Without concerted and coordinated political action, the gains achieved in reducing the burden of infectious disease will be washed away as a new wave of preventable illnesses engulfs those least able to protect themselves.

The invasion of Iraq, the displacement of a cruel dictator, and the attempt to impose a liberal democracy by force have, by themselves, been insufficient to bring peace and security to the civilian population. Democratic imperialism has led to more deaths, not fewer.

Peer review is a great system for detecting badly done research, but if you have an investigator determined to fabricate an entire study, it is not possible to pick it up.

With the admitted benefit of hindsight and from a purely public-health perspective, it is clear that whatever planning did take place was grievously in error.

This latest attack on editorial independence is a blatant example of the misuse of power.

It is our increasingly common experience that we see research papers that manipulate results in favor of new products -- both drugs and devices.

Democratic imperialism has led to more deaths not fewer. This political and military failure continues to cause scores of casualties among non-combatants. It is a failure that deserves to be a serious subject for research.

But at an enormous and unacceptable risk to the team of interviewers.

It's not quite as bad as it was after Hurricane Andrew, when there were literally workers jumping from one truck to another. But guys are walking up on job sites and trying to recruit your workers for more money.