Skip Navigation

The Atlantic's State of the Union

What, after Iraq, are the problems most urgently confronting us?

"As America approaches the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the list of the war’s unintended consequences is without end.” So writes Jeffrey Goldberg in his cover article, “After Iraq.” While Goldberg’s story describes the consequences for the Middle East, the effects of the Iraq War have been powerfully felt in other waysin our politics and our finances, of course, but also in the crowding of other stories off our front pages, if not out of our consciousness.

The title of Goldberg’s piece sets the theme of The Atlantic’s State of the Union package for 2008. What, after Iraq, are the problems most urgently confronting us? What, besides Iraq, should we focus on now, with the presidential election just 11 months away? The crisis in public education; the imminent retirement of the Baby Boomers; the clichés undermining black-white relations; and the erosion of American values and reputation by the detentions at Guantánamo Bay: in this special section, Matt Miller, Megan McArdle, Amy Waldman, and Andrew Sullivan tackle these subjects and, in sum, the question of who we are after Iraq as a nation.

Presented by

More at The Atlantic

A Short Animated Biography of tHOMAS Edison The Life of Thomas Edison, Animated
10 of the Greatest Kisses in Literature The Greatest Kisses in Literature
Mourning in America: Whitney Houston and the Social Speed of Grief Houston's Death and the Social Speed of Grief
5 Lessons From the Rise of the BRICs 5 Lessons From the World's Great Rising Economies
9 fACES of the New Egypt 9 Faces of the New Egypt

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Special Report
Submit Your Photos of America at Work AP Submit Your Photos of America at Work
Send us your images of friends, family, and neighbors on the job. We'll publish the best. Read more ›

The Biggest Story in Photos

Valentine's Day 2012

Feb 14, 2012

On Newsstands Now

Subscribe and SAVE 59%
10 issues JUST $2.45/COPY

The Atlantic Monthly

James Fallows on Obama's first term, Raymond Bonner on the death penalty, Christopher Hitchens on G.K. Chesterton, and more

Browse back issues of The Atlantic that have appeared on the Web. From September 1995 to the present, the archive is essentially complete, with the exception of a few articles, the online rights to which are held exclusively by the authors.

See All Back Issues: September 1995
To The Present »

Premium Archive

For a small fee you can now access more than a century of Atlantic Monthly articles in our online archive. The archive includes articles from 1857 to the present.

Prices » | Login for Saved Items » | Help »

Sort by:
Dates:
From: 
To: 
Author:  (optional)
Title:  (optional)

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)