On the eve of President Obama’s media blitz on health care reform, the man President Obama wants to engage in dialogue made a speech today in which called the Holocaust “a lie” and “a pretext” for the creation of the state of Israel.
He called the Holocaust “a lie based on a mythical and unprovable claim.”
He made the statements at Tehran University at an anti-Israel rally.
Great Britain was quick to condemn the remarks with Foreign Secretary David Millbrand calling the remarks, according to Reuters, “ignorant and abhorrent.”
So far there has been no response from the White House, but President Obama was criticized during the Iranian election protests for not speaking out more forcefully against Ahmadinejad and the rigged Iranian election.
At the time the White House defended the president’s position of “not wanting to meddle” to preserve an ability to negotiate with Ahmadinejad to end Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, a program that Ahmadinejad has said he will “never abandon.”
President Obama gave Iran till the end of September to either begin engaging in serious talks or face harsh sanctions, probably on gasoline imports, if he can get Russia to go along. Earlier this year it was reported that there was a wide difference between Israeli and U.S. intelligence as to when Iran would have the capablility of a nuclear strike. With Ahmadinejad’s speech, the pressure on the U.S. to make some headway has been ratcheted up since Netanyahu has made it clear he reserves the right to launch an attack if he feels Israel’s security is at risk.