WASHINGTON, March 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney says he doesn't listen to public opinion polls; public opinion polls say Dick Cheney (and other politicians) should listen to public opinion polls. But how do you convince a politician that he should -- according to the people -- listen to public opinion polls when he doesn't believe in them?

WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- This Wednesday will mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Five years during which time America has been at war; make that wars, in the plural. While Iraq, due to the sheer scale of the conflict, seems to take center stage, there are two other wars being fought simultaneously. One is in Afghanistan against the resurgent Taliban who simply refuse to be beaten, and the other is the one President Bush likes to call "the war on terror."

WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- It was late November 2007 when the already extended mandate of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud expired, the former president wished his staff at the presidential palace in Baabda good luck and goodbye, got into his armor-plated limousine and drove off into the night. Four months later and 16 attempts at staging elections to fill the vacant presidency, Baabda Palace remains unoccupied -- and Lebanon remains without a president.

WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush had promised he would help usher in peace in the Middle East through his efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute -- the core conflict in the Middle East -- before his term as president expires in January 2009.

WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Like a macabre jigsaw puzzle, the pieces for a generalized Middle East flare-up are slowly -- and dangerously -- falling into place.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Should the close and ongoing alliance between the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran be a cause for concern to the West?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- To better understand the Middle East it helps to take in a broader perspective of the situation; to step back and examine the problem with some distance.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Monday marks the 29th year since the Islamic revolution overthrew the monarchy. What has been achieved in those 29 years as Iran tries to export its revolution?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Is the killing by a CIA drone of a top al-Qaida commander the beginning of a turning point in the war on terror?