Ahmadinejad Kickback, Does the Mande and the Samba…………..
“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in the Gambian capital Banjul for a one-day visit to the West African country. He was welcomed by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh at Banjul International Airport on Sunday. The two presidents spoke to reporters after their meeting. Gambian President Yahya Jammeh said that Gambia and Iran have broadened their relations in recent years in the political, cultural, and economic spheres. President Jammeh noted that Gambia is considering joint investments with Iran in the industrial and agricultural sectors.……….”
“Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, is set to receive Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, here on Monday in his first state visit to Brazil. The visit is part of a larger push by Mr. da Silva to wade into the seemingly intractable world of Middle East politics, and follows visits in the last two weeks by Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority. But the visit is drawing criticism from lawmakers and former diplomats here and in the United States, who say it could undercut Western efforts to press Iran on its nuclear program, and consequently chill Brazil’s relations with the United States and damage its growing reputation as a global power……… “This is part of Brazil projecting its role and strength as a global player,” said Michael Shifter, vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy research group in Washington. “And part of this has to do with Brazil sending a message to Washington that it will deal whomever it wants to deal with.”…….....”
Ahmadinejad has some advantages outside his own country over his regional rivals:
He is about half the age of Saudi King Abdullah.
Egypt's Mubarak is no rival to anybody: he is still napping, has been for 28 years. Besides, Ahmadinejad will not be around for 28 years, he will be gone from the scene in four years.
His nearest real Israeli rival is Shimon Perez, the elderly figurehead president who is perceived as a relative moderate. It is Perez who traveled to Brazil and other countries, especially in the developing world, not the head of government.
Netanyahu is largely unpopular almost everywhere outside the United States (which might tell us something about how the rest of the world sees his settlement expansion policies compared to the US).
As for Lieberman (Avigdor Lieberman the extreme right-wing Israeli foreign minister not Joe Lieberman the plain right-wing US senator): he is considered a quasi-fascist in most countries, including some European countries. Maybe they also know that he will be indicted and convicted of corruption one of these days. He is already facing a possible indictment. He rarely shows his face in public in many countries.
Can it be the nose-thumbing at the West? Yet both Netanyahu and Lieberman thumb their noses at the West much more than the Iranians do, especially at the current US President. But they still don’t get much respect for it anywhere except in the United States. Interestin, but more later......
Cheers
mhg
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