Bush Appointee Critical of President

Professor Khaled Abou Al-Fadl, a Bush appointee to the Commission on International Religious Freedom, recently gave an interview to the Egyptian government weekly in which he warned of the dangers of a second Bush term in the White House.

According to a report in the Middle East Media Research Institute, Al-Fadl told the Egyptian publication that Islamic organizations helped Bush reach the White House out of shortsightedness and ignorance.

"I met with many leaders of these organizations and I told them that I have known Bush well since he was governor of Texas, where I live, and I am familiar with his bad policy, which does not bode well.

"During the election campaign, Bush gave the Islamic leaders a certain status. ... They lost their equilibrium. They did not listen – not only to me, but also to someone like Ralph Nader, who was a presidential candidate of Arab origin. He met with them and all but pleaded with them not to vote for Bush. He all but kissed their hands so they wouldn't.

"We told them that he [Bush] is a Christian religious fundamentalist and that the group around him, of the likes of Paul Wolfowitz and others, hold the same beliefs that accompanied colonialism's entrance to the Muslim countries in the 19th century."

Al-Fahdl maintains that Bush is the first president in the history of America whose policy includes supporting Christian missionaries and applying pressure through them on some countries. "He links them with continued American aid to some countries."

The academic also says that Bush seems to favor only an Islam according to American standards.

The early ground success in Afghanistan spurred Bush on to start "thinking of invading Iraq, Syria, and Iran, and of changing the map of the region."

Despite the tough road in Iraq, the Bush appointee feels that the danger of a U.S.-led invasion of Syria and Iran has not passed:

"It [would be] inaccurate to say this. ... If Bush manages to remain for a second term, the considerations will change, because then he won't care about his political future and he can gamble on an erroneous policy."

Al-Fadl added: "I told the State Department and President Bush's representative [whom I met] in the White House: 'If Israel attacks Syria and Iran, the entire Islamic world will say that it is doing so with American approval and cooperation, even if America disavows it.' They thanked me and said that they would examine the matter. ..."

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