International Relations

Russia and Georgia have signed a cease-fire, but the conflict continues. Journalist James Traub, author of The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy (Just Not the Way George Bush Did), discusses the latest developments.

Journalist Mike Chinoy, author of Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis, discusses North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and America's attempts to stop their program.

United States security has long been a primary issue for the conservative movement. But is an aggressive foreign policy actually counterproductive? Author J. Peter Scoblic says yes.

Slate columnist Fred Kaplan offers a scathing critique of the Bush administration's foreign policy initiatives in his new book, Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power.

Carl Conetta co-directs the Project on Defense Alternatives, a defense-policy think tank. Earlier, he was a research fellow at the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies; he served for three years as editor of their journal, Defense and Disarmament Alternatives, and of the Arms Control Reporter.

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson was chief of staff for former Secretary of State Colin Powell; he became an outspoken critic of the Bush administration after leaving the State Department in January 2005.

Journalist Laura Rozen discusses the philosophical split within the Bush administration on how to curb nuclear proliferation in Iran. Rozen reports on national security and foreign policy as a senior correspondent for The American Prospect and as a contributor to The Washington Monthly, the National Journal and other publications. She also writes a political blog, War and Piece.

Ambassador Dennis Ross talks about his role as chief Middle East peace negotiator during the Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations. His new book is Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World.

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh's latest article is about the administration's efforts to undermine Iran. The article appears in The New Yorker magazine's March 5th edition and is titled "The Redirection: Is the Administration's New Policy Benefiting our Enemies in the War on Terror?"

New York Times columnist Frank Rich's new book is The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina. Rich has been with the Times since 1980, when he was named chief theater critic.

Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, talks about her book The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs. Her previous book is Madam Secretary: A Memoir.

This past week marked the 26th anniversary of the failed rescue attempt of hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for 444 days. We talks with journalist Mark Bowden, author of Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam.

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) talks about his new book, America Back on Track. In the book, Sen. Kennedy identifies what he sees as key challenges facing the United States now, and offers possible solutions.

Stephen Kinzer has reported from more than 50 countries for The New York Times and has been the paper's bureau chief in Turkey, Germany, and Nicaragua. In his new book, Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq, he writes that in the past 110 years, America has overthrown 14 governments that displeased them for "ideological, political, and economic" reasons.

The most frightening thing the United States could do to Iran, short of attacking it, is to leave Iraq, says New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The second most frightening thing for Iran, he says, would be a U.S. success in Iraq.

A new Hamas-led government; protests against cartoons of Muhammad; a re-started nuclear program in Iran: It's a busy time for journalists specializing in the Middle East. Christopher Dickey is the regional editor for Newsweek.

Dowd's new book collects more than 100 of her columns from the New York Times. Bushworld begins with George H.W. Bush and continues with the presidency of George W. Bush. Dowd won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for her commentary on the Clinton impeachment.

Woodward's new book Plan of Attack is a behind-the-scenes look at how and why the Bush administration decided to wage war in Iraq. Woodward interviewed more than 70 government officials for the book, including President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Woodward is the author of a number of best-selling books, including Bush at War and his first, All the President's Men, written in 1974 with Carl Bernstein about Watergate.

The Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet traces the relationships between Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Paul Wolfowitz and Condoleeza Rice. The group calls itself "The Vulcans." Some of its members have known each other 30 years. Mann is a former correspondent for The Los Angeles Times.