Pen and Sword: A Letter From Iran by Chris Floyd

Via Le Monde, a translated text of the letter from Ahmadinejad to Bush.

This week, for the first time in 27 years, an Iranian leader has written directly to an American president. As Juan Cole notes, the letter from Iranian President Ahmadinejad to George W. Bush is either badly translated, or, equally likely, an accurate reflection of Ahmadinejad's own muddled thoughts. (As evidenced by his less-than-towering intellect, embrace of rabid fundamentalism, ascension to power through a fixed electoral process, and incessant appeals to the worst instincts of his people, Ahmadinejad is in many ways a Persian Dubya.) But the fact of the letter is important in itself, almost a "Nixon goes to China" moment for the Iranian leadership.