DURING half a century of American engagement with the Arab world, American presidents have tended to get nicer to the Arabs towards the end of their term, when they have less to lose at home by doing so. With his Middle East tour, George Bush has stuck to that rule. The difference is that, with America's failure to sort out Iraq or make peace between Israelis and Palestinians or to persuade Muslims that the war on terror is not unfairly directed at themselves, no other president has had to control quite so much damage.
A speech in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, was touted as the keynote of his seven-country tour. In it, he touched on familiar themes, such as the wickedness of Iran's rulers and his belief that only democracy can free people from oppression and insecurity. “You cannot stand up a modern and confident nation when you do not allow people to voice their legitimate criticisms,” he said.
While officials from the host country quietly distanced themselves from America's Iran policy, Arab commentators questioned whether the head of an administration responsible for the miseries of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo could preach human rights or whether Mr Bush's lavish praise for some Gulf monarchs' gestures towards democracy, such as holding highly restricted elections, meant that he cared more about securing cheap oil than promoting real political reform.
The state of American-Arab relations seemed more sharply depicted in Saudi Arabia, when Mr Bush joined in a traditional dance with Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the powerful governor of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and a possible future king. Meant to display tribal solidarity as he danced, a sword-clutching Mr Bush looked awkward as he shuffled clumsily, arm in arm with his robed companion.
It was, in fact, America that was supplying the real weapons, with an announcement, coinciding with the presidential tour, that it would sell Saudi Arabia 900 guided-bomb kits worth $123m as part of a longer-term pledge to transfer some $20 billion in arms to its Arab Gulf allies. Yet the sale's hoped-for favourable impact dissipated when an Israeli military source asserted that Israel, which is getting 10,000 American precision-guided bombs free, would get a smarter version. This comment was meant to reassure America's pro-Israeli Congress about the Saudi sale, but certainly managed to annoy the Saudis. “The region needs smart initiatives, not smart bombs,” growled an editorial in Kuwait's daily al-Rai al-Am.
Despite the wave of sourness in the Middle East towards Mr Bush's visit, signs were noted that his administration, albeit late in its tenure, was paying more attention to Arab concerns. Assuaging fears that taking too hard a line with Iran could lead to a conflict that would hurt the whole region, Mr Bush tempered his tough language with the hope that if the “talented Iranian people” moderated their rulers' behaviour, Iran and America could become best of friends. Mr Bush also praised a new Iraqi law (see article) to let some former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party regain their jobs; some Arab commentators noted that it was Mr Bush's administration that had demanded their dismissal in the first place. The president's repeated determination to bring about a “viable, contiguous” Palestinian state also went some way to alter the impression that his administration has been loth to press Israel to make concessions.
Though urging Arab oil producers to boost output to reduce the high price of oil, Mr Bush was careful to say that he knew many were already producing at full capacity. Such courtesy may reflect, among other things, America's appreciation that rich Gulf producers have declined so far to uncouple their currencies from the dollar, despite its falling value and advice from many local economists. Arab investors, including the sovereign funds of Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, sound willing to inject billions into wobbly American financial houses such as Citibank and Merrill Lynch.
Uglier realities did intrude, however. In Beirut, an American embassy vehicle narrowly evaded a bomb-blast that killed three bystanders, further shaking the hold of Lebanon's pro-American government, which has been locked in a stalemate with its opponents led by Hizbullah, the Iranian-backed Shia militia. And an Israeli raid against rocket-firers in Gaza killed 18 Palestinians, the highest day's death toll for months. The dead included a son of a former foreign minister of Hamas, the Islamist group that seized the strip last summer. He blamed Mr Bush for giving Israel a “green light” for the killings.
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