Foreign Affairs Managing Editor Gideon Rose discusses the September/October 2008 issue with CFR.org Executive Editor Michael Moran. They start with a pair of articles by Richard Holbrooke and Robert Kagan, both of which assess the Bush administration's foreign policy and consider the upcoming challenges for the next administration. Holbrooke calls for a fundamental recalibration of American policy, while Kagan argues that despite the Bush administration's errors, the next president will have to build on at least some of his predecessor's policies. Some examples of good policy are cited in an article by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who argues that the Bush administration's efforts in China should be sustained in the coming years.

They then turn to an article entitled "How to Leave a Stable Iraq," by Stephen Biddle, Michael O'Hanlon, and Kenneth Pollack, which argues that recent trends suggest that the United States can still achieve success in Iraq, provided it is patient enough to sustain a force there over the next couple of years. Rose comments that in an atmosphere of fiercely partisan debate over Iraq, Foreign Affairs' most recent coverage has featured authors with similar ideological backgrounds who starkly disagree on Iraq policy.

Finally, they discuss a review of Benny Morris' new book, 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, by former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami. Ben-Ami praises Morris' book as a definitive account of the 1948 war, noting that while the war gave Israel its start, it also created a fundamental problem that has yet to be resolved. He argues that in order to seal the victory of 1948, Israel will have to give up the territory it won in the 1967 war.

To subscribe to Foreign Affairs, click here.