Bush: Islam is a Religion of Peace and Tolerance
• Views: 2,396
President Bush is talking Religion of Peace™ again: Bush Talks Terror Fight, North Korea While in Bali. (Hat tip: Rev. Jay.)
“Americans hold a deep respect for the Islamic faith, which is professed by a growing number of my own citizens,” Bush said. “We know that Islam is fully compatible with liberty and tolerance and progress…Terrorists who claim Islam as their inspiration defile one of the world’s great faiths.”
For all this talk, though, the President’s security detail wasn’t showing much trust in Islam’s peaceful nature:
As Air Force One approached the resort island, warships and military forces in high-speed rubber rafts patrolled the seas and armored vehicles were stationed at the airport, which was closed to commercial flights during Bush’s visit. Jet fighters at air bases in neighboring Java island were on high-alert status.
At a luxury hotel where Bush met with Megawati, Secret Service agents, with flashlights and bomb-sniffing dogs, combed the grounds and peered into trees, fountains and grates. Guests were told to stay in their rooms, or leave the grounds until Bush left.
And the Indonesian security minister warns that Islamic terror attacks are imminent:
Earlier this week, however, the country’s security minister said a new attack by Jemaah Islamiyah was “imminent.”
But at the end of this wire story, someone at the Associated Press slipped up and let the truth out:
Bush’s visit was criticized by radical Islamic groups.
“President George W. Bush is the perpetrator of state terrorism and is a criminal who has destroyed other nations,” said the Indonesian Ulema Council, a group comprising mostly mainstream Muslim groups.