Preparing for a possible war story

Why did it happen?

How is the US responding?

And how is the world changing?

We approach conflict with Iraq within much the same framework, because whatever connection there might be between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, which is in dispute, there is little doubt the attacks on New York and Washington created an impetus for action against Baghdad. Indeed, the move to disarm Mr. Hussein seems to be one clear answer to "How is the US responding?"

Similarly, understanding why Sept. 11 occurred has its parallel with Iraq. In the days following the attacks, the Monitor asked, "Why do they hate us?" The answers were raw and disturbing, but disclosed a pervasive enmity toward America throughout the Muslim world. And hindsight tells us that enmity helped provide a seedbed for the extremism of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

On Sept. 11 2002, as President Bush prepared to seek an ultimatum against Iraq from the United Nations, the Monitor pushed further in trying to understand the US role in the world, as perceived from beyond its borders. We asked: "Is America the good guy?" Our conviction then and now is that the nation's - and indeed the world's - future health depends in part on whether the US is seen as a just power or a selfish tyrant.

Exploring how America has changed since Sept. 11 is equally relevant today. Anxiety about the nation's security is weaving itself into policy and politics, creating a test of how the nation will strike a new balance between the freedoms we have known and the greater security we seek.

So, in many respects our journalistic goals have remained consistent since the calamitous events of Sept. 11, 2001. The larger story that began on that date seems poised to move on to Chapter 2.

Asking the right questions, of course, is not the only thing we do to prepare for possible war.

The Monitor, for instance, shuttered its Tokyo bureau and opened a bureau in Istanbul, assuming that Turkey would be a better place to cover a conflict with Iraq and the growing importance of the Islamic world. We have also taken practical steps to protect our staff. All our full-time foreign correspondents and a photographer have been through a one-week training program for operating in conflict zones. Other Monitor reporters in the US have been through Pentagon training to prepare them for possibly accompanying troops into action. And all reporters and photographers moving into the potential field of operation now are taking flak jackets and suits designed to protect them from chemical and biological weapons.

These are our friends and colleagues. We hope they never need those suits of protection. But if they do, they will be in the middle of a brand-new war, fighting on behalf of an age-old cause: helping readers make meaning out of a world of change.

• Paul Van Slambrouck is the Editor of the Monitor.

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