Washington, June 25 (AP): It was either a slip of the tongue ? or President George W. Bush has ambitions for the Palestinians beyond anyone’s expectations.

“My dream is that there be a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with Iraq,” Bush said yesterday with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari. Bush made the comment as he described his hopes for a peaceful, democratic West Asia.

Bush presumably meant Israel instead of Iraq. He has repeatedly called for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Bush also repeated his call for free and open elections in Egypt.