To the Point

2003 State of the Union Preview

This is shaping up as a crucial week for world order. Now that weapons inspectors have made their reports and the Security Council continues to consider what to do with Iraq, the world awaits tomorrow night-s State of the Union address. Will President Bush tell Americans that it-s time to prepare for war? Will he talk about tax cuts, growing deficits and the faltering economy? Will he be able to rally an increasingly skeptical nation behind both his domestic and foreign policies? We hear more about political rhetoric and Iraq, unemployment and economic stimulus packages, from a White House correspondent for the LA Times, crisis management expert Eric Dezenhall, Nixon biographer Richard Reeves, as well as the senior speechwriter and communications director for President Clinton. Making News: Blix Delivers Weapons Report to UN Security Council UN weapons inspectors told the Security Council today that Iraq has not yet accepted the UN-s demand to disarm, but appealed for a few more months of inspections as a -valuable investment in peace.- America-s UN Ambassador John Negroponte said that the Council must face its -responsibilities- toward Iraq and other proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. Colum Lynch reports from the UN for the Washington Post. Reporter's Notebook: The Nuclear Option in Iraq Since used against Japan more than 50 years ago, America-s atomic bombs have been categorized as the -ultimate weapons,- to be used only if the US were threatened by -weapons of mass destruction.- Now, former Army intelligence analyst William Arkin reports that the rule is changing as the Pentagon considers -the unthinkable- by preparing for possible use of tactical nuclear weapons against Iraq.