The latest from the Political Grapevine:

Hampered Healing

Secretary of State Colin Powell now says that despite France's cooperation on many issues, its opposition to the war in Iraq, "was a big, big problem. And that still has not yet healed."

In an interview with the French magazine Paris Match (search), Powell says, "the French did everything to prevent us from moving forward, and there was a major disagreement. ... [T]he majority of the nations in Europe ... not only stood by us, but contributed troops, [even though] public opinion was against what we were doing." But, Powell says, "I'm confident that over time these breaches can be healed, for the simple reason that it is in no one's interest, not in France's interest, ... not in the United States' interest, for Iraq to be a failure."

Applications Approved

The Canadian government has now approved the first visa applications from Americans looking to move to Canada after President Bush's re-election.

Tresey Kilbourne and his family, from Seattle, applied more than a year ago for Canadian visas, planning to withdraw their applications if a Democrat won.

They're now looking for a home in British Columbia. Mr. Kilbourne, quoted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, says, "With the Republicans in full control of everything, there hasn't been anything that has caused us to think that we weren't doing ... the smart thing."

Broadcast Banned

Days after France banned Arab TV network Al-Manar (search) from broadcasting inside the country, the United States has now also banned the network, which is operated by the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, and is carried by satellite TV company GlobeCast in the U.S.

Specifically, the State Department accuses the network of promoting hatred, and has placed it on a Terrorist Exclusion list, meaning any foreigners who work for the network or support it can be barred from entering the U.S.

Al-Manar insists the U.S. is trying to "terrorize and silence thoughts that are not in line with U.S. and Israeli policies." But, the State Department says, "It's not a question of freedom of speech. It's a question of incitement of violence."

Security Tactics Strongly Criticized

Israel has been strongly criticized this year for its security tactics, including continuing to build that security barrier along its border with the West Bank (search).

But terror attacks have dropped significantly this past year. According to new figures from Israeli intelligence, quoted by the Jerusalem Post, six suicide bombings were carried out in Israel this year. At least 12 were carried out last year. In addition, 55 people were killed from suicide bombings this year, down 60 percent from last year.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report