Congressman Tom Cole optimistic after trip to Middle East, Great Britain

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Congressman Tom Cole says he's optimistic after returning from a trip to the Middle East and London.<br/><br/>The Moore Republican was part of a delegation that visited Libya,

Wednesday, July 27th 2005, 6:44 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Congressman Tom Cole says he's optimistic after returning from a trip to the Middle East and London.

The Moore Republican was part of a delegation that visited Libya, Lebanon and London in recent days.

In Libya, Cole says the group had a two-hour meeting with leader Moammar Gadhafi, the one-time revolutionary and enemy of the US.

Cole says he also had a moving discussion with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Cole says Blair made it clear that the British are determined to stay the course in the war on terror and wouldn't be deterred by the recent bombings there.

Cole says he also had a good meeting with Robert Tuttle, the US Ambassador to England.

He says Tuttle's grandfather founded the central-Oklahoma town of Tuttle in Cole's congressional district.