Ahmedinejad says American empire reaching end of road By Dharam Shourie

United Nations, Sept 24 (PTI) Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmedinejad has said that the "American empire" is reaching
"end of the road" and charged the Bush administration with
starting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to win votes.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday
hours after President George Bush spoke at the same forum, he
predicted defeat of American and North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (N.A.T.O.) alliance in Afghanistan and advised
the next rulers of the United States to keep "their
interference" in their own borders.

The people of Afghanistan, he said, are victims of
efforts by N.A.T.O. member States to "dominate the regions
surrounding India, China and South Asia."

"The Security Council cannot do anything about it because
of some of these N.A.T.O. members also happen to be the major
decision makers in the Security Council," he added.

During Bush's speech, Ahmedinejad gave thumbs down sign
as the American President was denouncing Tehran as sponsor of
global terrorism.

In a speech on expected lines, the Iranian President
reiterated that his country's nuclear programme was for
peaceful purposes and blamed a "few bullying powers" of trying
to get it scuttled.

The time has come, he told the 192-member Assembly, for
establishing an independent committee to monitor disarmament
of nuclear weapons States.

Ahmedinejad's address came on the day diplomats said
Russia and China are trying to block efforts of the United
States and its allies to strengthen sanctions against Iran to
force it to abandon its uranium enrichment programme.

The Iranian president said the United States and its
allies oppose other nations' progress and monopolise
technologies to use them to impose their will on other
nations.

Iran, he stressed, is for dialogue but would not accept
"illegal demands" and would resist bullying.

The situation in the world has become unstable, he
stated, because of "never ending" arms race, the proliferation
and stocking piling of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass
destruction and establishment of missile defence system.

For troubles in Georgia, he blamed "provocations" of
N.A.T.O. and "certain" Western powers, military agreements and
"the underhanded actions of Zionists."

He also blamed the western nations of trying to
re-establish colonial era relationship in Africa by "starting"
civil wars.

Ahmedinejad, who has often called for wiping Israel off
the map of the world, said that the Zionist regime there is on
a "definite slope to collapse" and "there is no way for it to
get out of cesspool created by itself and its supporters." PTI
DS