To the Point

Can the US Make a Deal with Iran?

Last month, the UN Security Council asked Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, which could help generate electricity or lead to a nuclear bomb. Last week, Mohamed ElBaradei's International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran had not complied. Now, the US, Britain and France, with help from Germany, want a new resolution that would be legally binding, under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Iran has responded to the threat of "targeted sanctions," saying it has joined the club of nuclear countries and there's no turning back. As both sides escalate the action--and the rhetoric--the world could face either an Iranian nuclear weapon or military force to prevent it. Is there another choice? Is Iran sending signals that it wants bi-lateral talks. Should the Bush Administration agree? Could that be a way to avoid confrontation? Making News: Moussaoui Sentenced, What about Other Detainees?Zacarias Moussaoui was officially sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole, even though the jury heard he wanted 9/11 to happen, was glad to see the innocent die and even plotted for future terrorism. Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor of Slate.com and contributor to NPR's Day to Day, calls the jury's refusal to issue a death sentence "perfect justice," and explores why other detainees will never come to trial.Reporter's Notebook: Black Slaves and the American Revolutionary WarIn 1776, George Washington said about the Royal Governor of Virginia, "If Lord Dunmore is not crushed before the spring, he will become the most dangerous man in America." That's from Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution. Its author, British historian Simon Schama, says it's no surprise that so many American slaves fight not for the patriots, but the British.