I was impressed with the interview that CBS 60 Minutes reporter Steve Croft did with Dubai Emir Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. The interview and tour of Dubai aired Sunday on CBS TV’s 60 Minutes program which received huge viewership ratings. Here’s a link to the story:

Dubai Story.

Sheik Maktoum was very reasoned and he outlined many of the progressive improvements he is bringing to Dubai which has become the new Riviera of the Middle East replacing Beirut, which was on its way to recovery until the punitive beating it took from Israel when Hezbollah killed and grabbed several of its soldiers along the Israel-Lebanon border.

I visited Dubai in April 2006 and did a video report on the tour. If you are interested, the video is located at www.ArabAmericanTVOnline.com. Of the more than 50 videos I have produced, the Dubai video has received the most views, even more than the several video clips of the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour (www.IPComedyTour.com).

Dubai is a very Western country with a deep Arab cultural tradition. It’s moving into the 21st Century with light speed and the fastest construction growth of any other country in the world. I thinkt he Sheik’s ideas are inspiring.

It was good to see a report about something good in the Middle East for a change.

Ray Hanania
www.NAAJA-US.com