To the Point

Israel's Withdrawal from Gaza and the Prospects for Peace

After yesterday's summit meeting failed to produce concrete results, there's been new violence today in the Middle East. Palestinian gunmen shot at a building where their own Prime Minister was meeting with militants. Israel attempted to kill a militant leader and threatened air strikes if there's trouble during the August withdrawal from Gaza. Did the weekend visit of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice make any difference? Should the US do more to bring the parties together or would further diplomatic "investment" risk unnecessary embarrassment for President Bush? We get a progress report from journalists in the Middle East, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and advisors to President Clinton and Reagan Administrations. Making News: President Bush Calls for a New Era of Nuclear Power President Bush pushed for an energy bill today, talking up soy beans and other alternative sources of fuel. At Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland, he also said, it's time for more nuclear power. Today's Los Angeles Times reports extensively on the nuclear industry's plans for a comeback. The writer is Ralph Vartabedian. Reporter's Notebook: Rogue States, Terrorists Likely to Get Hands on WMD The chance of a nuclear attack somewhere in the world is almost 30% in the next 10 years; the chance of a so-called "dirty bomb" or major chemical or biological attack is 40%. That's from a survey of 85 experts on weapons proliferation, sponsored by Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana. One of those surveyed was Graham Allison, former Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Clinton Administration.