Christiane Amanpour and Hassan Rouhani: almost there, only to get a slap on the face

It is an open secret that Ms Amanpour was very excited about the election of Hassan Rouhani to the post of the new puppet of Ayatollahs. It is also not an especially contained secret that Ms Amanpour doesn't like us (Israelis) very much.

The recent visit of Hassan Rouhani allowed Ms Amanpour's hopes about the new progressive "leader" of the theocracy to soar. Really high, and in her interview with the guest you can see her smile being so sweet, her breath quicken and her pulse going up where the eagles... well, you got the drift by now. The headline Why Rouhani may be different conveys part of that excitement only too well. And all the ingredients of that excitement (including the word "excitement" itself) appear in this article, no denying it.

To prove that her exhilaration about her heart's new champion is built on a firm base, Ms Amanpour has decided to apply to him the ultimate litmus test: the Holocaust exam*. And here is what Hassan Rouhani has to say on the subject, according to CNN:

I've said before that I am not a historian and then when it comes to speaking of the dimensions of the Holocaust, it is the historians that should reflected on it. But in general I can tell you that any crime that happens in history against humanity, including the crime the Nazis created towards the Jews is reprehensible and condemnable.

Whatever criminality they committed against the Jews, we condemn. The taking of human life is contemptible. It makes no difference whether that life is Jewish life, Christian or Muslim. For us it is the same.

The taking of human life is something our religion rejects but this does not mean that on the other hand, you can say Nazis committed crimes against a group now therefore they must usurp the land of another group and occupy it. This, too, is an act that should be condemned. There should be an even-handed discussion.

If you discard that interesting quip about not being an historian and the general reference to the role of historians, Christiane Amanpour must have been ecstatic toward the end of the translation.

And then the Iranians came and spoiled that lovefest. FARS news agency didn't wait a day before coming out with a smashing: Exclusive: CNN Fabricates Iranian President's Remarks about Holocaust **. Oh boy, oh boy...

The CNN aired its interview with Rouhani on Tuesday but the news channel added to or changed parts of his remarks when Christiane Amanpour asked him about the Holocaust.

You can read the rest, but here are the most offensive, in the eyes of FARS, bits of the CNN's version:

• The mention of the word "Holocaust" in the first sentence of the above quote.
• The sentence "Whatever criminality they committed against the Jews, we condemn."

How do you like them chickens now? And the manner of the offense, as it is perceived by FARS, is also telling: the alterations in the Rouhani's interview, allegedly perpetrated by CNN, "totally change what His Excellency President Rouhani has said". Make what you will of this...

And then, as if it was not enough insult for Ms Amanpour and her budding hopes, Mr Rouhani does some rabble-rousing at UN, misses (on purpose) the opportunity for a handshake with the POTUS and shoots down the attempts to meet, so desired by the said POTUS in his drive to "engage" once more with Iran.

Thus, until the famous Farsi expert Juan Cole gets involved and translates both Farsi and English texts again to achieve a single, harmonious version that will inspire a new wave of romantic feelings, the current bout of love experienced so briefly by our Christiane, should be considered null and void.

Nothing to see here, move along, ladies and gentlemen.

Update: As for the part of Ms Amanpour in the translation debacle, see this:

Head of FARS's political desk testified in favor of Amanpour's Farsi. He said she speaks Farsi and "she knows the language better than me."

Fascinating...

Via Norm.

(*) Who asked her to do it, on whose behalf and why was it done at all, may remain a mystery forever.
(**) This and the CNN text are copied and kept down there for posterity.

Update 2: Here is an agitated response from Ms Amanpour:

...CNN reported exactly what Rouhani said. Entire interview for anyone to watch at http://t.co/4aH4b4zAqS
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) September 26, 2013

Who should I believe more in this case? All things considered, it will be FARS News, sorry to say. More here.

Update 3: Iran Mulling Legal Action against CNN

After CNN falsified the Iranian president's statements about the Holocaust in an interview aired on Tuesday, now senior Tehran officials are mulling strict legal action against the American news network. While the Iranian president did not recognize the Holocaust, the CNN aired a translation which contained several words and sentences which were not uttered by the Iranian President.

And:
Senior MP Deplores CNN’s Distortion of Rouhani’s Remarks as “Zionist Move”

“This media outlet (CNN) that claims to be fair in dissemination of information and news, when it commits such a treacherous act in the field of media and attributes certain statements to the Iranian president who has never mentioned them, this means the attempt by the CNN has been a Zionist-oriented move,” Rapporteur of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini told FNA on Saturday.

Yeah, Christiane... and here is a question for you and your bosses to answer:

Is Misleading the Public A Duty of CNN?

And the answer to that one is... ???


Attachments:

CNN version of the Rouhani's response (click to enlarge):

Fars rebuttal (same advice):