US News
Ahmadinejad letter proposes swords to ploughshares
By DPA
May 9, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - The closely guarded text of a letter from Iran\'s president to the US proposes redirecting military spending into investment and aid to the poor, USA Today reported Tuesday.

The text, which has gradually emerged over the past day in US media, was quoted by the daily newspaper, which said it had obtained a copy of the letter.

\'If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop movement were instead spent on investment and assistance for poor countries - would not your government and people be justifiably proud?\' the letter from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

\'If prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ were with us today, how would they have judged such behaviour?\' the text said.

The letter, addressed to US President George Bush, was widely described by people who had seen it on Monday. But the US had no official reaction.

Ahmadinejad, in comments Tuesday on Iranian state television before leaving for a state visit to Indonesia, refused to divulge the contents, saying he was waiting for the US reaction.

\'All I can say about the contents is that the letter contains the standpoints of the Iranian nation on global affairs and offers solutions on how to settle the problems currently agonizing the world,\' Ahmadinejad said.