The Forums: Do you support an independent state for Palestine?

British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with PLO leader Yasser Arafat yesterday, becoming the first western leader to meet with Arafat since the September 11th attacks. Blair emphatically expressed his support for a Palestinian state, saying he envisioned "Israel and Palestine living side-by-side."

Many are hoping that one good that may come out of last month's tragedy will be a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But other are more skeptical. Will the renewed focus on the Middle East help solve the conundrum?

Guests:

What do you think about the Sullivan-Pollit flag flap? Let us know in the forums.

Andrew Sullivan's web site.

The War of the Intellectuals Listen

It's a situation tailor-made for the intellectual: a national crisis that raises dicey questions and is accompanied by endless media programs starving for more "experts." The pundits are everywhere and American viewers are eating their discussions up.

What is the role of intellectuals in a time of a national emergency? Is now the right time to be ideological and contrary? Or is it the time to fall in line behind our national leadership and trust in their decisions?

Guests: