Paul McGeough is chief correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald. A former editor of the Herald, he has been a reporter for almost thirty years, focussing on conflicts in the Middle East since the 1990–91 Gulf War. McGeough has written several books about his experiences, including Quarterly Essay 14: Mission Impossible – The Sheikhs, the U.S. and the Future of Iraq and Manhattan to Baghdad: Despatches from the Frontline in the War on Terror. His reporting has earned him Australia’s highest journalistic honours, from being named Australian journalist of the year twice to five Walkley awards.