Telling Our Stories

With strong photos and illustrations, and tight writing and editing, we tell our stories more effectively.

The difficulties range beyond the wrenching toll of dead and wounded that makes the news every day. For the absence of security portends trouble for our goal of turning over authority to an Iraqi government, and the further highly desirable goal of exiting Iraq.

Documents uncovered by Katherine McIntire Peters offer detailed assessments of just how complex the task is turning out to be. "Compounding security problems in Iraq is the confusing mosaic of organizations involved," she reports. "The transition planning documents and U.S. government contract solicitations for security services in Iraq show a confounding roster of players, roles and responsibilities."

This inside look at coalition planning leads the News & Analysis section-an important innovation in Government Executive's new design. The section gives our staff opportunity to report, quickly and concisely, on pressing issues of the day, thus offering readers a larger menu of topics in each of our (now fortnightly) issues. Also in News & Analysis, you will find articles about intelligence agency reorganization, the newly famous Richard Clarke's views of bureaucracy, the remarkable exercise in cross-agency cooperation that emerged in Operation Able Sentry during the Haiti crisis, the latest thinking about creating the spacecraft needed to get to the moon and Mars, the Internal Revenue Service's success in promoting electronic filing of tax returns, and more.

Insecurity-our cover topic this month-is a condition we are all learning to live with. Our special report covers three aspects of the nation's security challenge: The need to apply new methods of analysis to the terrorist threat, the advent of so-called Zero Day attacks in the cyber war and the Postal Service's dilemma in treating bioterror false alarms.

Strong art in this issue helps quickly communicate the essence of our stories, we believe. The bold cover illustration is done by digital artist Merko Ilic, a Bosnian refugee now living in New York City. The photo illustrations in the Insecurity package come from William Duke, a West Coast artist who begins with a photograph and takes off from there. Shawn Zeller's article on managers' reaction to the civil service reforms is adorned with terrific portraits taken in Florida and Hawaii.

Notable also in this issue is the presence of three columnists whom you will see on a regular basis. Tom Shoop's Outlook column this month raises doubts about the wisdom of judicial intervention in agency program decisions. Brian Friel's Management Matters column warns against heavy reliance on "e-management," and Charles Mahtesian's Political World column tells a tale of one federal executive who got into hot water for budgeting a small amount of foreign travel. Charlie, a colleague with long experience in observing Congress, is editor of The Almanac of American Politics.

We are curious about your reactions to the new look of Government Executive. Please send your comments to newlook@govexec.com.