(H/T to MM) Could Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad invitation to speak at Coulumbia University have been a quid pro quo?
The president of Columbia University is expressing relief that a Columbia alumnus was released from an Iranian prison ” just days before the Iranian president is scheduled to speak at Columbia University.
Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, who works for George Soros’s Open Society Institute, was one of several Iranian-Americans detained by Iran for allegedly conspiring against Iran’s national security.
Tajbakhsh was freed on bail last Thursday. Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad is speaking at Columbia on Monday, and the invitation for him to appear on campus has drawn widespread condemnation from politicians and ordinary Americans, who view Amadinejad as an enemy of the United States and Israel.
See what others have said:
I still think “Mr. I’m in a dinnerjacket” ought to be detained by a “student” group for 444 days and then turned over to the Israelis to get Israeli servicemen held by Iran freed.
I am getting royally pissed that kidnapping and ransom are accepted diplomatic tools in the Mideast and the usual lib voices are silent if not supportive of countries and groups who use these tools.