LIANE HANSEN, host:
Joining us from Abu Dhabi is NPR's Michele Kelemen who's been traveling with the president.
Michele, another warning from President Bush on the dangers posed by Iran. How much of this is posturing by the president, given that he's visiting Arab states who do feel threatened by the strength Iran has gained in the region over the past few years?
MICHELE KELEMEN: Well, it was an important message for them. I mean, one of the issues is that after the National Intelligence Estimate that the intelligence community put out that said Iran halted a nuclear weapons program back in 2003, there was a lot of concern in the region, wondering, you know, what is the Bush administration's policy. Mr. Bush went out there very strongly today talking about the threat that he sees Iran posing. But he also talked about how - he's here in the region to strengthen these relationships in the Gulf, sort of to counter that before it's too late, as he put it. Very strong words, but it's going to be a very tough message here.
I mean, this is a region that's very dependent on business from Iran. So if the president is trying to get them to cut ties that way, that's going to be something they're going to be very leery of doing right here. And there's also concern in the region that the U.S. might do something militarily, and that's something people here have been warning him against.
HANSEN: We also heard the president talked a lot about freedom and democracy, something he considers one of his - the platforms of his administration's policy in the Middle East. So these are some similar themes he's talking about.
KELEMEN: Yeah, but it was interesting today because he also focused much more on the development issues and economic development, which is much - a little bit different from what he's been focusing on before. He talked about here -for instance in United Arab Emirates, he said, you have succeeded in building a prosperous society out of the desert, that there are women in high positions, that they've had election to a federation - federal national council, and even called it a modern Muslim state. So he was - had high praise for a lot of these oil-rich nations around here in the region.
HANSEN: The president also continued on the strip to talk about the Middle East process. But he's a lame duck president, how much can he really achieve and did he wait too long to do this?
KELEMEN: Well, you know, in some ways, it sounds like he's out here trying to build his legacy, to change his legacy in the region. But on the other hand, he does keep talking about these same themes. You know, he talks about democracy and what democracy can bring, and praised Palestinians, for instance, for voting for Mahmoud Abbas, and he didn't mention the fact that they'd also voted for Hamas. So, you know, I think people in the region sort of look at this like we've heard this before and are waiting for him to move on.
I should also point out that he's making these statements in an incredibly ornate palace, the Emirates Palace, where he's staying tonight. This place was - the White House put out briefing notes about it and said that it's reputed to be the most expensive hotel in the world - bil. That it was a price tag of three - over three billion, and that is billion with a B, dollars.
HANSEN: NPR's Michele Kelemen in Abu Dhabi. She's traveling with the president. Thank you very much, Michele.
KELEMEN: Thank you.