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Originally Posted by ArlJim78
there isn't anything more to the story. past presidents who no doubt also had busy schedules somehow found the time to go to this ball. for Obama it was a lower priority. end of story.
I'm just so thrilled and proud that he did find the time to honor al arabiya with his first media interview.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Arabiya
from above:
Content and Al Jazeera rivalry
Al Arabiya was created to be a direct competitor of Qatar-based Al Jazeera.[5] According to a 2008 New York Times profile of Al Arabiya director Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, the station was founded "to cure Arab television of its penchant for radical politics and violence," with Al Jazeera as its main target. Mr. Rashed alleged that Arab television's coverage of militant groups was overly friendly. "You have to remember, it was television that made bin Laden into a celebrity," Rashed said. "That made Al Qaeda, and its recruiting, and this is how violence spread throughout the region." Mr. Rashed said Al Arabiya works to describe incidents of Islamist violence with neutral, non-supportive language. He also said the station had pushed Al Jazeera to be more critical of the insurgency in Iraq. "Now Al Jazeera is a very soft, reasonable station when it comes to the Iraqis," he said. Al Arabiya has, in turn, drawn accusations of pro-American or pro-Saudi bias, in part due to MBC's Saudi ownership.[6]
i think the days of trying to resolve issues by sitting alone in a corner not talking to people ended jan 20. i know it seems odd after 8 years of passive aggressive dysfunction in foreign policy but making the point of talking to a moderate arab outlet was probably a good idea. just my take.