Most of the news outlets covered the president's recent appearances on Arab TV but very few have taken note of his visit to Arab radio. On Friday, the White House arranged a special apology call-in to Mecca's most popular drive-time radio show, Abdullah In The Morning ("The Morning Intifada"). Fortunately, the show is simulcast live each day on Al-Arabiya and a transcript has been obtained by Lomblog.
ABDULLAH: Mr. President, good to have you here.
BUSH: Thank you, Abdullah...A-Man.
ABDULLAH: I gotta say - all politics and religion aside - you're a brave man for joining us today, because as our regular listeners and viewers know, we like to send the president up from time to time -
BUSH: Yes, I heard you been sendin' me up.
ABDULLAH: Right, like the sketch we played earlier where your daughter Jenna was sold to a camel-herder. But you know, it's nothing personal, sir. Now tell us why you're phoning in - I understand you came here to apologize? Our audience is about 80% militants, so I feel this is a good place to get the message out.
BUSH: Yes, this is a good place to get the message out.
ABDULLAH: And what message would you like to get out this morning, Mr. President?
BUSH: That...this is not...how Americans behave. We don't...torture people. That we don't engage in acts of...torture. That we don't go up to people in the Middle East and...torture them. And that's what I'm tryin' to say.
ABDULLAH: And you're referring to your membership in Skull and Bones?
BUSH: (Laughs) Well, I'm not alone on that, A-Man.
ABDULLAH: I know. Seriously, I haven't been following the news very closely - I've been busy at the ranch - but I have my TiVo set to "iraqi prisoner abuse", so maybe I can catch up this weekend.
BUSH: Well, I just want to say before you watch the TiVo that...this is not how Americans behave. We don't abuse people. We don't.....abuse prisoners. We don't go up to people.......and abuse them. And that's what I'm tryin' to say, and I hope that message gets out.
ABDULLAH: And I think the message is getting out, Mr. President. We have millions of listeners all over the Middle East and just this week we picked up two affiliates in the West Bank.
BUSH: Congratulations.
ABDULLAH: Wait a minute - Jamir, my producer, just whispered in my headset that one of those stations was bulldozered, but hopefully someone else will pick us up.
BUSH: Hope so.
ABDULLAH: Now what about Secretary Rumsfeld? Is he going to have to quit? I was talking to Majif Beraini of the Baghad Globe -
BUSH: Good man.
ABDULLAH: And he told me that looking into Rumsfeld's eyes is like peering into the very bowels of Satan himself. What's he like in cabinet meetings?
BUSH: No, uh....A....Secretary Rumsfeld...is a good man. He's been a good secretary of defense. He has a good heart. And I've looked into this good man's good heart and I know that he would never approve of torturing people. And if someone came to me and they said that...Secretary Rumsfeld...was torturing people....or he somehow approved of people being tortured....or there were pictures of him torturin'...Abdullah...this administration would move heaven and earth to make sure those pictures were never published. And you can count on that.
ABDULLAH: Very strong statement.
BUSH: It's how I feel. And that goes for all the other cabinet secretaries too.
ABDULLAH: Well, it's appreciated. You know, you and I have something in common actually.
BUSH: We do?
ABDULLAH: Yes, we have some mutual friends in the States: the bin-Ladens. Before people get confused, that's Billy bin Laden and his wife Janice. They have a catering service in Washington.
BUSH: Catered my inaugural. Good man.
ABDULLAH: Right, very good man. Nothing like his cousin.
BUSH: No.
ABDULLAH: So if you run into him sometime in DC, please say hello for me.
BUSH: Will do. And I'll apologize to him too.
ABDULLAH: Yes, thank you. That would be very considerate. Anyway, I'd like to thank you for joining us.
BUSH: No problem, A-Man.
ABDULLAH: I know your schedule is very tight and it's very late where you are -
BUSH: Again, no problem. I wake up every morning at 5:00 am to do my calisthenics and get briefed on the latest casualty reports so....I've been up almost as early as this.
ABDULLAH: Our best to you and Laura, and good luck with the occupation. Our special guest, President Bush. And for those of you that think we're leaning to one side or the other, Muqtada al-Sadr will be joining us next week.
