Reactions among Arabs, whose future is largely affected by who rules at the White House, ranged from indifference to support for challenger John Kerry. For Lebanese citizens, who have been locked for decades in the middle of the Arab-Israeli conflict, both U.S. presidential candidates are equally supportive of Israel and hostile to Arab causes. "There is no difference between Kerry and Bush since they are both on Israel's side," Mohammed Hussein, a tradesman, told UPI.
Mona Asrawi, a housewife, said although Kerry and President George Bush could be very similar, "one can try the Democrat candidate now since we have already tried Bush and saw what he has done in Iraq as well as his blind bias for Israel."
| Yeah, yeah. As opposed to your blind hatred of same. Shuddup. We have more important things to do right now than listen to your opinion. |
Algerians had similar reactions. "They are two faces of the same coin and we cannot expect anything good from both of them with regard to Arabs and Muslims," Mustafa, a bank employee, told UPI.
| And we've got you on our list, too, Mustafa. There are certain advantages to being world hegemons, y'know. |
Abdel Hamid, a government employee, commented, "As an Arab citizen and a Muslim I have no preference since both will be serving Israel interests."
| I think we've discovered a new phenomenon here: one-track mindlessness... |
For Karima, a secretary at an oil company, "choosing between Bush and Kerry is like choosing between cholera and typhoid ... Both are personas non grata."
| It really does hurt my eyes when I roll them like that... |
| And if you keep making faces, buster, it's gonna freeze that way... |
Mauritanians, on the other hand, prefer Kerry over Bush, whom they accused of having destroyed Iraq and protected Israel, giving it the green light to attack the Palestinians. "No doubt that Bush is going to make it because the whole world is heading towards the abyss," commented Ahmed Ould Tajer, a vendor. But Mohammed Sidi Ould Bilal, a telephone operator, said he believes "Kerry would save the world because he will be correcting the wrong policies followed by Bush in the past four years and which caused non-equilibrium in the world." |