Washington is deliberately misinterpreting events in the Middle East in order to justify Bush administration policies, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mou’allim told the United Nations General Assembly. “Tragically, we all end up paying the price when the decision-makers in Washington believe that they know better, and are in a better position to understand and grasp the needs and circumstances of the Arabs,” he said. “They diagnose the ambitions and aspirations of the Arab individual in a manner that is tailored to their own vision.” He alleged the war on terror had been misused and argued it was serving the terrorists’ best interests.