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7 most controversial UN speeches, from Ahmadinejad to Khrushchev

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, slated to speak to the UN General Assembly today, is not the only world leader to have delivered infamous remarks.

- Contributor

Muammar Qaddafi addresses global leaders at the 64th Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations on September 23, 2009 in New York City. (Tony Blake/ PSG/Newscom)

7. Muammar Qaddafi, Libyan leader, 2009

Qaddafi spoke to the General Assembly for the first time in 2009, after more than 40 years in power. The eccentric North African leader was allotted 15 minutes, but spoke for more than an hour and a half. He tore up a copy of the UN Charter and accused the UN Security Council of being a "terror council."

Turning the tables on terrorism rhetoric at the time, he asked the assembly, "Why are we against the Taliban?" And why were people opposed to the Taliban establishing an "Islamic emirate," he wanted to know. He also speculated that swine flu was a man-made biological weapon.


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