[George W. Bush]

Why are you guys so surprised?

They sent their navy about a week ago. Their small naval vessels and their troops will be protecting Kuwait to free us up to go into Iraq.

If Saddam would invade Kuwait, he'd go after any of the Emirates if he could. And they have other aggressive neighbors too who would love to seize their oil.

So, it would be surprising to me if they weren't helping us.

The reporting on them has been sparse but I think it's a lot like the eastern Europeans. This is kind of a defining moment for a lot of these little countries. They're remaking themselves at the start of the 21^st century. They're sick of living in fear of their neighbors and a lot of them have known oppression. They look to us to be their protectors. And they're willing to be good neighbors and to help us in return.

There have been some good articles on how the push to democratize the Middle East is coming from them and the Saudis and Syrians.

[happygrl]

There have been some good articles on how the push to democratize the Middle East is coming from them and the Saudis and Syrians.

The SYRIANS ? That is news !