- - Reviews of the Bush Visit - -

MSNBC: "Some Iraqis welcome Bush, others wish him in hell". Excerpt:


Abu Sara, a restaurant owner in the capital, said if security and living standards under the Americans did not improve rapidly, more Iraqis would turn against the U.S. forces.
''We welcome Bush as we welcome any guest who comes peacefully,'' he said. ''But we want to draw attention to the fact that there is no security, no jobs and no services well into the American occupation of Iraq.
''If the situation continues, Iraqis will use everything they have to throw the Americans out, including stones.''

Le Monde: "Dans les commissariats, la grogne monte contre les Américains". Excerpt:


Grand, massif et flic dans l'âme depuis treize ans, l'officier affirme que la menace ne le trouble pas. "Je fais mon boulot, dit-il. Je sais bien que la population nous prend pour des collabos, mais je travaille pour l'Irak. Pas pour les Américains, qui nous méprisent, ne nous écoutent pas et ne nous fournissent pas les équipements qui nous manquent pour assurer l'ordre. Si vous me demandez mon avis, je dirais qu'ils sont stupides, c'est tout."

Translation, courtesy of truthout, here.

ABCNewsOnline: "Bush's Iraq visit a pre-election PR stunt: analysis". Excerpt:


The daily Vanguardia, published in Spain's second city Barcelona, said Mr Bush was trying to put a positive gloss on an increasingly difficult situation.

It noted that "George W Bush does not attend the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, but has dinner in Baghdad with those who dream of coming home alive".

AlterNet: "A Chickenhawk Thanksgiving in Baghdad" by David B. Livingstone. Excerpt:


It is doubtful that Bush is perceptive enough to note the ironies implicit in both his presence and his pronouncements, though surely Karl Rove and his fellow cogs in the White House spin machine got a chuckle out of every nuance. While speaking for purposes of ostensibly expressing gratitude – isn't that what the holiday is all about in the first place? – Bush's words served instead both to perpetuate illusions and to inculcate fear. The President's repetitive mantra of "terror," "danger," freedom" and the like – the familiar buzzwords guaranteed to fulment unreasoning emotions in the hearts of all good Fox-viewing Americans – seemingly found its origins on Madison Avenue rather than Pennsylvania Avenue.


Be at peace.