On George W. Bush: Hypocritical Critics in the Arab World

By Sam Dealey, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

DUBAI, U.A.E.—So how does the Arab world say goodbye to George Bush? An article in the Gulf News by Najla Al Rostamani promised the unexpected. "Dear Mr. Bush," the piece began:

Unlike many of my colleague writers and editors who have long been waiting for the day when they unleash their battery of criticism as you exit the presidential office, I shall take on a different stance. My approach is softer as I believe that the world community should have some appreciation for your eight-year governance. Truly, you should be thanked for many of the policies you had adopted and the numerous actions members of your administration had carried out regardless of the ensuing repercussions.

So for what does Rostamani feel appreciative? Very little, it turns out. The piece is an unimaginative collection of faux thanks reflecting the Arab world's hypocritical complaints about the erosion of civil liberties and international law.

Criticizing Bush for his conduct of the war on terror is certainly fair game. But those criticisms would carry greater weight if the person making them held all heads of government to the same principles. And if he wasn't an associate editor at a publication that's little more than a propaganda rag for Dubai's government. Some integrity.

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