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DeLay Links U.S. War, Mideast Conflict
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said Monday the war in Iraq and Israel's battle against Palestinian terrorists are two fronts in the same global conflict, "and we will win it."

"The survival of Israel is essential to America's victory in the war on terror, and America's victory in the war on terror is essential to Israel's survival," the Texas Republican told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"We will never leave their side."...

..."Israel's fight is our fight," said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House Democratic whip. "Those who sow hate in our world are the common enemy of all."...

...DeLay, by contrast, made a ringing defense of Bush's conduct of the war, and linked Israel's struggle to the war in Iraq.

He called the president "the greatest friend of Israel in the world today."...