President Obama's visit in November 2012 was another big step toward normalized relations with the West.

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In effect, Israel would be swapping some land for real prosperity and future opportunity, as well as normalized relations with its neighbors.

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There was inherent drama in Brandt's career, as he "normalized" relations with East Germany and the Soviet bloc, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.

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And he was in China in 1979, as part of the first delegation of U.S. senators after relations were normalized.

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Woodcock, a political activist who threw the support of his million-member-plus union behind Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential campaign, was rewarded with the post of U.S. liaison to China in 1977 and two years later became full-fledged ambassador when relations were normalized between the two nations.

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President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, and relations between the two countries were normalized in 1979.

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Diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States had normalized, and direct foreign investments were beginning to drive economic growth there.

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