Bush Caught Off Guard by Case of Jailed Jordanian

[bloom]

By Glenn Kessler and Scott Wilson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 27, 2005; Page A04


President Bush was stumped yesterday when he was asked at his news conference about the plight of a Jordanian man who faces a two-year prison term for slander after giving a lecture last month calling for a boycott of American goods and companies. "I'm unaware of the case," he said.


The circumstances are somewhat murky, but in many ways the case signifies the difficult choices and trade-offs inherent in Bush's call in his inaugural address for the right to dissent and protest around the world.

Jordan is a close U.S. ally, ruled by a monarch, whose support has been critical in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the war in Iraq, despite growing resentment among Jordanian citizens over these policies. Ali Hattar, the man charged with slander, is vehemently opposed to Jordan's 1994 establishment of relations with Israel, which he has demanded be reversed. Hattar is not a democracy activist, nor would he be considered an appealing figure by many Americans, but he has been charged under a type of vague law frequently used to suppress dissent across the Middle East.


Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, said there are few activists in the Middle East who could be considered supportive of U.S. policies. Yet Bush said last week that the United States will press the cause of "free dissent and the participation of the governed" with "every ruler and every nation." <more>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39783-2005Jan26.html?referrer=email

[aden_nak]

1. These reporters need to follow up.

I am sick and tired of them bringing up valid questions, and then the response they get is, "I don't know all the facts, so I really can't comment," or, "I am unaware of that situation at this time." Okay, fine. so the next time the same person (whether its The Chimp himself or his little shitlipped lackey McCullen. . . to say nothing of how often Rice uses that defense) opens the floor for questions, they need to start re-asking.

"Mr. President, you remember two months ago I asked you about the man who was imprisoned in Jordan for suggesting a boycott of American goods, and you said you were unaware of the situation? Now that you've had over eight weeks to investigate the issue, what has the American response been to this violation of human rights and free speech?"

*Paging Agent Smith, Paging Agent Smith*

[paineinthearse]

2. Reporter bolierplate

President Bush was stumped yesterday when (fill in the blank to describe the present situation).