Mere Rhetoric: British Journalists Put Holocaust Denial On The Spectrum Of Respectable Positions

Our read of Ahmadinejad is that he has a demagogue's instinct for persuasion, even if he is the stupid taxi driver that Chris Hitchens takes him for. He knows - either explicitly or implicitly - that more than half the fight is over what people are allowed to say out loud. Once someone introduces a topic, they can get condemned as much as their opponents have the time and energy to denounce them - but they point is that they establish themselves as worthy of being addressed. At that point, unless the condemnations are so strong that they're effectively cowed into submission, they've effectively moved the line on what counts as 'just another opinion on the political spectrum'. Ahmadinejad has always insisted that his brand of crazy is a very deliberate strategy - and there's no reason to believe that he's just blustering about that. His goal has always been to make Holocaust denial 'just another position' - not an accepted one and not even one that people agree with. But nonetheless, all he wants to do is put it on the spectrum of theories.

This morning, CAMERA has a devastating post about the International Herald Tribune's coverage of the Holocaust denial travesty in Iran. The tone and framing of the article pretty much proves that Ahmadinejad has succeeded:

Holocaust denial is given an air of respectability in the International Herald Tribune in Nazila Fathi’s December 12 “news” story, “Holocaust conference draws skeptics to Iran." The theories of the conference's invited Holocaust deniers—described as “scholars and researchers”—are granted the same legitimacy and credibility as what Fathi terms “the accepted version of events” surrounding the Nazi genocide of Jews. At no point in the article does Fathi state as fact that millions of Jews were murdered by the Nazis, and that those who claim otherwise are liars. The New York Times, parent company of the IHT which goes to press a few hours after the Tribune, also ran the Fathi article. But in sharp contrast to the IHT, the Times edited the piece extensively, repeatedly clarifying for readers the facts about those debating the Holocaust.

Ahmadinejad doesn't have to convince people that he's right. He just has to establish an environment where he's one of the people that you have to address, and he's won the battle to make Holocaust denial respectable. Who could've guessed that it'd be the British press that first grants him an open win?

Except anyone who knows anything.

Previously: If Britain Won't Stop Radical Islam, Why Should Radical Islam Stop Being Radical?, Britain Can't Beat Even Especially Stupid Islamism, Britain Presents Innovative Plan For Restarting Peace Process