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"I think the overriding message is however, is you have got to start somewhere, and you've got to take them on one by one by one."

Reagan was known as the Great Communicator; perhaps Bush will be known as the Great Liberator. First Afghanistan, then Iraq. Next I think will be either Syria or France. Seriously, though, some of these counries may be liberated without direct intervention form the U.S., i.e. Iran and Saudi Arabia, but it will be the direct result of U.S. efforts in other places. I believe it will be crucial that we end up with stable governments in Iraq and Afghanistan that respect freedom and the rule of law. If that happens, dictators in Iran, Syria and elsewhere will continue to get very nervous.

Agreed, and as another poster on this thread pointed out, not only do we have to think about Syria, Iran, Saudi, and North Korea, there is also the ticking time bomb that is Pakistan. If Musharaff loses control, or if the political equation there changes things could get very tense in that particular corner of the world.