via Talk Left: Saddam Hussein's lawyer today announced he will file a lawsuit against those responsible for publishing photos of him in his underwear.

President Bush said he doesn't think the photos will cause a violent reaction in the Arab world.

"I don't think a photo inspires murderers," Bush told the press at the White House. "These people are motivated by a vision of the world that is backward and barbaric ... I think the insurgency is inspired by their desire to stop the march of freedom."

Is he that ignorant of Arab customs and values - personal modesty included - or is he that deluded that he thinks the entire Arab world hates Saddam too much to care? read on

Arthur Siberman posts: Good to know. When Newsweek briefly mentions well-established and widely reported tales of torture from Guantanomo Bay, the magazine needs to apologize to the White House and the world in general. When the right-wing Bush apologists at the New York Post incite Arab rage, it doesn’t matter because the Arabs are already so “backward and barbaric” that here in the Western World we can’t even comprehend it.