Thinking the unthinkable | The world, through Iran’s telescope
COMMENTARY
The ugly truths that Iranians see go a long way toward explaining why they are so determined to get the Bomb, writes George C. Wilson.

Entrenchment, Part I | Do we really expect the Bushies to go quietly?
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Reporters should be keeping a sharp eye out for things Bush officials are doing to make their policies stay in effect after they leave office. In the first of a five-part series: Putting Iraq on autopilot, risking war with Iran, and purging the military.

U.S. in isolation | Everyone's talking in the Middle East -- but us
COMMENTARY
A former CIA station chief writes that in Lebanon and elsewhere, consequential conversations are taking place that are critical to our national interests. But because we refuse to talk to such major players as Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria, we're not involved.

Odom's view | The surge is prolonging instability, not creating the conditions for success
COMMENTARY
Gen. William Odom suggests that Congress ask the Bush administration to name a single historical case where power has been aggregated successfully from local strongmen to a central government except through bloody violence leading to a single winner. He once again calls rapid withdrawal from Iraq the only effective and moral choice.

The folly of war | Iran is an opportunity, not a target
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Longtime New York Times foreign correspondent Stephen Kinzer writes that a better understanding of Iran's history exposes the folly of pre-emptive military action. By contrast, negotiations offer tantalizing possibilities.

Gulf of Tonkin redux? | A pre-election attack on Iran remains a possibility
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President Bush still believes the Iranians are developing nuclear weapons – and so do the Israelis. So for journalists to assume that neither the U.S. nor Israel will attack Iran before the November election could constitute another failure of imagination. Cato’s Leon Hadar suggests questions the press should ask the presidential candidates about what they think the American response should be to various scenarios in the region – including a Gulf-of-Tonkin-like alleged provocation.

Election 2008 | Will the next president talk to Iran?
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The head of the National Iranian American Council suggests questions presidential candidates should be asked about relations with Iran.

The drumbeat for war | Let's hear from someone besides the neoconservatives about Iran
COMMENTARY
Reporters should be seeking out experts who actually understand the Middle East -- because the vast majority of them think that attacking Iran would be a huge mistake. Here's an annotated list of some excellent possible sources.

Pullout in 4 to 9 months? | Odom on Iraq, Iran and what it means to be a democracy
SHOWCASE
There are few true democracies in the world, William Odom says in a radio interview. ‘If the Iraqis and other Arab countries want to become liberal systems, they can do it. They’re not going to do it the way we’re headed there now.’

Lessons learned? | How the press can prevent another Iraq
COMMENTARY
Journalists, and through us the public, have a grave responsibility to not be complicit in another march to war on false pretenses. So what lessons should we have learned from Iraq?

Odom's view | A reverse domino theory may be playing out in the Middle East
COMMENTARY
Gen. William Odom says Vice President Cheney has it all wrong when he warns that the U.S. must stay in Iraq because failure there could prompt collapse elsewhere. In fact, now it looks like a new Arab-Israeli war could be breaking out precisely because our actions in Iraq have emboldened Iran and Syria.

Next target? | A guide to reporting on relations between the U.S. and Iran
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News organizations were stung by their pre-Iraq invasion coverage; here are some questions they should be asking about Iran