President Bush's Appointee Warns Against Reelecting Bush

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President Bush's Appointee to Commission on
International Religious Freedom, Prof. Khaled
Abou Al-Fadl, Warns Against Reelecting Bush
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Professor Khaled Abou Al-Fadl,(1) originally
of Egypt, was appointed by President George
W. Bush to the Commission on International
Religious Freedom, where he is the only
Muslim member. Recently he gave an interview
to the Egyptian government weekly October in
which he strongly criticized the American
president. The following are excerpts from
the interview:(2)

'Bush is a Religious Fundamentalist like Former Colonialists in
Muslim Countries'

Question: "What is the truth about the connection between the Islamic
organizations in America and the American government, today and in
the recent past?"

Prof. Abou Al-Fadl: "Unfortunately, because of shortsightedness and
ignorance, the Islamic organizations helped Bush reach the White
House. I met with many leaders of these organizations and I told them
that I have known Bush well since he was governor of Texas, where I
live, and I am familiar with his bad policy, which does not bode well.

"During the election campaign, Bush gave the Islamic leaders a
certain status... They lost their equilibrium. They did not listen -
not only to me, but also to someone like Ralph Nader, who was a
presidential candidate of Arab origin. He met with them and all but
pleaded with them not to vote for Bush. He all but kissed their hands
so they wouldn't. We told them that he [Bush] is a Christian
religious fundamentalist and that the group around him, of the likes
of Paul Wolfowitz and others, hold the same beliefs that accompanied
colonialism's entrance to the Muslim countries in the 19th century."

'Bush Makes Continued American Aid in the World Contingent Upon
Permitting Missionary Activity'

"When Bush came to the presidency, there was a revolution in American
policy. He brought in religious Christian people. In the field, Bush
permitted missionaries into Iraq before medicines. He is the first
president in the history of America whose policy includes supporting
Christian missionaries and applying pressure through them on some
countries. He links them with continued American aid to some
countries.

"Bush says that he respects Islam and wants to spread democratic
standards in the Islamic countries. When we ask him what exactly
these democratic standards that he calls for are, he has no answer,
as if Islam was permitted to exist only provided that it was Islam
according to American standards. I say also that unfortunately, there
were at first some hesitations in the American administration
regarding the raid on Afghanistan, but when it was carried out, it
cost much less than they expected, and this spurred them on, in a way
reminiscent of intoxication and drunkenness, to start thinking of
invading Iraq, Syria, and Iran, and of changing the map of the
region."

'20% of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Suffer from Mental Conditions'

Question: "What is American public opinion on what is happening in
Iraq?"

Prof. Abu Al-Fadl: "In Congress, I heard testimony by soldiers and
officers regarding the mental illness and nervous conditions that
have struck the American soldiers in Iraq. An officer who reported in
his testimony on disorders that harmed soldiers [said] that this loss
was greater than the military loss; the disorders [struck] 20% of the
soldiers. Some of them were panic-stricken in their sleep and wet
themselves, not only because of the [Iraqi] resistance, but also
because of the lies of the government that had convinced the soldiers
that the Iraqis would greet them with flowers...

"In several articles I wrote for The Wall Street Journal and The New
York Times, I predicted what would happen. The White House wrote to
me and asked
me: 'How did you know?!' I told them, from analysis, from studying
history, and from political science, I knew that this is what would
happen. [I told them,] 'You were misled by the situation in
Afghanistan, but the resistance will increase and if you intervene in
Syria and Iran, even double the sum you are requesting [from
Congress] will not meet your needs, and the Shi'ites will rise up
against you.'"

Question: "Does this mean that the danger of invasion has passed for
Syria and Iran?"

Prof. Abu Al-Fadl: "It [would be] inaccurate to say this... If Bush
manages to remain for a second term, the considerations will change,
because then he won't care about his political future and he can
gamble on an erroneous policy.

"The changed situation led the president's advisors to suggest to him
that Israel play a role in the countries that America wants to invade
or whose regime it wants to change. On this matter, I told the State
Department and President Bush's representative [whom I met] in the
White House: 'If Israel attacks Syria and Iran, the entire Islamic
world will say that it is doing so with American approval and
cooperation, even if America disavows it.' They thanked me and said
that they would examine the matter..."

Question: "On the personal level, do you think that you have an
influence on American policy?"

Prof. Abu Al-Fadl: "...I had an influential role in the past, and I
even got to the point of determining the [U.S.] deployment plan of
withdrawal from Iraq. I did not win that battle, but I managed to
obtain a promise from the American government that it would withdraw
soon."

Question: "You speak as if you are a one-man pressure group on the
American administration."

Prof. Abu Al-Fadl: "I have the authority and promises from the
American administration that what I say is taken into account, and
that it is of interest. I do not waste my time. I told them this and
I added: 'Either the promises you are giving me will be realistic, or
everything is a lie, and I'll quit and go back to my academic
post.'"(3)

Endnotes:

(1) Professor Khaled Abou Al-Fadl is currently a Visiting Professor
at Yale Law School and a Full Professor of law at the UCLA School of
Law.
(2) October (Egypt), October 19, 2003.
(3) Responding to a question regarding "other Islamic voices in
America," Al-Fadl said: "We in America are harmed greatly by the
likes of Fouad Ajami, who presents himself as a Lebanese citizen, and
many other secular individuals present themselves as if they wanted
to purge the Arab world of Islam. They cause us damage, because they
present a deviant, erroneous, and distorted picture of the Islamic
states..."

*********************

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Au, can you post us a link to that article?

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Quote:

President Bush's Appointee to Commission on International Religious Freedom, Prof. Khaled Abou Al-Fadl, Warns Against Reelecting Bush
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD61603

Quote:

Brian Whitaker of The Guardian on the Middle East Media Research Institute writes:

If the note happens to come from a more senior colleague, I'm left feeling that I really ought to write about it. One example last week was a couple of paragraphs translated by the institute, in which a former doctor in the Iraqi army claimed that Saddam Hussein had personally given orders to amputate the ears of military deserters.
The organisation that makes these translations and sends them out is the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri), based in Washington but with recently-opened offices in London, Berlin and Jerusalem.
Its work is subsidised by US taxpayers because as an "independent, non-partisan, non-profit" organisation, it has tax-deductible status under American law.
Memri's purpose, according to its website, is to bridge the language gap between the west - where few speak Arabic - and the Middle East, by "providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew media".
Despite these high-minded statements, several things make me uneasy whenever I'm asked to look at a story circulated by Memri. First of all, it's a rather mysterious organisation. Its website does not give the names of any people to contact, not even an office address.
The reason for this secrecy, according to a former employee, is that "they don't want suicide bombers walking through the door on Monday morning" (Washington Times, June 20).
This strikes me as a somewhat over-the-top precaution for an institute that simply wants to break down east-west language barriers.
The second thing that makes me uneasy is that the stories selected by Memri for translation follow a familiar pattern: either they reflect badly on the character of Arabs or they in some way further the political agenda of Israel. I am not alone in this unease.
Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations told the Washington Times: "Memri's intent is to find the worst possible quotes from the Muslim world and disseminate them as widely as possible."
http://aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2003%20Opinion%20Editorials/November/16%20o/Selective%20Memri%20The%20Middle%20East%20Media%20Research%20Institute,%20is%20it%20an%20Israeli%20propaganda%20project%20Brian%20Whitaker.htm

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MEMRI is Daniel Pipes' organization. Of course it presents opionions that are anti-Muslim.

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Hobbit
Another one?? It is my understanding that the article I posted was a direct quote. No editorializing.

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Here is a list of the organizations/people who have found MEMRI "helpful." I think it says it all.Weekly Standard,National Review, and far right congressmen's Favourite Resource.
The respected Middle East Media Research Institute.. ."
- Roll Call, May 26, 2003

"I hope you receive MEMRI's publications. I do. I find its material - translations and analyses of poisonous articles, hate-filled statements and slanderous accusations - vitally needed for the fight against antisemitism in the Arab world. Policy makers, legislators, teachers, and news commentators greatly benefit from its efforts to use truth in the service of peace."
- Elie Wiesel, May 22, 2003

"the indispensable scholars at the Middle East Media Research Institute"
-The Weekly Standard, May 26, 2003

"Thanks to the translators at the Middle East Media Research Institute,Americans can get a much better sense of the message coming from the Arabic-language press throughout the Middle East. Their work helps combat those who would murmur messages of peace and tolerance to Western ears, and then incite hatred and extremism to their countrymen in their native tongue."
- National Review Online, May 20, 2003

"You know, you've got things in the Saudi papers running now that thanks to the Middle East Media Research Institute we can read in English translation."
- FOX News, May 16, 2003

"As I was writing this column, I received an E-mail from Memri, the organization that opens the minds of those who cannot read Arabic by distributing almost daily translations of Arabic newspapers and government pronouncements."
- A.M. Rosenthal, New York Daily News, May 16, 2003

"MEMRI, the indispensable group that translates the ravings of the Saudi and Egyptian press..."
- Weekly Standard, April 28, 2003

"The role that MEMRI is playing in bringing the voices of the Arab and Muslim Reform - from Arabic into English, to the world - has been absolutely invaluable for everyone who cares about this process and wants to follow it."
- Thomas Friedman, May 6, 2003

"Let me first express my appreciation to MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute, for invaluable work they're doing. At a time when the line of division between the civilized world and terrorism is as clear as it is today, MEMRI's enormously effective work, on behalf of truth, civilization, open press of all types, is deeply appreciated by many of us in the Congress."
- February 4, 2003, Tom Lantos (D-CA), Ranking Democrat of the Committee on International Relations Congressman

" the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute, which performs the invaluable service of translating Arabic media and sermons into English"
- January 13, 2003, The Weekly Standard

" translations from Arabic on websites like www.memri.org let the rest of the world know what Saudis and other Arabs are saying to each other"
- January 13, 2003, Newsweek

" the evidence on MEMRI, the estimable Middle East Media Research Institute, www.memri.org ..."
- January 7, 2003, United Press International

"This quote, as many others from the Middle East, can be found on the indispensable website www.memri.org"
- December 19 2002, Die Welt (Berlin)

"It is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of the work of MEMRI, which sheds lights on aspects of the Middle East that our enemies would prefer to go unnoticed. MEMRI is simply an invaluable asset to any journalist or anyone who wants to understand the Middle East."
- December 13, 2002 National Review, Rich Lowry Editor

"It is to the translations circulated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) that we owe what we have now learned about what appears in Arabic-language newspapers and television broadcasts, as well as what is preached by Islamic clerics in their weekly sermons."
- September 9, 2002, Commentary, Norman Podhoretz

"If there were justice in the universe, the MiddleEast Media Research Institute would already have been awarded some kind of special-achievement Pulitzer Prize. MEMRI has pioneered the careful translation, and dissemination to European and American audiences, of print and broadcast news sources in the Arab world. The group's work now pops up everywhere; here in the States, hardly a week goes by when some major daily or cable news show doesn't make use (generally without attribution) of a MEMRI translation For more information from and about the Middle East Media Research Institute, see their website at www.memri.org. And if you're able, please consider sending them a contribution."
- June 12, 2002, The Weekly Standard, David Tell

"www.memri.org - What they do is very simple, no commentary nothing else. What they do is they just translate what the Saudis say in the mosques, say in their newspapers, say in government pronouncements, say in their press."
- October 1, 2002, BBC

"MEMRI is an invaluable source for anyone seriously interested in the Middle East."
-Professor Bernard Lewis, Princeton University, September 3, 2001

"The single most important resource for understanding what is happening in the Middle East today."
-Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer Prize winner, October 4, 2001

"MEMRI, an invaluable research service."
-Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times Pulitzer Prize winner, October 16, 2001

"MEMRI is the most important research source for the Arab world of which I know and it has been immensely helpful to me and to just about every other serious person who writes about the Middle East."
-Martin Peretz, Editor-in-Chief and Chairman, The New Republic, October 9, 2001

"I am full of admiration for the work MEMRI has done in its dedicated exposure of Arab antisemitism. Until MEMRI undertook its effort to review and translate articles from the Arab press, there was only dim public awareness of this problem in the United States. Thanks to MEMRI, this ugly phenomenon has been unmasked, and numerous American writers have called attention to it."
- U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, May 1, 2002

"If there were justice in the universe, the Middle East Media Research Institute would already have been awarded some kind of special-achievement Pulitzer Prize. MEMRI has pioneered the careful translation, and dissemination to European and American audiences, of print and broadcast news sources in the Arab world."
-David Tell, The Weekly Standard, June 12, 2002

" the excellent Middle East Media Research Institute"
-Former CIA director James Woolsey, June 10, 2002

"Plenty of journalists leaned heavily on MEMRI's translations, citing 'the invaluable Middle East Media Research Institute.' In fact, 'invaluable' has been written so often before MEMRI's name that one could have been forgiven for thinking the word was part of the name. MEMRI served as an antidote to darkness, as a way not to be ignorant. The veil has been lifted by MEMRI."
-Jay Nordlinger, National Review, May 6, 2002

"I have always considered MEMRI to be an invaluable research tool."
-Richard Cohen, nationally syndicated columnist, October 5, 2001

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Nice, Hobit!

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Sorry if that offended anyone. Sad

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Was anyone offended? By what?

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President Bush's Appointee Warns Against Reelecting Bush

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