Young Iranians discuss upcoming US election - 26 Sept 08

[MBurg2007]

these people are so dumb, you dont live in America you dont know whats going on, I am not a fan of Obama but he was never "threating" to Iran, like wtf!

[PoliticsAdInfinitum]

I know there smart people in iran than these idiots

[PakistaniShaheen]

i agree the islamist government in iran are thugs and opress their people, but jews and israelis are the last people to be there protesting against human rights abuses

[pay0ma]

exactly

[takingmysweetestime5]

As an Iranian, go to hell Aljazeera!!!!

You picked a few young Iranians whose families support the Iranian government, are rich, have had the god damn luxury of studying in the US or outside of Iran, go back to Iran and live their lavish lives while most of Iran's population is below poverty level!!! Then they say all these bad things about America and Israel like Iranians care about the Israeli-Palestinian crisis at all! Go to hell you fuck face Arabs and all you Arab loving whores!

[fatbastardisback]

wow, slow down a notch with the language. Al jazeera is at least reporting something from Iran, and, I am an Iranian and care deeply about the Isreal-Palestinian crisis.

[chug26]

why do u care there Arabs we r Iranian why should we care about Arabs they just wanna attack as as much as isreal we are the only White peaple of the middle east land of the aryans

[chug26]

haha yeah us Iranians only want to be free from the ayatolahs and live fun lives like in the US Iranians love to drink and smoke u kno party party :) lol

[misss50]

hay!!! goto my profile and msg my msn name if u want to talk! x

[PersianAmerican88]

and i suppose muslims don't accuse you of islamophoba everytime you critisice islam?

israel has every right to exist because it existed long before the arabs invented islam and it will keep on existing.

because they are briliant people.

love israel from a Persian American ;)

[priorzola]

The best candidate for the entire Middle East is the one who as president will wean the US most quickly from the need for oil thus making the Middle East economically irrelevant to us UNLESS they learn to diversify their markets, prop up their Middle Class, extend civl liberties to all and become an appealing market for the US. The removal of OIL from the equation will be beneficial for both sides because it will allow Muslim nations to loosen the oligarchal control of clerics and OIL MEN.

[cubaneiros]

I honestly believe that Obama says many things thinking only about the campaign. He simply HAS to be pro-israel.

As president I'm sure he would much more understanding of the Palestine issue and the Iranian context.

Now, if he will be able to ACT on his understanding, because of lobbies and whatnot, well that's a whole different story.

[lproth]

Iran will be bombed in the next year. No matter who is in the white house. Iran testing a bomb is a game changer, full Nuclear war will soon follow.

[Omer698]

both Obama and McCain try to prove who loves Israel more, Obama did a very dangerous thing by saying that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel even though under international law its recognized as occupied territory. Where's the "Change" in that.

[addictfan]

im sorry if u think im being a bully, i was just showing my discontent for anyone to promote any type of war no matter what the reasons are. again im sorry if i came off strong against you, sometimes i feel too passionate or prideful of my views. but no matter what i cant sway from what i think is right or wrong. open talks about differences are very encouraging torward peace, i just hope we wont start spewing propaganda. good luck, i'm sorry if my ideas or thoughts affected you in a bad way.

[TaskiyahEmaani]

you're wise not to trust them, they only care for thier own interest and have no regard for the enocent citizens caught in between.

the only one authority we can ever put our trust in is God.

[addictfan]

im calling you a coward. u say i have nothing but hate? look at your own ignorant statements, and when did i say we should support genocide? your views and thoughts of my views are very horrible and distorted. but thats ok, because one day you will see that saying lets kill people is not the answer, and also saying lets commit genocide like ur saying death to israel isnt the answer. dont try to pin your views on me and say im disgusting. because its you, just look at yourself and your comments.

[TaskiyahEmaani]

its reasuring to see that some iraneans are still open to reconcile with america, however i dont see any peace with a nation that is bent on open warfare.

if america is so serious about peace and only has good will towards the iranean people they should get dont from thier high horse and actully start talking properly instead of bombarding us with useless rhetoric.

[indulf]

Has Aljazeera been infiltrated by MI6 or the CIA or what?

[artc27]

America is an idea brought to reality. It is a collection of bits and pieces from all over the world, different on many aspects from each other, yet united in its goal: to live and support the Idea of America, and flourish from it.

What is the Idea of America, you ask? You, and everyone else. Being an individual with abilities and talents that can be projected into Society and wherein Society and You can flourish from it is the American Idea. Individuality is of prime importance here.

[artc27]

So what's my point? Everybody has the right to exist. The fact that everybody is an individual gives them the right to be who they are and live for what they stand for. You can't deny them that unless...You hate the American Idea.

[somethingawful01]

Israel has no right to exist. There never was an area or region called Israel, only Palestine. Learn some history. I support Sazzy and I hate the American Idea (nice of you to put it with a capital letter). Do you know what the American Idea (Ideology) is? Of course you don't. Do you know what the founding fathers had in mind? Do you even know who started US imperialism? Of course you don't, if you did you wouldn't write this rubbish.

[takerdust]

Even if Israel was disbanded, and the people kicked out, these kooks commenting here would still give anti-semitic comments.

Jew Gold, Jews controlling everything, Jews are evil etc, etc.

[artc27]

Well, that's the kind of thinking that gets people dead... on both sides. Change the word Israel to America and American Flag into Islam, and voila! you sound like a terrorist.

[Mrpastry909]

Yeah, how dare they defend themselves from people who have gone against peace treaties and kill themselves and other in the most cowardly way possible.

[ross1323]

These young Iranians are welcome in my house anytime! I am a US Army service member who is willing to listen to them and do whatever it takes to prevent an escalation of force to settle any provocation for the betterment of our relations.

[bfq3000]

Uh, don't worry, I won't continue my "rude, inhumane, cyberbully" behavior of posting responses that you do not agree with. Sorry, I guess I was mistaken when I thought that a diversity of opinions in a rational debate would help in the truth discovery process. I now know I should have just listened to you all along and kept my mouth shut. My deepest and most sincere apologies.

[mtndewjh]

Execellent views by all three. I as an American appreciate the opinions of those who can provide honest insight to situations i believe most americans are blind to. We(americans)have a common misconception of Middle Eastern nations that needs to be changed on a large scale and the way to do it is through education by video clips like yours. Thank you.

[blingb1tch]

America is the great satan. Look at history & see what they did to the natives before colonising that continent, not to mention the jews slave trade. Persia is a proud nation & been around for thousands of years.

[Mrpastry909]

blingb1tch, you're late for you propoganda bath.

[ChemiMahpour]

America = Hitler with Lip stick!

[bfq3000]

And I don't approve of the war in Iraq. I don't approve of America's role as the world's police officer. It is morally wrong and usually results in terrible unintended consequences. The Mossadegh coup is an excellent example of this.

And then you accuse me of being inhumane? Why? Because I want to stop the expansion of nuclear proliferation? Because I don't support a regime with contempt for human rights that is hostile to other nations? You need to get your head checked.

[bfq3000]

Secondly, while I certainly agree that the Israeli occupation should have ended decades ago, that has nothing to do with Iran. No Israeli has taken anything from Iran. Unless you believe the piece of land they occupy was promised to your people by God (which is the exact same thing as Revisionist Zionism I might add). In fact, Persians are the traditional enemies of the Arabs, which makes this all the more unique.

[bfq3000]

Islamophobia is a bogus term just like anti-Semitic. I am anti-Islam (the religion), but not anti-Muslim (my fellow human beings). I am also anti-Christianity and anti-Judaism (but not anti-Christian or anti-Jew).

My specific complaints with Islam and Sharia (to start) are that it claims to know what it cannot, those who do not believe are treated as second-class, women effectively have half the rights of a man and apostasy, adultery, homosexuality and heresy are punishable by death.

[bfq3000]

I agree anti-Semitic is a bullshit term. They should think up a new word. Maybe anti-Jew. Same thing for Islamophobia meaning that you're prejudiced against Muslims. There's a big difference between being anti-Islam and being anti-Muslim.

BTW, Ashkenazi's genealogy have been traced back the Middle East. There's some mixing with converts in there, but not exclusively converts from Khazaria or somewhere else in the Caucasus or Ukraine or wherever like some would have you believe.

[bfq3000]

As for nuclear weapons, do you understand what these weapons are capable of? Do you understand that if Iran gets nukes that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and perhaps others will want them as well? The world does not need more nuclear powers. Especially if the country seeking the nukes is run by a group of hostile radical apocalyptic religious fanatics with no respect for freedom of expression, freedom of religion, woman's rights, ethnic minorities or homosexuals.

[bfq3000]

Listen, I'm not defending the Israeli occupation. It should have ended no later than the late 70's. And Revisionist Zionism (the idea that the whole "Greater Israel" was promised to Jews by God) I find repulsive. But Zionism happened 60-130 years ago and is unquestionably a historical event (not a current event as Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollahs would have you believe) and the state of Israel has a right to exist.

[addictfan]

just because one person creates war does not mean you need to be a coward like them and support a war against them. obviously religious extremists want to blow themselves up and bring death to them. please tell me, how the fuck is supporting either side suppose to solve the issue? if iran is invaded then id consider the US completely doomed, iran is a way bigger fish than iraq. we dont have the capability to invade but we can air raid them. while muslims can bomb and spread fundamentalism.

[HaloedG]

Why do Israelis want to make their agenda the American agenda? Last I checked, they were the ones who were taking land from Palestine.

[addictfan]

man why cant you just say end zionism or something? do you really need to say death to israel? how can you call anyone a parasite and think that your true? somewhere there is someone saying you and your peoples ways are like parasites. all i see is israel killing innocent palestinians while palestinians fire rockets into israel. this problem wont be solved by purely saying its israel and the jews. its zionism that is to blame along with extremists. jews muslim and christians worship the same god

[bfq3000]

These people being interviewed seem relatively intelligent but are completely naive about the sham that is their political system. This is what happens in totalitarian societies where information about the outside world is controlled by the government. In Iran, press freedom is consistently among the worlds bottom 10, presidential candidates are hand-picked from thousands of applicants by the so-called Assembly of "Experts" (aka. the Clerics) and dissenting minorities are not tolerated.

[bfq3000]

Well, I'll admit that "wiped off the map" statement was blown out of proportion. But, it is frequent to see Ahmadinejad speak of how Zionists don't belong in the region or lead chants of "Death to Israel" or rant on about his insane apocalyptic religious worldview. This is not the kind of regime that should have nuclear weapons (too many nations have them already). This is not the kind of regime that the Iranian people deserve.

[LittleHipHop]

everybody is lying.iran has no nuclear weapon program..for me to believe it i will have to see this friggin bomb.i want ahmadinejad to show me that he knows how to use it and last but not least i want him to actually detonate the thing in teheran.then and only then will i believe.but believe alone wont be enough to get me to do anything about it.why should i, i mean eight or nine other nation have the bomb and our goverments done nothing about that.

[addictfan]

lol so u deny he wants to destroy israel and then end up saying death to israel urself?

[soulelegance]

There are lies being spread against Iran. Who benefits from these lies? The jewish who use american polictians as their attack and lap dogs.

[jumjum151]

What a mess. I hope Iran throws out this nutjob soon and returns to being a great country once again.

[Longlivepalestine]

Bunk90, your ignorance is astounding. How can you have the audacity to say such things in the month of Ramadhan? Don't you want your fast to be counted? I recommend you ask forgiveness from Allah immediately. If you want to debate, be more respectful and less irrational.

[connielane]

The male students speak English without an accent! How does that happen?

[Fabuloso2324]

Maybe they were educated in the west? I'm sure they were special students studying overseas.

[RezaMohammady]

@Fabuloso2324: The guy with the black hair, was raised and studied political science in Austin, TX. The lady, is an English teacher in Tehran. The other guy with the glasses and army pants, is born and raised in Shiraz-Iran and except for 12 hours in Iraq, never has been overseas.

I hope it would be obviouse for you how do I know.

SEMPER FI.

[Fabuloso2324]

I'm sorry did I say something that offended you? I think if I can recall, I said they were probably educated in the west! No its not obvious for me because I do not know these people personally and probably presumed they were educated in the west because of their excellent command of the english langauge.

[RezaMohammady]

@Fabuloso2324: No of course not! What would you think you were offended me? In fact you were right about two of them who were educated overseas. But the other one (the guy with glasses) you know him personally; because he's now replying your comment!

Unfortuantly, because of the short time and AjJazeera's special viewpoint, I got cut off from the on-air footage. I'll upload the original footage soon.

[RezaMohammady]

@connielane: Please read my answer to 'Fabuloso2324'. By the way, they're not students.

[blunt1984]

Wow, it's sad that these young Iranians understand US politics better than young Americans.

Both parties are the same thing in a different package!

[LittleHipHop]

that means every goverment is run by liars and nothing they say should believed until you see the things with your own eyes?

[blunt1984]

Of course.

Just look at the Democrats, they ran their 2006 Congressional election campaign on "getting rid of the culture of corruption" and "ending the Iraq War".

Look at the results:

1. Our troops are STILL in Iraq

2. Congressman Charles Rangel-NY said the reason he failed to pay taxes on his house in the Dominican Republic was because he "doesn't speak Spanish" even though his own district in Harlem is over 50% Spanish speaking.

I could go on forever if I wanted.-LoL

[LittleHipHop]

who voted for 4 more years bush and give him the power a)to invade iraq b)to send more than 4000 soldiers to their death c)why are the troops still there? because of the dems?

anyway,its really easy to point the finger of whatever and give them the reason for every shit you are one nation and part of one world.

do your children still recited the pledge allegiance in school?

...with liberty and justice for all?

[blunt1984]

Not me. I voted for Kerry.-LoL

Anyways, they are both trash.

Vote third party if you have a conscience, cuz the Dems and GOP are sell-outs to corporatism and Zionism.

That's why we're STILL in Iraq and Afghanistan, because Israel wants us to fight their wars for them; and corporations such as Halliburton, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, etc. make big profits off of more wars and our military-industrial complex.

[allgoo19]

I don't believe these represent the normal Iranians(non-religious fundamentalists).

Not critical of the leader who's the extention of the regime came to the power by a coup?

Do you suppose freedom of speech is guaranteed in Iran?

You can meet many Iranians in the US(no need to explain why they left there) who oppose the government policy and tell you their honest opinion.

[superc]

Al Jazeera, STOP SPREADING THE LIES OF MAINSTREAM MEDIA. Ahmadinejad NEVER said that he will wipe off Israel from the Map. Read the article "The Importance of Cole v. Hitchens" from Huffington Post or GOOGLE IT!

[warcraft1920]

Try looking at the last time he came to the U.N. He said he would wipe Isreal off the map. I say go ahead and try. It would give us a reason to wipe That piece of shit Iran off the face of the earth

[superc]

Al Jazeera, STOP SPREADING THE LIES OF MAINSTREAM MEDIA. Ahmadinejad NEVER said that he will wipe off Israel from the Map. Read the article "The Importance of Cole v. Hitchens" from Huffington Post or GOOGLE IT!

[PeaceProfit]

No viable candidate is antiwar Obama is as close to propeace as is available in this election cycle, is the only candidate with the global credibility, recognition & acceptance to seriously begin the long process of pulling away from the abyss toward a horizon of creating a World4Peace,

Votes other wise are prolonging the decline toward an inevitable collapse, this election is not about self centered america it is about the global situation health prosperity & future of mankind and this planet.

[superc]

Did he really "threaten" to bomb Israel? WHere's the link?

[PeaceProfit]

superc, perhaps this question is directed toward another comment, as i*am only addressing the question between Obama & McCain as viable world leaders, in a time when peace & humanity is the only path to global salvation for man.

[ACTORnSCREENWRITER]

Iran looks like a very beautiful place. I'd like to visit it someday, God willingly

Afghan-American

[somethingawful01]

I would like to thank Al Jazeera for this video. It shows that Iranians, not brainwashed by the US machine, think alike and all want to see a free Iran. Iran does not want to see the US on its soil, nor do the Iranian people want to see the UK, France or any other super power. They remember the revolution, the catastrophe that followed and Mossadegh very well. He is still mourned and no foreign army will be accepted into Iran, unless it be an army sent back in body bags.

[somethingawful01]

As the people interviewed said, the US is untrustable and is only after oil. That is the simple truth and has been the drive of the US for the past century. No US imposed puppet will be accepted and, just as the current regime is being fought in the streets of Iran (something not reported), any US regime will also be met and greeted with a rain of bullets.

Dorood bar mardome Iran! Dorood bar in seta ke vagheato goftan!

[TECHKLEC]

Well, somethingawful01, we weren't met by with much hostility from your people when we saved your asses during WW2. Your'e welcome.

[ponstonxx]

Israel wants land and maericans want oil.. so there's no way that iran can have peace with west or any mid-east to have Peace. we should better make our own socio economic union.. have our own media, entertainment, sports, culture..I mean all the middle east. there's no need to rely on jewsih based american alliance.