Did Bush ever answer Ahmadinejad's 2006 letter?

Some of you may remember that in 2006, Iranian leader Ahmadinejad wrote US President George Bush a rather long and (to my mind at least) distinctly unusual letter. The Washington Post characterized the letter as "discussing religious values, history and international relations," which I guess is as good a discription as any for what struck me as an opaque and disorganized screed.

I found the letter very interesting for a number of reasons. For one, it was unusually philosophical and religious in tone for any modern-day communication between two heads of state. It was obviously an attempt to criticize Bush, although it was superfically polite and avoided any direct threatening or harsh language. At the same time it seemed also to be a genuine (albeit clumsy) attempt to communicate on some level, using the shared language of monotheistic fundamentalism to try to reach some sort of common ground. The result was distinctly odd, and it seemed almost like a garbled transmission from another world, across an essentially unbrigable cultural and political gap. I never understood at all what exactly Ahmadinejad's intention was in writing the letter, or what he imagined could possibly come of it.

A full text of Ahmadinejad's letter can be found here:
www.washingtonpost.com...

What I can't seem to find out is if Bush or somebody in the US government ever made a formal reply of any sort. Did they just ignore it? Or did they send back something? If so, how could one possibly respond to such a letter? Googling around for a bit info on the response (or lack thereof), I came up with zero.

I'm still very curious whether there was a response and if so, what it was. Does anyone know?



[edit on 5/16/09 by silent thunder]

Another point worth bringing up in this connection is that around the same time, Ahmadinejad also wrote a letter to the German Chancellor. the text of which can be seen at the following link:

english.farsnews.com...

This letter was also vague, odd, and philosophical but what was interesting to me is that it used much less religious language than he used with Bush. Instead, this letter was more secular and mentioned German science and secular philosophy. So obviously Ahmadinejad was approaching European and the US cultures in very different ways based on his perception of the difference between the two, although both letters were abstract and philosophical. The basic idea of this difference makes some sense, I guess, but the failure to communicate was obvious.

In the case of this letter, German leader Wilhelm bluntly stated: "The German government does not have the intention of entering into correspondence with the Iranian president."
Article on German attitude:
www.spiegel.de...

It was easy to find info the German response...but not the American response (or lack of response, as the case may be). That fact, too, is interesting, and raises questions of its own. Why can I find info on the German response quickly, while there seems to be nothing on the American gov't side?





[edit on 5/16/09 by silent thunder]

I saw an interview with Ahmadinejad once and he does talk like that, I think it's just the differences with our cultures. I have also read some of his blog and that is in a similar style.

The western media ofter portray him as stupid but he does have a phd in civil engineering and was a professor at the Iran University of Science and Technology.

Even though he is a hypocrite he does have some good points.

The people of the world are not happy with the status quo and pay little heed to the promises and comments made by a number of influential world leaders. Many people around the world feel insecure and oppose the spreading of insecurity and war and do not approve of and accept dubious policies.

The people are protesting the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots and the rich and poor countries.

The people are disgusted with increasing corruption.

The people of many countries are angry about the attacks on their cultural foundations and the disintegration of families. They are equally dismayed with the fading of care and compassion. The people of the world have no faith in international organizations, because their rights are not advocated by these organizations.

Yes, I remember the letter - It was fine done - to open dialogue with USA, but it didnt help a bit what was happening - If I remember right, it was posted just in front of economical sanctions, which took place without a doubt.

Iran has try to open diplomatic between UN, USA, even with Israel - but its always been ignored... That really is a fact - and a shame.

Thanks from remembering these letters - flagged - Obama should consirer to reply now, at least do some real move toward diplomacy, like he has many times promised... "Write a damn letter back, Barrack!"

I would venture to say Bush never responded because Iran is part of the axis of evil, If Bush had responded, the leader of Iran would have gotten instant credibility as a respected leader of a nation.

Not every question deserves an answer, likewise, not every letter deserves a reply.
Why respond?
The last thing he needs is a big ego, why give it to him.