New York Times: As they try to arrest the downward spiral in Iraq and Lebanon, President Bush and his top diplomats appear intent on their strategy of talking only to Arab friends, despite increasing calls inside and outside the administration for them to reach out to Iran and Syria as well.

Reuters: The White House acknowledged on Monday that sectarian violence in Iraq had entered “a new phase” but denied it amounted to civil war.

Washington Post: The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq or counter al-Qaeda’s rising popularity there, according to newly disclosed details from a classified Marine Corps intelligence report that set off debate in recent months about the military’s mission in Anbar province.