regards to Isreal.

The relationship between Isreal and its Middle Eastern neighbors is complicated and difficult to grasp. Here are some other stories about the region:

•Iranian President Again Questions Holocaust

• Saudis Fuming Over Iran's Anti-Israel Remarks

• Iran President to Israel: Move to Europe

• Inside Iran Part V: U.S.-Iran Relations Strained

• Inside Iran Part IV: Iran's Nuclear Capability

• Inside Iran Part III: The Jewish Question

• Iranian Liberals: Our President's a Moron

Technorati tags: Isreal, Palestine, Iran,European Commission, European Union, United Nations, Kofi Annan , Ahmadinejad, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Opinion