Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Bush to Appear on Arab TV

Bravo! President Bush has decided the best way to deal with this prisoner abuse problem is the way he tends to deal with all problems; confront it head on. What a truly remarkable course of action:

WASHINGTON - The White House said late Tuesday President Bush will do two ten-minute interviews with Arab television to address pictures that have surfaced of U.S. troops abusing Iraqis.

The president's first interview will be with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram at the White House, and officials told Reuters he would speak to other outlets including Arab TV on later dates.

"The president will speak directly to the Arab world," national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said in an interview with pan-Arabic television channel Al-Arabiya on Tuesday. "It's just extremely important that we continue to talk to the people of the region directly."

"We want everyone to understand that the United States believes in peace," Rice said. "And the United States has tried in the Arab world and around the world to stand for a set of values. We believe that when people hear our story, that they will understand, at least, then for themselves."

I think that this will be well received among a certain segment of the Arab population and so it is well worth the effort. At the very least it shows the incredible contrast between our leaders and theirs.

Another segment will probably be outraged, as usual.