" 

 If we quote Bronner's piece (the NYT article that states ""all official translations"") then we have to quote Cole's response to Bronner.  Also, if we want to include Hitchens' non-notable charge that Cole is an ""apologist"" for Ahmadenijad that is fine but we then must include Cole's actual statements about the man - that he is a ""crank"" and a ""fascist,"" and let's be sure to cite Cole's ""scorecard"" on the issue right here.  It turns out Hitchens is far more of an ""apologist"" if we must observe such things; but, as I said, it's really not notable.  

 Oh yes and we should be sure to include this Cole passage from the source Armon cites above: ""I personally despise everything Ahmadinejad stands for, not to mention the odious Khomeini, who had personal friends of mine killed so thoroughly that we have never recovered their bodies.""  If we're going to give any credence whatsoever to Hitchens' embarrassingly pathetic attempt to paint Cole as an ""apologist"" for Ahmadenijad or Khomeini, let's be sure to quote what Cole actually said about the issues.   

 :There are differences of opinion on the relative merits of their arguments. Don't remove cites, don't argue Cole's case, and please stick to the matter at hand.  "