0
DUBAI, May 5: Arabs were unconvinced by US President George Bush's televised pledge on Wednesday to punish Americans who abused and killed Iraqi prisoners, saying the gesture amounted to too little, too late.
"The damage is done," said Palestinian Reem Hosari. "Iraqis lost confidence in the big ideas of American democracy and freedom. Regardless of what he said, they have seen the opposite of what they were promised.
"Under a democracy these things should not happen at all." "This is not going to wash with the Arab audience," said Jawad al Anani, former Jordanian foreign minister. "It's a good gesture but he should have publicly apologized."
Mr Bush sought to repair America's image among Iraqis and Arabs by making a personal pledge on Arab television that Americans behind the abuse and killings of Iraqi detainees would be punished.
But his words rang hollow among many ordinary Arabs. "Talk is cheap. What's been done has been done and Bush's talking to an Arab network does not make it go away," said Jordanian Jumana Ahmad. "The U.S.'s aim behind ousting Saddam Hussein was for torturing his people, and the American soldiers did just the same to the Iraqis."
Jihan, a 29-year-old Lebanese woman, added: "This is a show, they're trying to cover this up. If they hadn't been exposed, Bush would not have done this." Last week's pictures of naked and hooded detainees, first shown on the US television network CBS and later broadcast on Arab televisions and splashed across newspapers, sparked worldwide outrage and inflamed Arabs.
A USgeneral's probe into abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib recounted prisoners being sodomised and beaten by US soldiers while being filmed.
"UNCONVINCING": The USmilitary also said it had investigated the deaths of 25 prisoners held by USforces in Iraq and Afghanistan and determined that an Army soldier and a CIA contractor each murdered a prisoner in Iraq, where most of the deaths occurred.
Middle East expert Patrick Seale said Bush's address was "totally unconvincing and ineffective" and underlined an attempt to limit the damage the abuse scandal inflicted on USpolicy that advocates democracy and freedom to the world.
Many Arabs said Bush had long lost credibility by backing Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and invading Iraq on false claims that it possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"Bush is the biggest liar and his lies, from invading Iraq to this prisoners scandal, have been exposed. If he wants people to believe him, he must end his occupation of Iraq and make Israel leave Palestinian land," said Egyptian Magda Ghazaly.
At a coffee shop in Baghdad, where men gathered to watch Bush on television. One customer, Abdul-Kader Abdul-Rahim, said he did not doubt that the US military would investigate the abuse. But he doubted that this would change conditions in Iraq.
"I do believe the president when he talks about investigation because they live in a democracy and in this democracy even Bush can be investigated," he said.
"But what is happening in Iraq is different from their democratic regimes. We're all treated like prisoners here." Many Arabs said the Iraqi prisoners' abuse showed U.S. contempt towards Arabs.
"I don't believe Bush will punish his soldiers the same as if they had committed crimes against Americans. One case of rape in the United States causes an uproar. So what do they say about this barbaric rape and the filth of Bush's soldiers?", asked Saudi Mohammad Husni Sultan, 39.
"Before Bush apologises for the abuse of prisoners he should stop his troops from mistreating and killing innocent Iraqi civilians," added Ahmad Turki, 42. -Reuters
