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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (704648)	9/28/2005 6:54:18 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

In Turkey, Hughes Gets an Earful on Iraq By SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writer news.yahoo.com Sent to improve America's image in the Muslim world, President Bush's public relations chief stressed the need for better dialogue in her brief address Wednesday to Turkish women activists. What Karen Hughes got back was a barrage of criticism about the U.S. war in Iraq. There is "no chance for America to make its image better ... while the war in Iraq is still going on (and) people are dying every day," Turkish activist Hidayet Sefkatli Tuksal told journalists after meeting with Hughes at a museum in a medieval citadel looming over the modern city of Ankara. Hughes — who concluded her Mideast tour Wednesday — admitted that "obviously we have a public relations challenge here in Turkey as we do in different places throughout the world." Handed the task earlier this month of countering America's negative image in the Middle East, Hughes traveled to Egypt and Saudi Arabia as well as Turkey — key Muslim nations. In all three countries, the war in Iraq and the plight of Palestinians have been critical issues that have eroded support for the United States. A June poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project showed that only 17 percent of Turks supported the U.S. war on terror and many considered the United States a threat to world peace. In Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Hughes told Saudi officials that the United States appreciated the role they play in fighting Islamic extremism. In Egypt, her first stop, she stressed U.S. support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Wednesday morning, Hughes met with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and his undersecretary. Later, speaking with about two dozen women's activists, Hughes said that one of the key ways to improve ties was to "foster dialogue between my country and the people of Turkey." "It is important that ... America listen to the concerns of the Turkish people," she added. The first person to respond was Serpil Sancar. "We would be pleased to cooperate, not on violence but for increased freedom and well-being," said Sancar, of the Women's Research Center at Ankara University. "I am not anti-American," she said, but "I am anti-war and anti-violence." Fatma Nevin Vargun, a Kurdish women's rights activist, called on the United States to stop wars "that lead to poverty" adding: "I am ashamed that the 21st century is the century of war." In speaking out against the conflict in Iraq, Tuksal said that "in every photograph that I see from Iraq, I see the fear and concern in their eyes and I cannot relax." "I feel the pain that you are feeling," Hughes said, but she added: "It is impossible to say that the plight of women was better under Saddam Hussein. Women were tortured, they had their children tortured in front of them." While Turkey is a secular democracy and the only Muslim member of NATO, the Turkish people have been increasingly critical of the United States since the Iraq war started. Fighting in Iraq has dominated the Turkish news for the past two years, with media often focusing on the suffering of the Iraqi people. Later Wednesday, Hughes traveled to Istanbul, where she met privately at the historic Topkapi Palace with Islamic, Jewish and Christian leaders. "We discussed the problems of the world," Hughes said afterward, adding that the religious leaders were supportive but did not hold back critical comments. She gave no further details. Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (704648)	9/30/2005 9:09:58 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769670

US waives sanctions on Saudis over religious rights By Saul Hudson news.yahoo.com The United States has postponed punishing Saudi Arabia, its close ally and key oil supplier, for restricting religious freedom -- the first time Washington has waived punishing a blacklisted country under a 1998 law targeting violators of religious rights. U.S. officials said on Friday the Bush administration had decided to delay imposing sanctions on Saudi Arabia for six months. The decision reflects the delicate balance the United States has sought to strike with Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia as it promotes expanding freedoms at the risk of irking governments needed to support its oil and terrorism policies. In a rare official rebuke a year ago, Washington designated Saudi Arabia as one of only eight countries worldwide that could be sanctioned. The blacklisting in an annual report said religious freedom did not exist in the kingdom. With this year's report due out next month, the Bush administration needed to decide on sanctioning Saudi Arabia and chose to give the kingdom a further six months to negotiate how it might improve its record. "We have not seen strong progress in the area of legal protection for religious freedom," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said. "(But) we welcome Saudi recognition of the need to make improvements and create a more tolerant society." With high oil prices affecting the U.S. economy and dragging on President George W. Bush's popularity, Democrats have charged he has largely ignored Saudi Arabia's rights record for fear of causing any backlash from the oil supplier. Prominent Saudis dismiss as politically motivated U.S. criticism of the country's strict Wahhabi brand of Islam. In contrast to its decision on Saudi Arabia, the United States decided to sanction Eritrea by banning military exports to the Horn of Africa country, the officials said. Vietnam, the third country added to the blacklist last year, has avoided sanctions after agreeing to improve its record, they added. The other countries the United States considers serious violators of religious freedom are North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan, Iran and China. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an agency established by Congress to promote religious freedom, has recommended this year that three allies should be added to the blacklist: Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.