Kuwait City: US President George W Bush begins a tour of Arab allies in the oil-rich Gulf today seeking to rally support for his policy of isolating Iran. Bush's trip, on the heels of a visit to the Holy Land to push for a Middle East peace deal before he leaves office in a year, comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran following a naval confrontation in the Gulf.

But several commentators in the region have voiced strong misgivings about his intentions. "Mr President, the region needs smart initiatives not smart bombs," the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai said in a front-page editorial. "It needs inter-continental technology, not ballistic missiles; and it needs scientific, economic, financial and trade agreements, not arms deals."

Kuwait was a springboard for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled then dictator Saddam Hussein, whose forces had invaded his tiny neighbour in 1990 before the emirate was liberated by a US-led coalition in early 1991. Around 15,000 US troops are stationed in Kuwait, which hosts one of Washington's largest military bases in the region, Camp Arifjan, and other smaller camps used as a transit point for US-led forces in Iraq.

Bush is expected to address troops on Saturday after talks today with emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. After Kuwait, Bush will head for Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on a trip he has said aims to curtail Tehran's "aggressive ambitions."

It will be the first time a serving US president has been to Bahrain and the UAE although several have been to Saudi Arabia, the regional Sunni Arab powerhouse and world s top oil exporter.

Source : PTI