So Bush has agreed to give 10 minutes each to two Arab news networks to explain how disgusted he is at the abuses of Iraqi prisoners. Trouble is, the two networks are Al Hurra and Al Arabiya, neither of which is going to have an ounce of credibility in the Mideast.
Both are quite new: Al Hurra launched this year, Al Arabiya only last year. Al Hurra is owned and operated by the U.S. Congress, based in Virginia, and described as "slanted, arrogant, and condescending" by Islam Online. Al Arabiya looks a little better on its face -- they got banned from covering the post-Saddam Iraq, after all -- but it's owned by a western-educated relative of Saudi King Fahd, who sees his mission thus:
You needed a model to show the rest of the Middle East that democracy can work. So if things go well in Iraq, I foresee people all over the Middle East clamoring for change.
So, one net run by the neocons' man in Dubai, the other by the neocons themselves. As the Talking Dog points out, it's pretty clear that the point of these appearances isn't to placate actual Arabs in actual Arab countries -- it's to sway the Arab-Americans. Especially those in important swing states, like Michigan.