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A publicity stunt: U.S.

Washington: A request by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for an official tour of Ground Zero while he is at the United Nations next week was turned down. The New York police department turned down Mr. Ahmadinejad, citing security concerns and continuing construction at the scene of the September 11 terror attacks.

But the White House and the State Department were less concerned with sparing the Iranian leader’s feelings. “I can understand why they would not want somebody who is running a country who is a state sponsor of terror down there at the site,” President George Bush told a White House press conference.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad denounced Mr. Ahmadinejad’s request as a publicity stunt: “Iran can demonstrate its seriousness about concern with regard to terrorism by taking concrete actions.”

The tabloid press was even blunter. “Go to hell!” read the cover of the New York Daily News on Thursday, plastering a red no-entry symbol over Mr. Ahmadinejad’s picture.

It seemed unlikely from the start that Mr. Ahmadinejad, who has denied both the Holocaust and the involvement of terrorists in the destruction of the World Trade Center, would visit Ground Zero like any other dignitary. In May last year, he wrote Mr. Bush a letter suggesting that 9/11 was an inside job. “Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services — or their extensive infiltration?” he asked. “Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret?” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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