Bush* Arrives in Bali to Send a Message

[kskiska]

Stopover in Indonesia Is Intended to Defy Terrorists and Court Muslims, Officials Say

BALI, Indonesia, Oct. 22 -- President Bush landed on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Wednesday morning to send a defiant message to terrorists who crippled the tourist trade there and to try to improve his image in the world's most populous Muslim country.

He was scheduled to spend three hours and 15 minutes at the airport and in an adjacent hotel, where he was to meet with President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Muslim leaders. His visit comes one year after the bombing of two nightclubs in Bali killed 202 people, most of them foreigners, sparking fears of terrorism in Southeast Asia.

(snip)

A senior administration official traveling on the six-country presidential swing through Asia and Australia said Bush "has seen some mischaracterizations of his policies on Iraq and on the Middle East coming out of Indonesia."

"He wants to correct those misunderstandings and share views with them," the official said.

Muslim critics of the administration point to Bush's careless use of the word "crusade" to refer to the war on terrorism five days after the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in September 2001.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61585-2003Oct21.html

[Submariner]

1. Gee, I wonder if he'll stopover at Baghdad Airport

to send the terrorists a message. I'm sure they would reply.

[TahitiNut]

2. Indonesia has vast oil reserves.

Gee, go figure. :shrug:

[stickdog]

3. Bush's message: I blew up that nigthclub in Bali and if you mess with me,

it'll be more of the same.