- Reporter's Notebook: Parents of Troops Visit Iraq
Despite constant military action and State Department warnings, anyone with a US passport can go to Iraq. So, several wives and parents of American soldiers stationed there have gone there to see for themselves what-s happening on the ground. Mike Lopercio, whose son Anthony is on his second tour of duty, is on the trip organized by Global Exchange, an international human rights group that-s opposed to the US invasion and occupation.
Middle East Peace and the Geneva Accord
Israelis and Palestinians who say they -can-t wait- for their governments to negotiate, have outlined their own plan for peace in the Middle East. The so-called Geneva Accord was celebrated yesterday by a host of international leaders, including former US President and Nobel Prize winner Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa and Bill Clinton. Though not a real treaty, the accord is designed to show that one is possible, despite decades of failure by the political leaders of both sides. Ariel Sharon has condemned the effort and Yasser Arafat has waffled, but Secretary of State Colin Powell has been supportive. Can -freelance diplomacy- get the real thing off the ground? We hear from journalists in Jerusalem and Amman, a former Israeli ambassador, and Middle East experts from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and London's Royal Institute of International Affairs.