Columbia Cancels Ahmadinejad Speech (Update - No, They Didn't)

Thu, Sep 20, 2007 at 3:55:18 pm PDT

The Ahmadinejad reversals are coming in fast and furious. Now Columbia University is backing out of their invitation to the Holocaust-denying thug: Columbia Says It Canceled Ahmadinejad’s Appearance.

Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) — Columbia University said it canceled a planned speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after failing to reach agreement on the format of his scheduled appearance on Sept. 24.

Columbia wasn’t able to “establish a conversation with the Iranian embassy that would ensure to my satisfaction that the specific arrangements of any such program would reflect the academic values that are the hallmark of a university,” university President Lee Bollinger said in a statement.

Bollinger earlier said he would introduce Ahmadinejad by challenging him on issues such as the Iranian leader’s denial of the Holocaust, his vow to destroy Israel, support for terrorism and nuclear ambitions. Ahmadinejad also must “divide his time evenly” between a speech and questions, Bollinger said.

The university came under pressure during the day to cancel the Iranian leader’s appearance. “A man who is directing the maiming and killing of Americans troops should not be given an invitation to speak at an American university,” Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican and presidential candidate, said in a statement.

UPDATE at 9/20/07 4:36:42 pm:

We have another backflip.

Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) — Columbia University said it has not canceled a planned speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, contrary to a Bloomberg News report.

The Sept. 24 event will go forward as scheduled, said Robert Hornsby, the director of media relations at Columbia University in New York.