Catching up on the highlights of Bush's mixed message Middle East Tour '08.
RIYADH (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that he would hold Iran responsible if it hit American ships and warned the Islamic Republic not to behave provocatively in Gulf waters.
"If they hit our ships, we will hold Iran responsible," Bush told a small group of journalists. "They'd better be careful and not be provocative."
CAIRO, Egypt - A threatening radio message at the end of a video showing Iranian patrol boats swarming near U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf may have come from a prankster rather than from the Iranian vessels, the Navy Times newspaper has reported.
A video and audio of the Jan. 6 incident in the Strait of Hormuz featured a man in accented English saying "I am coming to you. ... You will explode after ... minutes."
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However, the Navy Times, a weekly newspaper published by the Gannett company, quoted several veteran sailors as speculating the transmission could have come from a radio heckler, widely known among mariners by the ethnically insulting term "the Filipino Monkey."
The newspaper, which serves the Navy community, said U.S. sailors in the Persian Gulf have heard the prankster — possibly more than one person — transmitting "insults and jabbering vile epithets" on unencrypted frequencies.
Gulf of Tonkin anyone?
(via)
In his remarks on democracy, Bush reaffirmed but only mildly his belief that Arab nations must expand civil liberties and allow nonviolent political opposition. He emphasized roles for academics and civil society, and urged Gulf countries to consider their "human capital" as important as their oil. He acknowledged "setbacks" to democracy, such as the arrests of dissidents, but pointedly omitted mentioning U.S.-friendly countries by name.While Arab political commentators typically blame U.S. foreign policy for helping to prop up the region's monarchs and authoritarians, Bush said religious extremism exemplified by the Shiite theocracy in Tehran and the Sunni militants of al Qaida were to blame for the stagnation of democratic reforms.
"For decades, the people of this region saw their desire for liberty and justice denied at home and dismissed abroad in the name of stability," Bush said. "Today, your aspirations are threatened by violent extremists who murder the innocent in pursuit of power...They hate your government because it does not share their dark vision. They hate the United States because they know we stand with you in opposition to their brutal ambitions."
...and then as a reward for the 9/11 hijackers, high oil prices, OBL, the repression of expression and subjugation of women...
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Bush administration said on Monday it notified Congress of plans to sell Saudi Arabia bomb-guidance kits as part of a multibillion-dollar package of advanced arms to Gulf Arab states that U.S. officials see as helping counter growing Iranian military clout.
Amid concerns the bomb kits could threaten Israel, some U.S. lawmakers immediately said they would try to block the sale of the sophisticated weaponry, charging Saudi Arabia is not a "true ally in the war on terror". But it was unclear how far their efforts would advance in Congress.
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The value of the deal was about $120 million, he said, part of an overall package of arms planned to be sold to Gulf states. The deals announced so far amount to about $11.5 billion, McCormack added. Last year, U.S. officials told lawmakers the total sales under the Gulf arms package could hit $20 billion.
Isn't that nice? Is this going to further our reliance on "foreign oil" Bush keeps talking about?
RIYADH, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush complained in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that soaring oil prices were threatening the U.S. economy, raising pressure on the world's top oil exporter to help ease prices.
Bush said he would raise his concerns face-to-face with his Saudi host, King Abdullah, when the leaders decamp to the monarch's desert getaway, injecting a message that could put a chill on the night's festivities.
"I ... will again talk to his majesty tonight about the fact that oil prices are very high, which is tough on our economy," Bush told a roundtable meeting with Saudi entrepreneurs.
Bush's overnight stay at King Abdullah's Al Janadriyah ranch near Riyadh on Tuesday had been seen as a chance to set aside talk of Middle East peace, Iranian challenges and controversial arms deals that dominated the first day of his visit.
Bush has made clear he wants to deal with a subject that has emerged increasingly as an irritant in otherwise close relations between Washington and the Islamic kingdom, the most influential member of the OPEC group of oil exporters.
"I would hope, as OPEC considers different production levels, that they understand that if their -- one of their biggest consumers' economy suffers, it will mean less purchases, less oil and gas sold," he said.
Arms for Oil deal then? Gotcha