The Arab papers respond to Bush's appearances on Arabic television
uploaded 08 May 2004Bahrain Tribune
Editorial, May 7
"No expression of 'deep disgust' by President George Bush or apology by the US military will ever change or even minimise the hatred felt in Iraq and the Arab world towards the Americans and their coalition. Mr Bush said that the way the US military treated Iraqis is 'not the way we do things in America'. This may be true about the US when it deals with Americans. But since the US administration has one set of standards for Americans and Israel and another for Iraqis and Arabs, respect for human rights somehow turns into a joke...
"With the recent pictures from the Abu Ghraib prison, Arabs will not be in the proper state of mind to look kindly at the American quest for winning the war on terrorism despite the fact that they hate terrorism and the terrorists more than they resent the American administration."
Jordan Times
Editorial, May 7
"Mr Bush almost did his best to express his anger and dismay at the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison ... But he still failed to get a favourable reading from the Arab and non-Arab worlds for his reaction to these atrocities.
"True, the president said the pictures of abused and tortured Iraqi prisoners are abhorrent and do not reflect the America that he knows. Yet, by admitting that he had ordered an investigation into the abuse of Iraqi and Afghan prisoners as far back as January, his argument that he had not personally been aware of the photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused and humiliated by US soldiers until they were broadcast on national television and then across the globe carries little weight."
Arab News
Editorial, Saudi Arabia, May 6
"For all Mr Bush's sincerity in his televised regrets for the treatment meted out by US troops to Iraqi prisoners, [Wednesday's interview with Arab television] will convince almost no one in the Arab world that Washington has changed its ways. Even had he got down on his knees and howled apologies for the now notorious photos of abuse, no one would have believed him - and no one here does believe him. It is not the photos that are the problem. It is four years of corrosive Bush Middle East policies, coming on top of decades of US incompetence and missed opportunities."
Gulf News
Editorial, United Arab Emirates, May 7
"Something is very wrong in Washington when Mr Bush claims he has only just become aware of the gross cases of prisoner abuse in Iraq. General Richard Myers, the US chief of staff, knew [the television network] CBS had the pictures weeks ago. A highly critical report by Major General Antonio Taguba was submitted in March. Other senior military officials were fully aware of the problem in January ...
"Mr Bush's officials' failure to pass the issue up the chain quickly enough has now landed him into a major crisis, and rightly so. He deserves to take full responsibility for this outrage by American forces. He cannot claim to be the commander in chief when things are going well for him, and then sidestep responsibility when he is embarrassed."
Fayiz al-Sa'igh
Al-Thawrah, Syria, May 7
"Mr Bush cannot justify what cannot be justified, vindicate what cannot be vindicated, or apologise for something for which apology cannot be accepted ... [The torture scandal] is a war crime by any standard. It must not be forgotten or overtaken by more violent and more atrocious events. This is a crime for the champions of human rights in the whole world ... to examine. And above all, it calls for a European role in the face of 'the civilised monster' that expressed itself in Abu Ghraib prison."
Mike Whitney
Al-Jazeera, US, May 7
"The Bush administration [is in] full damage-control mode. That is evident by the fact Mr Bush made an appearance on Arab TV. Normally, he would never lower himself to express his concerns to the Muslim world. That is why his first statement was so carefully worded with the intention of avoiding any kind of apology. Real men don't apologise; especially not to Muslims. That changed [yesterday], however, as the pressure of negative public opinion forced the recalcitrant Mr Bush to say how sorry he was for the horrific abuse ... at Abu Ghraib.
"The next predictable phase ... is the calling for an independent investigation. As always, this will involve 'hand-picked' party loyalists who will obfuscate the facts and spread the administration's message that they never knew what was going on."
Gulf Times
Editorial, Qatar, May 6/7
"If the president imagined that [Wednesday's] interview would repair the credibility of his administration he was overly optimistic. His speech might have worked had the torture at Abu Ghraib been the sole source of offence. But for more than three years, starting even before September 2001 the US has adopted an unfriendly and aggressive stance towards Arabs and Muslims ...
"Despite the Pentagon persuading CBS to delay airing the torture report for two weeks, neither Mr Bush nor Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, knew what was going on. Now Mr Bush has found out, there will be an inquiry and punishments will be inflicted. Just don't blame Mr Bush and his coterie."
Source: The Guardian
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