Columbia University Does It Right

Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Iran's Orator-in-Chief, will be spewing forth at Columbia University during his upcoming trip to the UN. Not surprisingly, his appearance at both institutions has provoked much spilling of venom, ink, and electrons.

The Geek is not prepared to comment on the calls for President Ahmedinejad's arrest on charges of his having violated anti-terrorism laws. The most the Geek will do regarding this issue is to say that it would set a very poor precedent particularly as more than a few academics, jurists, and journalists in Egypt and elsewhere in the Mideast have alleged that President Bush should face trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes alike.

On the matter of the invitation extended by Columbia University to Ahmedinejad, the Geek is prepared to take a principled, historically sanctioned position. The University is doing the right thing this year by not knuckling under to outside pressure and retracting the invitation.

Those who would prevent Ahmedinejad from speaking are committing the same wrong as the Islamists who seek to censor through intimidation. Those who might seek to stop the speech and ensuing question and answer session either before or during the event would be doing this country and the West generally a great disservice in our Cold War with the Islamists.

Freedom of expression, as the Geek has written before, is the Western value upon which so many others rest. It is one of our greatest strengths in the new Cold War. To the contrary, the willingness, no, the eagerness of Islamists and their supporters to squash expression is a sign of intellectual and moral bankruptcy.

Ahmedinejad has shown himself repeatedly to be a warper of historical reality almost without equal. His loose lipped, no-brain style has been alternately infuriating and (unintentionally) amusing. Ahmedinejad's denial of the slaughter of the Jews during World War II, like his call for the eradication of Israel from the map are infuriating. His sputtering threats against the US are amusing.

Combining humor and annoyance in equal measure are President Ahmedinejad's denial of Iranian involvement in Iraq, his protestations of friendship with the Iraqi people, and his rejection of any Iranian involvement with Hezbollah. It's OK for presidents to lie--it's one of the lesser publicised components of their job description--but Ahmedinejad carries it over the edge.

Actually, unlike New York mayor Bloomberg, the Geek would like to be in the audience when the Iranian Orator-in-Chief stands and delivers. The Geek would like to take an up-close and personal measure of Ahmedinejad's capacity to answer tough questions such as those promised by Columbia University's chancellor.

Ahmedinejad may never sit in the defendant's chair at a criminal trial. But, if Columbia University takes proper advantage of the opportunity, the Iranian will be coming close. The Geek would love to be there, front and center, to watch the man squirm, to smell the cloying odor of lies under production, to hear the answers--

And, to judge.

That is the real point of freedom of expression. It is the point the Islamists in their blind fear miss. By watching and listening to the flow of question and answer, each of us can judge. Each of us can decide where the truth exists and where it doesn't.

Get a grip on this--

Ahmedinejad must speak. He must answer questions. He must lie. We must give him the fullest possible opportunity to convict himself and his regime. To do anything less is to hurt ourselves and our values. More--it lets the Iranian head of government walk clear of the court of public opinion.