A Letter to President BollingerLetter to Lee Bollinger of Columbia UniversityMr Lee Bollinger,President, Columbia UniversityFrom the onset, I would like to unequivocally state that I am no admirer of Mr Ahmadinejad , a man with a grim human rights record, to say the least. Neither was I an admirer of yours when listening to your September 24th remarks meant to welcome your guest, the Iranian president. Your message, as if echoing Mr Bush's, was clear and offensive . "You are with us or against us" is a simplistic view of the world, of an "Imperial Presidency" which no fair minded or rational individual could possibly adopt. I might add that at this juncture, it would be more accurate to say "You are with me or--", considering that 70% of us, the people, have turned against the Iraq war.The fact that none other than Abraham Foxman told you : " if you invite someone you have to be polite", speaks mountains of your lack of civility. The response of the Iranian University Chancellors is another proof that your remarks were indeed "unproductive". You certainly achieved the difficult and unprecedented task of rallying the chancellors behind their president. They felt the need to assure you that Iranians "are very polite to their guests", their implication crystal clear. By setting an insulting tone for the evening, you slammed the door in Mr Ahmadinejad's face , scuttling any possible dialogue, let alone a possible overture. You left him no choice but to lash back at you. Sureley you must have known how sacred hospitality is in Iran and the Middle East at large. Dismissing it so brazenly is either a sign of ignorance or plain malice. I leave the choice to you.Allow me to respond to three points among the many you raised and to comment on your last remarks.//en.yabiladi.com/topics/letter-bollinger-columbia-university-44-2135164-2135164.html#msg-2135164 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:46:25 +0200 Phorum 5.2.15