Rashid Khalidi explains why the US has seen its power decline in the Middle East, Bob Moser wonders what happened to Ralph Reed and Stuart Klawans reviews Lunacy and Scoop.
Jonathan Schell : Thirty years after Watergate, we again face a constitutional crisis at home and a misconceived war abroad. The United States will remain a helpless giant until we finally learn that power in the nuclear, postimperial age is diplomatic, not military.
John Nichols : The Lamont/Lieberman Democratic primary race is a referendum not only on the Iraq War but on a new vision for the Democratic Party.
Eyal Press
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Is the coziness of progressives and foreign policy realists a strategic alliance or a sign that the conservative co-optation of "human rights" has disillusioned the left?
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Bush's Mideast strategy of inaction is a dangerous failure. He must act diplomatically to achieve a cease-fire, prisoner exchange and Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands.
Rashid I. Khalidi : At best, war in Gaza and Lebanon will weaken pro-American regimes without destroying Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran or Syria. At worst, it will plunge the region into catastrophe.
Hillel Schenker
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The crisis in the Middle East reveals the dangers of religious fundamentalism and leaving political decisions to the military.
Graham Usher
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The grisly commuter train bombings in Mumbai on July 11 both endangered the India/Pakistan peace process and underscored its fragility.
Bob Moser : Two Republican primaries in the Deep South expose potentially serious cracks in the party's religious-right foundation.
Stephen Gillers : In a news brief from the future, Bush continues to do whatever it takes to protect us from terror.
Brenda Wineapple : One hundred years ago, Upton Sinclair exposed the meatpacking industry. Three new books expose Sinclair as an activist dreamer with a messianic streak.
Neal Pollack : A new biography of Timothy Leary reveals the mixed-up sociopath behind the "turn on, tune in, drop out" mantra.
Nell Freudenberger
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What does it mean to be from a place? In Monica Ali's new novel, Alentejo Blue, the collision of locals, expatriates and tourists shatters any simple answers to the question.
Stuart Klawans
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In Lunacy, order and liberty wriggle with equal parts Poe and Sade. In Scoop, recycled sleuthing gags masquerade as timely satire.
Calvin Trillin
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The papers simply cannot find the space.
Alexander Cockburn
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The American government has lost its grasp on reality in Iraq and Lebanon. They seek out the bright, clear problems of war, leaving rubble and corpses in their wake.
Katha Pollitt : The only thing more absurd than the wedding gift the British government just gave Katha Pollitt is the fact that our government denies gays such benefits.
Tom Hayden : As an array of Iraqi leaders met with American peace activists this week in Amman, Jordan, a grim picture emerged of what the future will be, regardless of whether US troops stay or depart.
Ari Melber : Liberal bloggers were just one aspect of a sophisticated netroots strategy that led Ned Lamont to victory. Lamont must now leverage his digital constituency to force Joe Lieberman to drop his independent bid and win the support of a broad spectrum of voters.
Bruce Shapiro : Without a motivated base, fundraising capacity or resonant message, Joe Lieberman is now in free-fall, lacking the strength and credibility to run as an independent.
Robert Scheer : Hysteria over the barbarians at the gate has destroyed republics from Rome to Germany. A new book explains why Bush's post-September 11 America may meet a similar fate.
Max Blumenthal : Rapture-ready Christian Zionists have hired their first full-time Washington lobbyist. He's experienced, connected--and, oy vey, he's Jewish.
John Ross : As election officials in Mexico recount only a handful of contested voting districts in the flawed presidential elections, Andrés Manuel López Obrador walks a tightrope between defiance and keeping a lid on his steamed-up constituents.
Ari Melber : In New Haven, Joe Lieberman dismissed questions about a possible independent run if he is defeated in today's primary by antiwar candidate Ned Lamont and declared if re-elected to the Senate, he would not change his ways.
Jon Wiener : According to the Western media, most Israelis, including leading peace advocates, support the ongoing war in Lebanon. But Israeli doves are beginning to speak out. Will it make a difference?
Norman Birnbaum : An American Jewish identity that centers on unconditional defense of Israel is not healthy--for either American Jews or Israel.
Ari Berman : The Congressional reaction to Hezbollah's attack on Israel and Israel's bombing of Lebanon provide the latest example of the lobby's grip on US foreign policy.
Annia Ciezadlo : The wounds of the country's long civil war and Israeli occupation were gradually healing. That fragile recovery now lies buried under the rubble of renewed fighting.
Robert Scheer : The Jewish state's diehard supporters in the White House, Congress and the media seem unable to understand Israel can't bomb its way to security.
Dave Zirin : Major League Baseball's new "Faith Days" campaign is about more than family-friendly Christian entertainment with a twist of commerce.
Cover by Gene Case & José Chicas/Avenging Angels
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