According to AFP, US President George W. Bush said Saturday that his trip to the Middle East next week aimed to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians and curtail Iran’s “aggressive ambitions.”

“This is a region of great strategic importance to the United States, and I’m looking forward to my visit,” Bush, who leaves January 8, said in his weekly radio address.
Bush said he would urge leaders at his other destinations to help move the process forward, and declared he would “discuss the importance of countering the aggressive ambitions of Iran.”
Bush was expected to work to convince US allies that Iran is a serious threat after a US intelligence finding, made public in December, said Tehran had halted a secret nuclear weapons program in 2003.
“And I will assure them that America’s commitment to the security of our friends in the region is strong and enduring,” said the US president. “America will stay engaged in the region.”
Bush said the Middle East faced a “decisive moment” in the struggle between democratic reformers and extremists “We will support democrats and reformers from Beirut and Baghdad to Damascus and Tehran. We will stand with all those working to build a future of liberty and justice and peace. Prevailing in this struggle will not be easy, but we know from history that it can be done,” he said.