Come on, Arik how about a little smile? For me? If you want to read an article about King Abdullah's snub of Bush, and Hosni Mubarak's protest over the recent shift in U.S. policy toward the Israeli settlements, that actually expends a bit of intellectual effort suggesting what's important about the story—in other words that isn't the sort of tired, couldn't-care-less hash that Steven R. Weisman tossed off as yesterday's A1 lead article—read Ewen MacAskill and Suzanne Goldenberg reporting in the Guardian today ("Arab ally snubs Bush amid 'unprecedented hatred' for US"):

A growing rift between America and the Arab world was exposed yesterday when two Middle Eastern allies delivered damaging rebuffs to President George Bush's policies in the region.

King Abdullah of Jordan flew home from the US after abruptly cancelling a meeting planned for today with the president in Washington. The king's move came as the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, said there was more hatred of Americans in the Arab world today than ever before.

King Abdullah and Mr Mubarak are two of the most moderate leaders in the Middle East and the two normally closest to the US.

Imagine that! In just three paragraphs I know all the main features of the story and have a quick read on its significance. That's the sort of thing that happens when reporters pay attention to their craft, and editors hold them to a standard. If Weisman ever knew how to do this sort of thing, it appears he's long since abandoned it in favor of parroting his fave anonymous neo-con sources, while Bill Keller does what he does best, namely look the other way. [After looking at the Guardian article, check out Billmon for a fuller, passionate analysis of the bellwether implications of the Abdullah and Mubarak protests.]

One thing about the Guardian story—call it a grace note, or a disgrace note—I haven't seen attested anywhere in the U.S. press.

Mr Sharon secured his deal [on the settlements] with Mr Bush partly through brinkmanship, sitting at Ben Gurion airport for three hours last week and threatening to cancel his Washington visit. Mr Bush caved in.

The Guardian doesn't, however, add the part about Bush meeting the Sharon plane with a bouquet of red roses and a big box of truffles ...

posted by michael  10:53:10 AM  
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