Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to George W. Bush
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Main Article: Ahmadinejad's Letter
On May 8, 2006, Ahmadinejad sent a direct secret letter to United States President George Bush to propose "new ways" to end Iran's nuclear dispute. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley both had reviewed the letter and considered it to be a broad, historical look at the U.S.-Iranian relationship. That was the first direct contact between both goverments since April 9 1980. [1]
The letter has achieved more positive press coverage than President Ahmadinejad has ever gotten. With Western powers unable to reach agreement about a United Nations Security Council resolution on Iran's nuclear program, online commentators says Ahmadinejad's 18-page letter (originally in Persian) promotes the idea that Iran is open to compromise at a time when the rest of the world is divided.[2]
The letter, the first written communication between the leaders of the two countries in 27 years, criticizes Bush for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, detainee abuse in U.S.-run facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, and for his support of Israel. In this letter President Ahmadinejad repeatedly praises prophets and their teaching and refers to Moses twice in the letter respectfully.
The letter received various reactions. "Regardless of the content of Ahmadinejad's letter ... such a communication could lead the two sides to direct talks," the centrist Shargh newspaper said somewhat optimistically. "Whatever its content, the letter crosses the red line of non-negotiation. If Ahmadinejad's letter gets a positive response, a new chapter could open and then we could say it is possible to talk and get results in the shadow of war," it said.
In the letter, it was implied that the official American story of the 9/11 attacks are inaccurate [3].
Some analysts, compared the letter with the historical letter by Ayatollah Khomeini to Gorbachev, where he predicted the collapse of communist regime. [4]
Other analysts, working from the original text, have pointed out that the letter follows the format of a Da'wa message, including the traditional ending used by Mohammed in his Da'wa messages to the Byzantine leaders and the nomadic Arab tribes. This phrase, which translates more formally as "peace only unto those who follow the true path", is often interpreted as a threat of violence. The letter also includes many references to Jesus as a Muslim prophet, a common signature of Da'wa letters directed towards Christians. [5]