[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great

[cyrus]

Rumsfeld slams Iran's 'mock' elections

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/06/26/iran.us/index.html?section=cnn_latest

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday called Iran's presidential election invalid and the winner "no friend of democracy."

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Rumsfeld said the Iranian government had paved the way for ultra-conservative Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to win the post.

The Iranian president does not run the country; supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameinei has the final word in matters of state in the Islamic theocracy. But the United States and others hoped the victor in the election would be someone they deemed more committed to democratic reforms.

"I think leaving the American people with the impression that it was an election that was valid -- there were over 1,000 candidates that were disqualified, that weren't even allowed to run," Rumsfeld said.

"So the fact that they had a mock election and elected a hard-liner ought not come to any surprise to anybody because all the other people were told they couldn't run."

Iran's Guardian Council did disqualify more than 1,000 candidates, including all the women who wanted to run. President Bush and others in his administration have also slammed Iran's elections.

But seven candidates -- with differences among them -- did receive substantial numbers of votes.

Many election observers had predicted defeat for Ahmadinejad. Iran's Islamic theocratic regime supported a different candidate, while two-term former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani -- who has taken softer stances on certain key issues -- was expected to win.

Rafsanjani won the most votes in the general national elections, but Ahmadinejad took Friday's runoff with almost 62 percent of the vote.

Rafsanjani complained of fraud, alleging an illegal effort to weaken his candidacy. (Full story)

"By spending tens of billions from the people's treasury, they tried to destroy me and my family's reputation," he wrote. "The penalty for such injustice perpetuated against the county, the people and myself, will incur punishment in this world and the next."

An official with Iran's Interior Ministry also accused Iran's Guardian Council -- which runs the elections -- of fraud in the runoff vote. (Full story)

Rumsfeld said he does not "known much about" Ahmadinejad. "But he is no friend of democracy. He's no friend of freedom. He is a person who is very much supportive of the current ayatollahs, who are telling the people of that country how to live their lives."

"My guess is, over time, the young people and the women will find him, as well as his masters, unacceptable."

Ahmadinejad on Sunday defended his nation's elections and rejected criticism, saying the vote was fair and that he will represent all Iranians.

Ahmadinejad vowed that "moderation will be the main policy of this government regarding internal affairs" and "no extremism will be acceptable."

He promised his government will be one of "peace" and will "cooperate with all other countries."

But he also said his country has "no significant need for [relations with] the United States."

Israeli criticism rejected
Israel, meanwhile, also condemned the elections.

"We do not consider them to be democratic elections by any means," said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

"Furthermore, the result proves once again that Iran is heading toward more radicalism and extremism rather than toward reform and reconciliation."

He cited "the Iranian nuclear threat," a reference to U.S. and Israeli concerns that Iran is trying to operate a covert nuclear weapons program -- a charge Tehran denies.

Shalom called on the international community to "formulate a unified and stern policy toward Iran. We must insure that more than Western countries will not become hostages of the Iranian radicalism. We call upon the U.N. Security Council to take the matter into its own hands."

Ahmadinejad responded to the Israeli government's remarks Sunday.

"If you are accusing somebody, you must bring evidence," he said, accusing Israel of causing "disturbances in the Middle East."

Israel has "no right to make such comments about Iran," he said.

Ahmadinejad said his nation will continue its nuclear program "for peaceful purposes, and it is our right to have that capacity for energy, for medical purposes and development of our technology."

The European Union has led talks on the issue with Tehran, and Ahmadinejad said those talks would continue.

[cyrus]

Rumsfeld dismisses "mock" Iranian elections
Sun. 26 Jun 2005


AFP

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday dismissed as illegitimate the landslide presidential election victory in Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Tehran's hard-line mayor.

"There were over 1,000 candidates that were disqualified -- that weren't even allowed to run," Rumsfeld told the Fox News Sunday television program.

"So the fact that they had a mock election and elected a hardliner ought not come to any surprise to anybody, because all the other people were told they couldn't run -- it's against the law.

Rumsfeld predicted that Iranians eventually will become disenchanted by Ahmadinejad.

"I don't know much about this fellow. He's young. I've read backgrounds on him. But he is no friend of democracy. He's no friend of freedom," Rumsfeld said.

"He is a person who is very much supportive of the current ayatollahs, who are telling the people of that country how to live their lives. And my guess is over time, the young people and the women will find him, as well as his masters, unacceptable."

[cyrus]

Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld.html

Donald H. Rumsfeld was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense on January 20, 2001. Before assuming his present post, the former Navy pilot had also served as the 13th Secretary of Defense, White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, U.S. Congressman and chief executive officer of two Fortune 500 companies.

Secretary Rumsfeld is responsible for directing the actions of the Defense Department in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The war is being waged against a backdrop of major change within the Department of Defense. The department has developed a new defense strategy and replaced the old model for sizing forces with a newer approach more relevant to the 21st century. Secretary Rumsfeld proposed and the President approved a significant reorganization of the worldwide command structure, known as the Unified Command Plan, that resulted in the establishment of the U.S. Northern Command and the U.S. Strategic Command, the latter charged with the responsibilities formerly held by the Strategic and Space Commands which were disestablished.

The Department also has refocused its space capabilities and fashioned a new concept of strategic deterrence that increases security while reducing strategic nuclear weapons. To help strengthen the deterrent, the missile defense research and testing program has been reorganized and revitalized, free of the restraints of the ABM treaty.

Mr. Rumsfeld attended Princeton University on academic and NROTC scholarships (A.B., 1954) and served in the U.S. Navy (1954-57) as an aviator and flight instructor. In 1957, he transferred to the Ready Reserve and continued his Naval service in flying and administrative assignments as a drilling reservist until 1975. He transferred to the Standby Reserve when he became Secretary of Defense in 1975 and to the Retired Reserve with the rank of Captain in 1989.

In 1957, he came to Washington, DC to serve as Administrative Assistant to a Congressman. After a stint with an investment banking firm, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois in 1962, at the age of 30, and was re-elected in 1964, 1966, and 1968.

Mr. Rumsfeld resigned from Congress in 1969 during his fourth term to join the President's Cabinet. From 1969 to 1970, he served as Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and Assistant to the President. From 1971 to 1972, he was Counsellor to the President and Director of the Economic Stabilization Program. In 1973, he left Washington, DC, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium (1973-1974).

In August 1974, he was called back to Washington, DC, to serve as Chairman of the transition to the Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. He then became Chief of Staff of the White House and a member of the President's Cabinet (1974-1975). He served as the 13th U.S. Secretary of Defense, the youngest in the country's history (1975-1977).

From 1977 to 1985 he served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of G.D. Searle & Co., a worldwide pharmaceutical company. The successful turnaround there earned him awards as the Outstanding Chief Executive Officer in the Pharmaceutical Industry from the Wall Street Transcript (1980) and Financial World (1981). From 1985 to 1990 he was in private business.

Mr. Rumsfeld served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Instrument Corporation from 1990 to 1993. General Instrument Corporation was a leader in broadband transmission, distribution, and access control technologies. Until being sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld served as Chairman of the Board of Gilead Sciences, Inc., a pharmaceutical company.

Before returning for his second tour as Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld chaired the bipartisan U.S. Ballistic Missile Threat Commission, in 1998, and the U.S. Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization, in 2000.

During his business career, Mr. Rumsfeld continued his public service in a variety of Federal posts, including:

Member of the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control (1982 - 1986);
Special Presidential Envoy on the Law of the Sea Treaty (1982 - 1983);
Senior Advisor to the President's Panel on Strategic Systems (1983 - 1984);
Member of the U.S. Joint Advisory Commission on U.S./Japan Relations (1983 - 1984);
Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East (1983 - 1984);
Member of the National Commission on Public Service (1987 - 1990);
Member of the National Economic Commission (1988 - 1989);
Member of the Board of Visitors of the National Defense University (1988 - 1992);
Member of the Commission on U.S./Japan Relations (1989 - 1991); and
Member of the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission (1999 - 2000).
While in the private sector, Mr. Rumsfeld's civic activities included service as a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the boards of trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the National Park Foundation, and as Chairman of the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Inc.

In 1977, Mr. Rumsfeld was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

[Martin]

Thanks Rummie!