The mullahs are part of the past in Iran, not its future. But change in Iran will come through engagement, not through confrontation.

The legitimacy of the leadership depends on what that country thinks of its leaders.

We should be therefore supporting a larger Europe, and in so doing we should strive to expand the zone of peace and prosperity in the world which is the necessary foundation for a stable international system in which our leadership could be fruitfully exercised.

I think it is important to ask ourselves as citizens, not as Democrats attacking the administration, but as citizens, whether a world power can really provide global leadership on the basis of fear and anxiety?

If we end up with war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran at the same time, can anyone see a more damaging prospect for America's world role than that?

Sometimes in international politics, the better part of wisdom is to defer dangers rather than try to eliminate them altogether instantly.