The madman’s cruelty

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s embrace of death, potentially on a mass scale, as a strategy for domination is almost too grotesque for comprehension. He couldn’t have such a low regard for human life, could he? Yes he does. He cares not for 10,000 people nor for one. The one to consider at the moment is Robert Levinson, a City College graduate and former FBI agent who took up private investigations after a stellar career.

In 2007, Levinson was kidnapped from the Iranian resort island of Kish while investigating cigarette smuggling. His wife, Christine, seven children and two grandchildren have been praying for his release ever since.

In 2010, the family received a video on which Levinson said his health was not good and that he fears running out of diabetes medicine. He asked for “the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me.”

Christine Levinson has now rented billboards appealing for information near the UN and in Times Square, timed to coincide with Ahmadinejad’s visit. The family is hoping for his help.

But, asked by Charlie Rose of CBS if “a trade or something” would allow Levinson to come back to the United States, Ahmadinejad toyed mercilessly with the Levinsons.

“I remember that last year Iranian and American intelligence groups had a meeting,” he said. “But I haven’t followed up on it.”

Sometimes, as here, a monster is powerfully revealed through acts of personal cruelty.