While I always cherish good bilateral relations between Malaysia and the United States, I also think that the proposed meeting between President George W Bush and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is not advisable, given the current situation in Malaysia and abroad, as well as the strategic objectives of the United States in its effort to further address the root causes of terrorism.

Lets be clear. The United States cannot afford to engage in a protracted war all over the world as it will drain its resources. Most importantly, conducting wars and security operations wantonly all over the world would sow the seeds of resentment against the United States, not only by Muslims but also Western (including US and UK) and Westernised liberals and left-wingers.

Thus, it is better for the United States now to engage more in public education and public diplomacy, aimed at establishing more direct communications and dialogues with Islamic civil societies.

Iran and the Philippines are two good examples for the United States to draw lessons from. The strong anti-US sentiments in these two religiously different countries stem precisely from the wrong policies and strategies of the US administration.

Instead of empathising with the civil societies which were confronting anti-democratic threats under former King Shah Pahlawi and President Ferdinand Marcos, US was popularly perceived to be conspiring with the dictators to oppress their peoples.

Popular sentiments naturally turned against the perceived backers of their oppressors, even though Iran is Muslim-predominated while the Philippines is populated by 98 percent Catholics.

If after meeting and taking photographs with President Bush, Mahathir returns and continues to do more nasty things to his intra-party opponents and other liberal dissidents, US image and prestige will suffer not only in the eyes of Muslims but also non-Muslims who are struggling for democracy and human rights. Everyone will be disappointed with the United States.

The sentiment may last for few decades, just as many Vietnamese still remember how the US backed up the corrupt government of South Vietnam in Saigon in the 1960s.