Bush Regaled In United Arab Emirates

President Juggles Diplomacy, Weapons Sales And Sight-Seeing In Tour Of Sunni Arab States

(CBS/AP)  As President Bush has been making the rounds of the Sunni Arab states, asking support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and for tougher financial sanctions on Iran, he has been working to try to repair the image of the U.S. in this part of the world.

He told a group of business entrepreneurs in Dubai that he wanted them to understand something about America: “We respect you, we respect your religion and we want to work together for the sake of freedom and peace.”

But his overriding concern on this trip is Iran. In his only major speech, the president called Iran “the world's leading sponsor of terrorism,” and urged the Arab nations to confront the danger before it is too late.

“Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere,” he said.

Mr. Bush is asking the Saudis and others for tougher financial sanctions on Iran. That's a sacrifice for other Gulf States which do substantial business with the Iranians. But there is a quid pro quo - the promise of continued U.S. protections, and more sales of U.S. weapons.

It's no coincidence that today is the same day that the administration is going to tell Congress that it wants to sell the Saudis a very sophisticated weapon, the JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), a device which provides satellite precision-guidance for bombs.

Even though some of Iran’s neighbors are concerned, they're reluctant to be too confrontational.

Meetings on this trip have also gingerly sidestepped another subject close to home for many Americans: oil prices.

A senior administration official confirmed to CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante that the subject of $100-a-barrel oil, a prospect with serious repercussions for U.S. consumers and the economy as a whole, had not come up in any meetings he attended.

He added, “It's a sensitive subject.”

Bush Basks In Emirates Hospitality

On Monday President Bush got a flavor of the cosmopolitan banking and business hub of Dubai, whose glass skyscrapers and booming construction have turned it into the capital of Middle East bustle.

The soaring Persian Gulf city-state is Mr. Bush's second stop in the seven-state United Arab Emirates federation, following his gentle lecture on democracy in Abu Dhabi and an opulent picnic at a desert horse camp Sunday. The Dubai visit is part of a trip aimed at invigorating Mideast peace talks and keeping pressure on Iran.

Even before Mr. Bush touched down in Dubai, he had an impact. The government declared Monday a national holiday and shut down many main roads and bridges.

On a day of cultural diplomacy, Mr. Bush began with a stop at the historic home of the former ruler of Dubai, now a museum loaded with photos and artifacts of the emirate's history.

The president grinned and tapped his foot as a group of girls stepped rhythmically to Arabic music, their long hair swinging from shoulder to shoulder. The light rain that fell during Mr. Bush's arrival did not dampen the mood, as rain is considered here to be good luck during the visit of a foreign leader.

Mr. Bush then had lunch with students of the Dubai School of Government, a research and teaching institution that focuses on public policy in the Arab world. The president and his hosts sat on cushions, set in a circle, their food in bowls on the carpeted floor before them.

"I'm most impressed with what I've seen here. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong, and equally importantly, the desire to make sure all aspects of society have hope and encouragement," Mr. Bush later told a gathering of entrepreneurs and others affiliated with a young leaders' group.

The session was held in a conference room high atop one of Dubai's signature buildings, a luxury hotel shaped like a tall ship sail. The Burj Al Arab occupies its own manmade island.

Mr. Bush was departing the Gulf region later in the day for meetings in Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. security ally and often the region's decision leader.

Dubai, concerned about being a target for Islamic extremist terrorism that has hit other nations in the oil-rich region, has installed one of the world's most comprehensive homeland security and anti-terrorism systems. Many anti-terror analysts believe the threat in Dubai is growing - fueled by the city's image as a bastion of Western-style capitalism and nightlife, its new status as home to the world's tallest building and the frequent port calls by U.S. Navy ships.

Dubai has a flashy reputation; alcohol flows freely in its many hotel bars, and bikini-clad Western tourists soak up the sun on its beaches.

There are still some wounded feelings here from a Dubai state-owned company's attempt in 2006 to buy operations at six U.S. ports, a Bush-supported move that put him at odds with a Congress that was run by his own party at the time. The Dubai ports deal was ultimately blocked after loud protests by lawmakers. Partly in response to the controversy, Congress passed legislation beefing up the government's process for reviewing the security implications of foreign investments.

Dubai has a powerful Iranian business community, and the West, led by the United States, is cracking down on business in and out of Iran to protest against its nuclear ambitions. Dubai is caught in the middle - eager to maintain its lucrative business with Iran, but wary of angering the United States and the United Nations.

Mr. Bush used a speech Sunday to gently nudge authoritarian Arab allies to satisfy frustrated desires for democracy in the Mideast, but he saved his harshest criticism for Iran, branding it "the world's leading state-sponsor of terror."

Speaking in the Persian Gulf country of the UAE, about 150 miles from the shores of Iran, Mr. Bush said Tehran threatens nations everywhere and that the United States was "rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late."

The warning about Iran was much tougher than Mr. Bush's admonition about spreading democracy in the Middle East, which had been billed as the central theme of his speech.

Before flying to Dubai, Mr. Bush began his activities Monday by viewing a cultural exhibit and visiting business leaders in Abu Dhabi. At an exhibit on energy economy in the Gulf, Mr. Bush praised the United Arab Emirates federation for examining how to move beyond a reliance on oil.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Mr. Bush said. "This country has gotten its wealth from the ground and is now reinvesting in alternative forms of energy."

[samsel3]

Reuters uk-business: January 14, 2008 reported that US/Iran tensions over it''s nuclear programs may cause Iran to retaliate by cutting oil production. This will cause the price of oil to go even higher. More profits for BIG OIL. Part of Cheney''s energy policy is to build multiple pipelines from many areas of the region so that the US & British oil interests can control global markets and weaken Russia''s and Irans positions.

[samsel3]

Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. major Israeli oil company needs more crude and this is why the Turkey Israeli pipelines are going to be built......From there corporate site some info..".One of the reasons that triggered this project was the assumption that part of the crude oil produced in Russia, the Central Asian Republics or in the Caucasus and loaded at Black Sea ports can be marketed at competitive prices for distribution in Southern Asia and the Far East".

[samsel3]

January 9, 2007 Bush met with the president of Turkey on the 10th he was in Israel. The connection is the Turkey Israeli pipelines, the real purpose of the recent middle east peace summit . The actual story are the proposed oil pipelines that will be built down the coast from Turkey to Israel. Condi Rice is trying to broker this deal. BP oil, US oil interests and the Saudis all have a stake in that pipeline. Domonique Strauss- Khan managing director of the International Monetary Fund and Robert Zoellick president of the World Bank were in attendance. Big money won''''t finance the venture without stability in the region.
In the Daily telegraph, July 22, 2006 Condoleeza Rice stated her main objective in the middle east was not to push a ceasefire in Lebanon, but to cause an isolation of Syria and Iran. The strategic objective is all tied to oil and oil pipelines. In April of 2006 Israel & Turkey made their announcement which included four pipelines which will bypass Syria & Lebanon. The source of the oil is the BTC pipeline from the Caspian Sea Region. Shareholders in the BTC pipeline are: British Petroleum, AzBTC, Chevron, Statoil, TPAO, ENI, Total, Itochu, INPEX, Conoco-Phillips & Amerada Hess. Another very important factor on the war with Lebanon is that Israel will have a strategic role in protecting the pipeline and transportation corridor out of Ceyhan Turkey. The strategy will weaken Russian oil''s role in central asia and also isolate Iran.

[watcher269-2009]

President George W. Bush, center, watches dancers perform during a visit to the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, Monday, Jan. 14, 2008 in Dubai, United Arabs Emirates. Sitting next to Bush on the right is United Arab Emirates Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

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It is overheard the VP saying to Bush "Mr. President - take you pick of the girls." Then Bush heard replying - "Do you have any Boys? After all I am a Republican"

[liberalme]

DUH!
The whole Bush family is beholden to the Arab Emirates for their business connections there.
Gimme a break.
Posted by tibu987 at 07:36 PM : Jan 14, 2008


DUH
Most of us know it--we just don''t want to finance our own demise!

[tibu987]

DUH!
The whole Bush family is beholden to the Arab Emirates for their business connections there.
Gimme a break.

[liberalme]

The administration was notifying Congress of its intent to sell $20 billion in weapons, including precision-guided bombs, to the Saudis. It is "a pretty big package, lots of pieces," national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters on Air Force One.

[liberalme]

Weren''''t the Saudis involved somehow in 9/11?
Posted by Inventagod at 04:29

Saudi Arabia and terrorism go together like the devil and heII.
And now our illustrious leader wants to arm them even more--lets give them the "smart bomb"!!
If the leaders in Dubai, and the other Arab leaders are smart, they would wonder if their country is next on the "lets take over the world" Bush agenda.

Bush has no shame, no respect, no guilt and not the least sense of fairness. He will take what he wants by whatever means works for him-the heII with anyone else.
He''s not even human!

[inventagod]

Weren''t the Saudis involved somehow in 9/11?

[tibu987]

Of course they treat Bush hospitably, his family has financial dealings with them and makes sure that they have all the latest military equipments although they do not use it to help the U.S. in the Middle East.
As they say, "with friends like that..........".

[liberalme]

He''''s trying to make sure he has a place to run to when he is indicted for High Treason against The United States of America.
Posted by beecuster

He has thousands of acres in Paraguay--a place where he can''t be extradited for his actions against humanity!

It''s amazing, isn''t it?" Mr. Bush said. "This country has gotten its wealth from the ground and is now reinvesting in alternative forms of energy."

Instead of invading unarmed countries and trying to take what doesn''t rightfully belong to you sir idiot Bush!--but that would be "hard work" and just being a lying, murderous president is "hard work".
He is "working so hard" to bring other countries with his efforts to take over Iran!

[b-easy63]

Under George: The United States=Lord of War. "...and was drunk from the fornication of her wars...."

[random_radar]

"And to keep him from spending our very last dollar so that the upper fifth tier in the US holds all the money. So far, they''''ve only got 50%, so he hasn''''t quite won yet.

Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 10:16 AM : Jan 14, 2008"

I am in the upper quintile you so forcefully resent. Why are you so unhappy about those who have money? Did I steal it from you? Am I stopping you from investing or earning more by your efforts?

On the other hand, what are you proposing to do? Take what I have for yourself by force? If the government can take money from me to give to you, it can take money from you to give to me. It doesn''t matter who has more, only who controls the government. Since the rich control the government, you can bet you will be the one forced to donate to the rich.

Your safest position is to have a government that does not have the power to transfer wealth. That''s because the government never takes from the rich to give to the poor--they only take from the poor to give to the rich who own and control society. Government power always serves the monied interests--your upper 1/5 that irks you so.

[toolmangler-2009]

He sure is taking a ''wide'' stance there and ''toe-tapping'' also.

[inventagod]

Ahhh - the frat boy who would be king...

[rowdytexan2]

It must make Mr. Bush jealous when he visits these countries that operate so wonderfully while rich sheiks govern and the rest of the people live in poverty, since he will never see his dream of the same while he''s in office. He''s almost got us there, but he only has eleven months left.

We''re going to have to hang tight these next few months and not give him any more chances to pass legislation or set precidents that subvert our Constitution. And to keep him from spending our very last dollar so that the upper fifth tier in the US holds all the money. So far, they''ve only got 50%, so he hasn''t quite won yet.

Sometime google "The Looting of Social Security" by Dr. Allen Smith, some great insight on Bush in his study.

[sgtrds]

The mass murderer and war criminal makes his pilgrimage to the Middle-East to visit his oil country masters and kiss their as*ses. He''s a sick and pathetic clown on the world stage.

[motherhen11]

At least it''s not another dumb and boring Iraq story and you''re writing about a NICE country here and there.

[inventagod]

The International Court of Justice will treat you quite differently, Mr. Bu$h.

[terrapin78]

He must be house hunting.

You don''t think he and Darth will stick around the US after they are out of the gov''t, do ya?