In a guest column for the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal Online, Aznar says Bush's win is representative of "the confidence of the American people in the values and principles on which our shared civilization on both sides of the Atlantic is based."

In what appears to be a snipe at Spain's new leftist government, elected in the immediate wake of a devastating attack by al-Qaida on a number of train stations in Madrid, Aznar said Bush, in the days after the 9/11 attacks, could have chosen to appease our enemies.

Instead, Bush chose to fight them tooth and nail, "to oppose brutality with steadfast conviction," a position "a wide majority" of Americans have since chosen to back as well.

"Many took for granted the fact that Mr. Bush would be defeated. They were wrong. The mistake committed by those who create caricatures is that they believe that normal people are going to substitute reality with caricature. The American people have decided that the best option is to offer a new mandate to Mr. Bush," Aznar wrote.

Besides facing down terrorism and the threat it poses to America and her allies, Aznar said, Bush also has had to face a coalition of negativity from sources inside the U.S. whose only goal was to ensure the president's downfall.

And he said that following 9/11, Bush would not allow his judgment to be clouded by rage. Instead, he says, the president made cold, cool, calm and collected calculations regarding both Afghanistan and Iraq. "I know him well and I know what I am talking about," Aznar wrote. "Afghanistan was a strategic objective in the war on terror, not an act of vengeance. Iraq has served the same purpose."

He also advises and urges the West into action.

"I believe that Mr. Bush's re-election ushers in a period of hope for the international community. Leaders all around the world can also play their part in defending our democracies and way of life. We have another four years before us and Western leaders can now join the Allied effort to build a safer and freer world. It is true, primitive anti-American feeling and unfounded hostility will make things more difficult for those leaders who have flirted with these tendencies. But the world is now presented with a clear opportunity," Aznar writes.

Editor's note: