Columbia University President Lee Bollinger made a grave ethical misjudgment in allowing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak.

I would expect elected representatives to publicly denounce those who are known accomplices in the death of American solders fighting in Iraq. To expect this from university officials may appear unrealistic. At the least, conflicts from a personal point of view should be anticipated and deserve attention regarding the impact it can have on more than just Columbia University.

There is domestic and international evidence that implicates Ahmadinejad as an accomplice in the death of American solders in Iraq. It is an egregious mistake to afford him free speech under our Constitution. He disregards everything our Constitution stands for.

He is vested with a vitriolic, radical enthusiasm in destroying any U.S. stabilization efforts and peace interests in the Middle East. American citizens who believe that Ahmadinejad personifies and represents the form of radical Islamic fascism that will continue to take innocent lives for its own purposes should denounce his appearance at Columbia University and at the United Nations.

I cannot state strongly enough that allowing him to speak at Columbia and then giving him a stage at the UN (which he refuses to comply with) offends every rational, reasonable sensibility of U.S. national pride. Not publicly denouncing this event reveals that our elected representatives in Congress and the Senate clearly underestimate the value and importance every American citizen places on national security.

Columbia University apparently shares the same political sentiment. This event is asking every American citizen to “suspend disbelief” and allow the enemy and his idea into our lives so that he can destroy any sense of unity for freedoms paid for by the blood of men and women in our armed forces.

Timothy Kelly

Bangor