This is a somewhat strange combination of countries if what the president has in mind is to give new life to the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Of these eight days the president will spend on the road, less than three will be in Israel and the Palestinian territories conferring with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Ostensibly the reason of this voyage is to push along the idea of a two-state solution before he leaves office; now just a few days more than a year away.

If indeed the reason for this Middle East tour is to nudge the Palestinians and Israelis into accepting a peaceful solution, then 72 hours seems ridiculously little time to spend on such an effort. And if the president's major concern is the Arab-Israeli dispute, then how does he expect to really make any headway without Syria's cooperation?

Yet, Mr. Bush has no plans to visit Damascus. It is also important to note that all reference to the two-state solution Bush has been so ardently touting has suddenly disappeared from the White House communiqués regarding this trip.

And if indeed the president's concern is the Arab-Israeli dispute, then why the stops in four Gulf countries? Why the visits to Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia? It is interesting to note that those four countries share the same concerns over Iran's rising influence in the region.

The one Gulf country not included in this trip is Qatar, whose emir already met with Bush during his recent visit to Washington.

Bush's visit to the region -- the Gulf region, that is -- might well have more to do with Iran than with the question of Palestine. The president's visit comes as tension between the United States and the Islamic republic took a turn for the worse this past weekend when the two countries' navies came close to an armed confrontation.

A U.S. Navy spokesman in Bahrain confirmed that five Iranian vessels piloted by Revolutionary Guards approached within 200 yards of a group of three U.S. naval vessels Saturday night in international waters in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to CNN, the Iranians radioed a threatening message to the Americans, saying: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple minutes."

The sailors on the American ships threatened to fire at the Iranians, who then turned away before shooting began.

No shots were fired. This time. But unless some serious headway is made in thawing the ice between Washington and Tehran, incidents such as this one in the future could result in shots being fired.

The optimistic view is that the Gulf countries Bush will visit are well positioned to mediate between the United States and Iran. The pessimistic view is that Bush is looking for support for an eventual confrontation with the Islamic republic. Let's be optimistic.