As a result of my experience in my line of business, and with the increase of Arabs in the US, I come across Arabs while shopping. I may have a pleasant conversation with them, but I cannot believe anything they tell me about the product I am considering to buy or anything they tell me about themselves.
LOL! You have just described exactly why the American press essentially can never be believed!
(There is a difference, though -- among the American press it's considered poor form to be caught too far out, but that's only because some of the population here will call them on it.)
When we first invaded Afghanistan, there was a report from one of the FNC guys. He had hired a car and driver to take him to someplace within Afghanistan. Halfway through the trip, and in the middle of nowhere, the price of the ride had changed. What to do, had to pay it. He indicated that the same thing had happened when he thought they had agreed upon a price for "lodging", and that also got hiked once they arrived at the destination.
I have watched Arafat lie too many times in front of a camera to think that this man actually knows what truth is; and, I don't think he is alone in his ability to lie. I have begun to wonder if it is genetic.
Anyway, thinking about this one day it dawned on me that Middle Easterners are actually Ferengi. They seemed to have latched on to one of the Rules of Acquisition which state: Our word is our bond; until we decide to change it.