Ban Says Ahmadinejad "Misused" Durban II Conference

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon nows says that he regrets the speech Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered yesterday at the Durban II Conference in Geneva.

Ban said it was "very regretful that the conference was misused by the Iranian president for political purposes."

And exactly for what purpose did Ban think President Ahmadinejad was going to use this forum?

But Ban is shocked - shocked! - the Iranian President would make anti-Semitic statements at an international conference.

Ban said, "Before the speech I had a long bilateral meeting with President Ahmadinejad and urged him to give a balanced and constructive contribution to the conference because he was the only head of state present."

Methinks Ban was the only one talking during this "long bilateral meeting."

What ever gave the UN Secretary General the idea Ahmadinejad would "give a balanced and constructive contribution to the conference because he was the only head of state present"?

Where has Ban been for the past four years? Since when has Ahmadinejad's status as a head of state ever stopped him from making incendiary statements?

We are talking about a man, who as a head of state, has called the Holocaust a myth, called for Israel to wiped off the map and also referred to Israel as a stinking corpse.

If Ban Ki-Moon honestly thought any good would come of President Ahmadinejad's address it does not speak well if either the Secretary General nor the body he purportedly leads.