An Overall Review of the International Situation In the 4^th Quarter of 2005

1. The U.S., deeply trapped in Iraq, was pursuing a global strategy of ＂Iraq first, the Greater Middle East later, tightening relations with Europe and stabilizing the Asia -Pacific region＂. As the U.S. military death toll in Iraq passed 2000, there was growing demand for troop withdrawal from Iraq and anti-war protests inside the U.S.. It concentrated so highly on accelerating the Iraqi political process that it just had to delay its ＂Greater Middle East＂ plan and waited for changes in other relevant countries such as Iran, Palestine, Israel and Syria. The U.S. pushed the EU and even Russia and China in front to deal with Iran,