MEDIA REACTION ON PRESIDENT BUSH'S

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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON PRESIDENT BUSH'S
INAUGURATION

Editorial Commentary

-- "The inaugural speech of the second term"

Daily columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the op-ed page
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(01/22): "We would have liked to believe what Bush
said in his inaugural speech, because freedom and
democracy are values for which the people of this
region have yearned since the end of Ottoman rule.
But what we see in Iraq and Palestine, and what we
hear about American collusion in unjust practices by
most Arab and Muslim regimes under the pretext of
fighting terrorism, makes us convinced that these
words are mere ideological smokescreens used by the
second Bush administration to cover the ugly practices
of Washington and its allies against all Arabs."

-- "The freedom of Bush Jr. and the freedom of the
world"

Daily columnist Nahed Hattar writes on the op-ed page
of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-
Yawm (01/23): "Bush Jr. announced that he would devote
the years of his second term to spreading `freedom' in
the world. Given the heinous crimes that Americans
have committed against the freedom of the people of
Iraq and Palestine and other states that are afflicted
by American aggression, this sounds like a bad joke.
But Bush Jr. means what he says. He is determined to
spread the freedom of the American Empire to enslave
nations. Bush Jr. dreams of freedom for American
troops to invade `rebellious' countries. He dreams of
freedom for American troops to commit mass murder,
mass arrests, torture and destruction.. He dreams of
freedom for American capitalism to destroy all
restrictions and borders that protect national
markets. He dreams of freedom for American barbaric
`culture' to nullify other cultures and to Americanize
the world.. He dreams of freedom for America's
immoral support for Zionism and its crimes against the
Palestinian people.. Yes, Bush Jr. dreams of the free
American capitalism over a planet of slaves. That is
why the freedom of the world means, first and
foremost, standing up to America's freedom and
defeating it by resistance, by boycotts, by spreading
the word. Reining in the White House has now become a
global necessity."

-- "Bush, the world president"

Daily columnist Fahd Fanek writes on the back page of
semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai
(01/23): "What is new in Bush's speech is that it
assumes that he is president of the whole world, not
only of the United States. He has a divine program to
change the world and wants to spread democracy and
freedom in the entire world. In this sense, his
speech amounted to the declaration of the American
Empire that would lord it over the six continents and
five oceans. But President Bush has no mandate to
change the world. His attempt to change one state,
Iraq, has so far been an utter failure. If he wants
to treat the world as he treats Iraq, most likely the
world would refuse, since it has not asked Bush to
save it from itself. As for the outlaw states to which
Bush refers, one fears that the United States under
Bush has become one of them. Bush would do well to
remember that half of the Americans wanted to change
him, and that most of the people of the world reject
his arrogant and individualistic policies.. But,
finally, Bush acknowledged the widening gap between
the United States and its allies, and promised to
bridge it through dialogue and cooperation. He also
promised to work for peace in the Middle East. It
remains for his deeds to match his words."

-- "The New president of the United States"

Columnist Aida Najjar writes on the op-ed page of
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(01/24): "I listened carefully to President Bush's
inaugural speech. I found nothing new. In fact, I
found that the Arabs had been placed in his `little
pocket' and moreover, that the entire world has been
set under the rule of the American empire! I had
thought that the `new' president would learn from the
`old' president, would acknowledge the wrong and go
back to the path of righteousness. This did not
happen. His threats towards us, Arabs, were very
clear, as they were also towards the `evil' states,
and he still insists on interpreting the concept of
freedom his own way.. The world is going to be more
dangerous under the old-new Bush administration at a
time when the poor are looking for food, health and
education and when people under occupation, as in
Palestine and Iraq, are looking for security and peace
to achieve a life where there is real freedom and
democracy, and not according to American concepts."

-- "The holy missions of Bush and Zarqawi"

Daily columnist Bater Wardam writes on the op-ed page
of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(01/25): "If I were to address one question to
President Bush, I would ask him: `do you truly believe
all what you say about your role in spreading freedom
and democracy in the world?' I believe that his answer
to this question would show the truth about the
mindset of the U.S. President and his way of thinking.
Most people around George Bush affirm that he believes
himself to have been chosen by God for a holy mission,
to spread democracy and fight terror as defined by
American Zionist criteria. He therefore believes that
all his actions are virtuous, and that he cannot be in
error even when he causes the death of hundreds of
thousands of innocent people. May God help the people
of this region and the world against the holy missions
of George Bush and Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, which will
only bring destruction, and may God grant us the
courage to confront both projects in every field."
HALE