Bush scores with the lovable Arabs

Bush Apology Sparks Torrent of Global Goodwill

IMAMS: 'YOU HAD US AT 'SORRY''

Washington - The recent apology of US President George W. Bush for abuses by American military prison guards continued to reverberate around the globe today, as the White House was again inundated with with a flurry of 'apology accepted' notes from world media, governmental leaders, and Islamic fundamentalist clerics.

Typical of the responses was a personal note from Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, who wrote 'aww, dude, you know I can't stay mad at you,' saying that the apology had prompted him to immediately dismantle his country's secret nuclear weapons program. In a postscript, Assad added, 'good luck to the Rangers this year.'

'Now was that so hard?' joked Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat in an email to Bush. 'Now get out of here ya knucklehead, before we have to do one of those awkward man-hugs.'

The apology also prompted an outbreak of gratitude in the Arab street, as hundreds of thousands of Muslims took to the streets Friday in an impromptu demonstration of thanks. In Gaza, a cheering crowd estimated at 30,000 waved American flags and banners reading 'No Prablem Bosh' [sic], while in Damascus throngs gathered in the Square of the Martyrs chanting 'U-S-A, U-S-A'.

'I used to dream about dying in a glorious fireball of martyrdom,' said Ali Ahmed Amoud, 23, a marcher in the first annual Infidel Appreciation Days parade in Nablus. 'But that apology was so nice and sincere, it just seems kind of petty to keep nursing a grudge.'