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During his current overseas trip, President Bush is engaging in rapprochement and "fence mending" with Europeans, meeting with European and NATO leaders in efforts to strengthen alliances. Bush has told Europeans that: "the deepest values and interests of America and Europe are the same: defeating terrorism, conquering poverty, expanding trade and promoting peace". Particularly regarding this global war on terror, European cooperation is crucial. And Bush urged Europeans to stand by fledgling democracies, and those nations seeking to be free. He further underscored that "The Lebanese people have the right to be free" and that Syria must withdraw forces from Lebanon. The ambassador to Syria had already been recalled to Washington, DC, for consultations regarding the crisis circumstances in Lebanon.

Personally, I'm short-term pessimistic, long-term optimistic regarding progress in the Middle East. Although, President Bush has articulated the view that diplomacy and sanctions are the desired methods to bring about needed change, he also noted that the military option will always remain on the table. Both Iran and Syria are tough and unyielding, which certainly argues for the possibility of limited military action (i.e. air strikes) to obtain sought after results. As to Iran's nuclear ambitions, even Vice President Dick Cheney broached the "Israel might act first" issue on the Don Imus radio program, when he stated: "Well, one of the concerns people have is that Israel might do it without being asked...If, in fact, the Israelis became convinced the Iranians had a significant nuclear capability, given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards."

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

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