Hughes intends to report criticism to Bush

Hughes intends to report criticism to Bush

Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press/Honolulu

The Bush administration's international public relations chief
said she will report back to President George W. Bush on the
critical remarks she heard in Indonesia and Malaysia about the
United States and its invasion of Iraq.

But Karen Hughes said people in predominantly Muslim Asian
nations also agreed that the United States needs to support Iraq
so it can build a stable and democratic nation.

Hughes spoke to reporters during a stop in Hawaii on her way
back to Washington.

The U.S. undersecretary for public diplomacy said she
understood that there "are some people and some countries" who
disagreed with the decision to invade Iraq.

Still, she said "there is pretty unanimous agreement" that
Washington should help the Iraqi people.

"I see heads nodding around the world -- even when they
disagree with our initial decision to go into Iraq -- they agree
that it is important for the world as a whole and for the Iraqi
people that we are successful in Iraq," Hughes said.

In Jakarta, Hughes met with university students who repeatedly
criticized the original U.S. rationale for going to war -- that
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was allegedly hiding weapons of mass
destruction. Such arms were never found.

One student told Hughes that U.S. policies were creating
hostility among Muslims, but she added that some students came up
to tell her afterward that they didn't agree with what was said
and that the United States was pursuing the right policies.

Hughes said she heard about the importance of international
exchanges from the people she met during her travels. One woman
in Malaysia told Hughes she wanted more Americans to come to her
country to learn more about it, she said.

Malaysians also said they hoped more people from their country
would be able to visit the United States.

While in Hawaii, Hughes had lunch with Gov. Linda Lingle and
visited the East-West Center, a State Department-funded
educational and research organization in Honolulu.

She said Hawaii was "perfectly positioned" to be a bridge
between the countries of Asia and the Pacific and rest of the
United States.