Bush broadcast on prisoner abuse leaves Arabs unconvinced

US PRESIDENT George W Bush’s comments fell on deaf ears in the holy city of Medina, where thousands of worshippers were too busy buying religious souvenirs or paying homage to the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad to pay attention to him.

“I don’t waste my time listening to Bush. I don’t believe a word he speaks. He’s the enemy of all Muslims and Arabs,” said Waleed al-Mus’ab, 27.

“Every time I see him on TV I switch it off or change the channel, because he just talks nonsense,” said the Saudi businessman, attending night prayers in Islam’s second-most sacred city.

Around the holy mosque, with its gigantic halogen lamps and minarets, there was no sign of anyone watching the interviews publicly.

Abu Ahmed, a Koran teacher, was rushing to prayers when the interview aired. He said he had more important things to do than watch Bush on TV.

“I’d rather spend some quality time in front of God than to listen to him,” he said. “But one thing’s for sure: I’ll pray for his downfall.”

In Cairo, Mohammed Hashem waited an hour for Bush to appear before storming out in frustration.

In a meeting room of the lawyers’ union to which he belongs, workers had carted in a small television for the occasion. But as time passed with no sign of Bush, some of the lawyers began clamouring to change the station to a local soccer match.

Only two lawyers stuck it out. Abdel Gawad Ahmed and Adli Henri were rewarded a half-hour later when Bush came on, but were frustrated when he began speaking in English, with no dubbing or subtitles. Al-Arabiya, which aired the raw interview before taking the time to dub it, printed highlights in Arabic at the bottom of the screen, drawing sighs from the two lawyers.

When Bush said the abuses at Abu Ghraib represented only “the actions of a few people,” Henri turned to his friend.

“Of course, he wants to limit it to certain people,” he said.

“The man is fooling us,” he said. “He wants to clear his name and only worries about himself.”

In Dubai, Amr Badr, 43, an Egyptian advertising executive, watched the broadcast in his office in the upmarket district of Jumeira just as most people were going to work.

As the US president spoke, he and his boss “looked at each other in disbelief,” he said, adding that he felt Bush sounded unconvincing.

“If (Americans) think the Arabs who are watching are stupid, this means they are still living in the past. People understand everything very well but, unfortunately, they are helpless,” said Badr.

The interview did not change Badr’s opinion of Bush at all. “On the contrary, it made me more sure that he is a big liar, he and his administration,” Badr said. “I had started to apply for an American passport,” he added. “I don’t want it anymore. That’s how angry I am.”