To me the softball interview with the terrorist leader of Iran was disgraceful! My question is why give him this forum? Then if we do, why have an interview without asking tough questions? For example...what about his intentions to wipe us all out? I saw Brian stumbling all over himself to treat this thug as a king. No question in my mind, if the interviewee had been the President, Vice President or Secretary of Defense, the soft balls would have been put away.
I don't believe the American public understands the seriousness of the threat posed on us, and the main stream media does nothing to help.

How do I find a web site or address for the Clinton Global Institute?

This seems pretty supperfuical but maybe not. It doesn suprise me that Dr Z didn't fly in the US. Most people I talk to to get the whole German engineering thing. Detroit all the way! The funny thing is Dr. Z is now voice partially from the Motor City. I liked him, but I drive a VW. It just speaks to the fact that we don't "get" the rest of the world in a lot of ways. Right down to the commercials we understand.

Brian,

It is the duty of a journalist to report the news from both perspectives, regardless of popularity or politics. It's unfortunate that some believe that there is only one justifiable perspective to this story. Do I believe that Ahmadinejad is lying or spreading propaganda? He probable is. However, what kind of example of democracy do we provide to the world by censoring him?

I offer two of my favorite quotes from movies past. I like them because recently I feel that our nation is moving towards Republican McCarthyism. Today the enemy is Islamic Extremism rather than Communism. The Republicans would have us believe that if we do not support their ideals, we support the enemy. To criticize the government, or to present an opinion in conflict with the Bush Administration, is now seen as being un-American and I feel that is wrong.

Two movie quotes that I think apply.

The American President (1995)
President Andrew Shepherd: “America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".”

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
Edward R. Murrow: ...We must not confuse dissent from disloyalty...We will not walk in fear, one of another, we will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason. If we dig deep into our history and our doctrine, we will remember we are not descendant from fearful men. Not from men who dared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular..."We can deny our heritage and our history but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of the republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom where ever it still exists in the world. But we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. "

It's strange, I grew up watching 60 minutes and saw some of the most intriguing interviews with people from all walks of life. It was always very enlightening to watch Mike Wallace grill the head of a corporation that had recently been accused of corruption or the head of a communist regime. I've never been threatened or offended by any of it. If anything, I felt it added to my understanding of the world and people around us and in contrast to us, which left me with a stronger understanding of our own people and what our country stands for. How is your interview with Ahmadinejad any different? Why the outrage? I think this kind of reaction reflects a deeper fear and feeling of confusion about our own stance on the world. To see him come off calm, cool and collected is a stark contrast to our own leader. And that's the thing that makes people nervous. People are feeling very vulnerable right now. But in the words of a true American leader, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." Thank you Brian for your professionalism and your fearlessness.

Patty M. Los Angeles, CA

I Raise my glass to Lucy and Brian!

Don, I agree with you 100 pct! There are two sides to every coin and as a world leader, I would expect that we would be more willing, as a people, to be a little more objective than we have been. We claim to fight for freedom, to demand equality for all and then we blatantly snub our noses at the core of what we stand for. Keep up the good work in presenting the information from the other side.

I feel I must point out a second positive thing that has come out from President Ahmadinejad's visit. What was it he said? He respected or loved the Jewish people I believe. Something to that effect that they are world citizens like everyone else.

This, to me, is a further sign that we (the US) have painted this man incorrectly. Do I have great concern for past statements? Absolutely! Am I willing to listen to him further to find out which is rhetoric and which is truth? Yes, absolutely - with my life.

The world NEEDS to be at peace if we are to confront things like the bird flu, poverty, and global warming. As an advocate of space exploration I can't tell you how many times I've heard people call for NASA funding to be spent on "feeding the hungry" "sheltering the poor" "educating the masses" and yet the NASA budget is only 16 billion. The Military budget of the world is over a trillion. STOP THE FIGHTING and learn what we can do!

Don't use our fear of terrism to sieze control of the world. IRAN, North Korea, and (the former) Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Lost in that horrific attack was the little (politely forgotten) fact regarding the criminal neglegence of anyone who would design, build, and allow such excessively tall buildings to be built without ever developing a way to get people out in the event of a fire (or fire fighters in and up). Heck, my grandfather had a piece of the B-25 that hit the Empire State building in the 40s. Such an attack as 9/11 should have been properly anticipated and defended against. oh, but dare I forget that costs money...

What is the old saying, keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer? I think we can only gain from understanding our adversaries, and listening to what they have to say is one way to begin to understand them. Nixon met with Mao, didn't he?

It's far better to talk than to drop bombs.

Well said Brian!! I bet all those angry e-mails were from the same people who back Junior's torture policies and want to change Geneva. The same people who are afraid to think for themselves and just spit out whatever the next slogan or rhetoric they hear off FOX news. The same people who think the U.S. can survive all on its own in this world. I know fear is a powerful motivator, especially around election time, but to boycott NBC because of an interview is ridiculous! Keep up the great work Brian!! And great job with your last interview with JUNIOR.

Oh, I agree; you should share the thoughts of all, regardless of their viewpoint and who agrees with you. My only thought is the questions you asked. Such as the Holocaust. Why didn't you simply show him pictures of the people being liberated from the camps and have him deny that didn't happen. Why didn't you ask him why "Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth"; his words not mine. Ask him to show the world his need to develop nuclear techonogies is friendly by opening up all sites to inspectors. But to ask him, like your interview with the President such "soft questions", that, I think is what people don't want.

I wonder if Mr. Ahmadinejad would allow some of leaders to come and speak to his people or government without fear of beheading or stoning. I just wish they wouldn't block most of the internet so that their people could hear from the free world.

"the writers vehemently argue that we should not have interviewed Ahmadinejad and should not air his comments on NBC."

That is very scary. These people are asking for censorship of the press. Just because a group of people don't like something doesn't mean it shouldn't happen.

I chose not to watch the interview with Ahmadinejad. It was my decision to not watch the interview, but I'm glad NBC interviewed him and made the interview public. That's what America is about.

I live in a community that is conservative and some of the local talk shows were talking about Brian's interview and stating that it shouldn't have aired.

These same folks have also their panties in a bind over Rosie O'Donnell's radical Christian comments on The View. Some callers to the local talk show were demanding that Rosie be fired and that she apologize for what she said. One person wanted her run out of the country.

This just astounds me. What country do these people think they are living in? Everyone can state their opinion, not just one group.

I agree Mr. Williams. It is amazing how in this country differing opinions are coming under harsher attack than ever before, beginning with the President. If you do not support his wars, you are labeled as a supporter of the terrorists or even compared to Adolf Hitler as Donald Rumsfeld said in one of his recent speeches. The President of Iran deserves to be interviewed and the American people should think for themselves about what he has to say. The Bush Administration would like nothing but to have every American hate Iran and its president so we can justify an invasion. While that man has made some outrageous statements in the past, I do not believe his country is pursuing a nuclear bomb.

Perfect comment Lucy...and thank you for sharing it with us Brian. I grew very weary of reading the hateful/paranoid things yesterday.

If we only limit ourselves to what we want to hear, we lose perspective. While we don't always agree, diplomacy means listening.

To those people who think their posts aren't on because of some grand NBC consipiracy or just want to send hateful things--please move along... but be happy you had the opportunity to vent.

Don --

You correctly point out the only things I screen comments for -- offensive language and not attacking the comments of others. I also try not to publish comments that aren't relevant to whatever the post is about, but that rule sometimes gets stretched if readers take the conversation in a new direction. If I overlooked one of your recent submissions, please send it again. We had quite a flood of comments about Brian's interview with Ahmadinejad so it's possible I missed it.

Brian, if there is one thing I have learned since 9/11, it's that a lot of people will simple parrot whatever spin their party feeds them without thinking at all. And a lot of people are just plain scared, and this manifests itself in anger and in complaints that even listening to "the other side" is somehow treason. People who are scared and angry are far more likely to write in to you than people are comfortable with your approach. I hope that no one at NBC believes that just because you get a deluge of negative emails that it somehow represents what your whole audience is thinking. The negative people might be more vocal, but the rest of us... the majority.. are still very very happy with your thoughtful and balanced approach to the news. We DO need to hear from the leaders and spokespeople from the countries who challenge us. We live on the same planet and we need to find a way to build bridges when we can, and we cannot do that without education. Thank you .. all of you... for being the instrument of our learning.

Bryan - I'm with you! How can we get people around the world to listen to us, if we won't offer them the same courtesy and LISTEN. People deride the United Nations, but it offers us an almost unique opportunity to hear other world leaders. Your interviewing people that don't particularly like us is an important part of covering the news. We may not agree with their perspective of the world, but certainly they are entitled to their opinion -- and we would be well served to listen and learn.

It would be nice if you guys would practice what you preach. When I try to post things here, that aren't flattering to you, they never show up. I never attack other posters, nor do I use language that is offensive. If you screen posts to your blog, are you not doing what you are saying we all should not do?

Good... No, GREAT POINT Lucy!

We are as astounded as perhaps you are that so many Americans wish to remain uninformed about what our enemies have to say. Kudos to you and the NBC news staff for the Ahmadinejad interview! We are not ashamed to say we appreciate the opportunity to hear what he has to say, and are amazed to find that we agree with some of it. Whether his comments are entirely true must necessarily be taken into account, but the opportunity to hear him, and other controversial viewpoints, is one of our most precious freedoms. Keep up the good work!

For a country and a people that enjoy the greatest of freedoms and often try to tell other countries how they should live, seems of late our citizens can be extremely intolerant when views expressed do not mirror their own. What ever happened to having great open conversations where quite possibly people might just learn something?

I take the detractors with a grain of salt, would rather keep an open mind and absorb more of the world that way.

Well said, Brian.

If a democracy can't tolerate the views it finds distasteful, then it isn't a democracy at all.

Far too many Americans are happy to sit pat with whatever propaganda BushCo feeds them and they actually feel threatened when confronted with an idea that runs counter to their indoctrination. Like a contrary thought is going to bring down the pillars of an institution. Only liars and con artists fear open, honest discussion.

It's a sad day in America. Hateful, narrow-minded, unthinking, unquestioning nationalism is seen as a virtue, thanks to the Great Uniter.

Lucy is right on target! We live in a democracy with free speech guaranteed to all. Sometimes I don't like that because it may mean I have to listen to some yahoo spout stuff I don't agree with or want to hear. But then I remember that same right is given to me and I don't have to muzzle myself or worry about getting carted off during the night because I happen to disagree with our present government! I'd much rather hear leaders of other countries talking IN our country instead of watching them stir up angry throngs of followers in their own space. With all the anti-American president sentiment being voiced around the world I cannot help but wonder how many Americans have ever considered the possibility that other countries may have it right, we do have "the devil" at the helm of this country and he has no idea where we are headed but he loves being in charge.