That Iran stands today able to challenge or even defy the United States in every sphere of American influence in the Middle East, attests to the dismal failure of the Bush administration's policy toward it during the last six years. Feeling emboldened and unrestrained, Tehran may, however, miscalculate the consequences of its own actions, which could precipitate a catastrophic regional war…

After more than six years of tragic neglect, Washington might have one last chance to push for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. Whether there is a direct or indirect link between this century-old struggle and the violence in region, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains, for Arabs, the most emotionally charged issue, fueling extremists throughout the Middle East. The administration's preoccupation with Iraq, however compelling, offers no excuse for its near paralysis on the Israeli-Palestinian front..

Since President Bush unveiled his "new strategy," the debate in the House, the Senate, and the media has centered around two main options: immediate withdrawal or escalation of the troop's level. If either is pursued, it will precipitate an even greater disaster in Iraq than is the existing situation. Sadly, the President simply does not get the consequences of escalation, while the Democrats seem clueless about those of precipitous withdrawal…

After nearly four years of successive disasters in Iraq, which unleashed a civil war and brought the country to its knees, not to speak of the monumental American losses, there are still those dreamers, including the president, who speak of victory. Knowing what we know about the grave situation in Iraq today, we can no longer engage in such recklessly wishful thinking…

The Iraq Study Group’s report presented a powerful argument that the current Bush policy is not working and that a dramatic change of course must take place. That said, the report failed on one critical issue. No matter what other measures from the report are adopted, neither the insurgency nor the sectarian killing will end….

I admit that I find myself struggling to find a way or a phrase to summarize the sorry state of affairs in the Middle East in 2006; they seem to defy not only logic but the instinct to survive. How do you describe a region that has gone mad, setting itself on a self-destructive path and racing headlong toward the precipice?

To prevent genocide in Iraq on the scale of the genocide in Rwanda between the Tutsis and the Hutus, the Bush administration must move swiftly to divide Iraq into three main self-rule entities with loose federal ties. Neither the insurgency nor the sectarian killing will end unless the Sunnis can govern themselves…

It is time for the Bush administration to disabuse itself of three myths if it wishes to find a way out of the Iraq quagmire: Contrary to what the administration believes, there will be no victory in Iraq, there will be no Western-style democracy, and Iraq is not center stage but a transit station in the fight against terrorism. To succeed, any policy recommendations the Baker-Hamilton…

There should be no doubt that the United States has waged two Gulf wars largely, if not solely, for oil. To ensure that the Iraq war is the last Gulf war, the administration and the Democratic majority in the new Congress must work together to enact an energy-independence bill to address the root-causes of these wars and free America from the shackles of foreign oil.