Romney Does Not Welcome Former Iranian President
        When former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami arrives to speak at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government on September 10, Gov. Mitt Romney wants everyone to know he is not welcome.
        Romney has ordered all state agencies to deny support for the former president during his visit, including official police escort which is customary for visiting former heads-of-state.
        “State taxpayers should not be providing special treatment to an individual who supports violent jihad and the destruction of Israel,” said Romney. He called Harvard’s invitation to Khatami “a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost lives at the hands of extremists, especially on the eve of the five-year anniversary of 9/11.”
        Khatami is meeting at the United Nations with various world leaders. He is scheduled to speak this week at the National Cathedral in Washington, as well as in Chicago before coming to Boston.
        In recent interviews with CNN and USA Today, Khatami faulted President Bush on several counts. He refused, for example, to back off a previous comparison between Bush and Osama bin Laden. He also said the U.S. was partly to blame for the turmoil in the Middle East.
        Romney says that the U.S. State Department has listed Iran as the number one state sponsor of terrorism while Khatami was President. It says that he oversaw the torture and murder of dissidents who spoke out for freedom and democracy.