Bush speech 'like a boring, broken record'

[dArKeR]

American President George Bush's calls for democracy rang hollow in the Middle East, where many on Friday said they were appalled that Washington was preaching liberty for Arabs while occupying Iraq.

The war on Iraq and Washington's support for Israel in its bloody conflict with the Palestinians have antagonised many Arabs and Muslims who were already seething at the United States war on terrorism, which is seen by many as a battle against Islam.

Bush's sweeping foreign policy speech on Thursday, in which he challenged ally Egypt and foes Iran and Syria to adopt democracy, has further fuelled Arab indignation.

"Bush's speech is like a boring, broken record that nobody believes," said Gulf-based political analyst Moghazy al-Badrawy.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=ct20031107212728765B260605&set_id=1

What about the daily 'Evil Doers' terrorism alerts? What about the children of America listening daily to the TV and hearing about dead soldiers and Iraqis and Israelis and Palestinians?

If Bush and his dream team were so smart shouldn't they be able to avoid all this? Isn't that what we pay them for?

[donhakman]

1. There is a reason...

Insiders know full well that George Bush has virtually no control of the Iraq war. Should he even try to wrest the wheel from Cheney and the cabinet selected for him he is rebuffed. For the few projects he is entrusted, like strong arming Congress to make the billions for Iraq "no strings attached," Bush overplays his hand with the obvious frustration of the odd man out.

Yes kids, George is not in charge of much. The DOD answers to Cheney. The Presidency is now like a cruise ship in the regard that there is one captain for public display at dinner and functions and another captain in charge of the actual navigation and running the ship.

This led to a Bush tantrum and a despondancy during the war that some of you may remember (marked by his absence), and undoubtedly could happen again. Should W's ego be seriously injured by those really in charge, the result could be catastrophic if it not caught in time by his handlers.

When Chris Matthews reports that this schism of the presidency is scary - it is not that the MIC shadow goverment has not had its influence run through every presidency since Truman but because it is bolder than ever before without a complimenting conscience or temperate wisdom.

I believe we will see George get run over by the machine he thought he commanded - but meanwhile the Diebold voting machines are still programmed to re-elect Bush.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. If Bush is so pro-democracy

how come he supports the Saudi royal family?

[gratuitous]

3. Criticism of El Shrubbo?

Before I clicked on this thread, I knew it couldn't be a domestic news outlet reporting this, and I was right.

[baby_bear]

4. But this is getting domestic coverage as well (thank goodness)

This Associated Press article showed up in a number of newspapers, including both the Seattle Times and P-I:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001786164_democracy08.html

<snip>

Newspaper editorials and columnists across the region, while praising the merits of democracy, said Washington either couldn't or wouldn't help freedom flourish in the Arab world.

"Arabs want democracy. They hate their corrupt regimes more than they hate the United States," wrote Abdul Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi. "But," he added, "they are not going to listen attentively to the speech of the American president, first, because the consecutive American administrations, in the past 50 years, supported those regimes ... and because all true democracies in the world came as a result of internal struggle, not due to foreign intervention, particularly American."

A signed editorial in the leading Lebanese daily An-Nahar described the speech as "very attractive words" but said that "before they become tangible policies that deal with the real problems, they will continue to be boring, empty rhetoric."

"Exposing the region's ills is useless. We already know them. ... What is required is a realization that the underlying problem continues to be Palestine and the obscene American bias for Israel and against Arabs, their interests and hopes," said the commentary by columnist Sahar Baasiri.

</snip>

The NYTimes has a much wimpier article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/07/international/middleeast/07CND-REAX.html?ex=1068872400&en=6bbc42818b78827a&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

s_m

[xxqqqzme]

5. watching Mosaics on LinkTV last night,

the woman anchor in Lebanon was reporting on this w/ very clipped speech. Her disgust of squatter and anger @ his views was obvious, her words conveyed her anger. I wish I had a tape of it. It was amazing.

She is tiny, young, very pretty and smart.

[FlyByNight]

6. Given the US's record of supporting...

authoritarian regimes in the ME, Bush*'s comments are, at the very least, disingenuous, if not terribly cynical.