Yesterday in Prague, President Bush met with Palestinian anti-corruption activist Issam Abu Issa, among other dissidents. In 2004, as Issam Abu Issa arrived in the United States to testify before the Congress on the mechanisms of Yasir Arafat’s corruption, he was detained, had his U.S. visa cancelled, and banned from the United States. The action occurred after Arafat convinced the State Department that Abu Issa’s testimony could embarrass the Palestinian Authority and undercut desire to commit to the diplomatic process. Abu Issa’s story is here. Bush instructed National Security Advisor Hadley to look into the case. Negroponte was also there.

Whether Bush is sincere, however, is the open question among dissidents in Prague. After so many broken promises, dissidents and activists here now question whether his failures to match action with rhetoric are due to bureaucratic incompetence, or just insincerity.