The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Sharm El Sheikh

US President George W. Bush was upbeat as he ended his Middle East tour Wednesday, saying he was optimistic an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal can be reached despite failing to win full Arab backing for his efforts. He also left the region after eight days without wholehearted support from key Arab allies in the oil-rich Gulf for his campaign to isolate Iran, which he has repeatedly branded a "threat to world peace." "When I say I am coming back to stay engaged I mean it, and when I say I am optimistic we can get a deal done I mean what I am saying," he told reporters in the Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheikh after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the last and briefest leg of his tour. Bush, who is anxious to end his presidency with a foreign policy triumph, predicted in Jerusalem at the start of his trip that a peace treaty would be signed by the time he leaves office in January 2009.