Iranian President blasts Bush´s middle east policies in open letter

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-30-2006 13:35

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has released a letter to the American public, blasting US President George W. Bush's Middle East policies. The letter comes at a time when Bush is under pressure to open direct contacts with Tehran.

Later on Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the Iranian President's letter to the American people was a public relations stunt. He rejected Ahmadinejad's accusation that the White House governs by coercion, force and injustice.

In the letter, the Iranian President called on Washington to pull out of Iraq and recognize a Palestinian state.

On Iraq, he said that with a constitution and government now in place, it was time to bring US officers and soldiers home, and to spend the astronomical US military expenditures on the American people.

Referring to Israel, Ahmadinejad accused the US administration of supporting "oppressors" in the Middle East, disregarding popular opinion in the US, and of the trampling Palestinian rights.

He also cautioned Democratic Party legislators, who have just gained control of the US Congress, saying that they would be judged by history.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, noted the letter was just five pages long, compared to an 18-page letter in May.

Editor:Ji Xuewen