To the Point

Has the War in Iraq Made America Safer?

Senator Kerry has taken aim at President Bush's strongest issue by claiming the war in Iraq and subsequent chaos have made America "less secure." Calling that just another flip-flop, Bush claims America is better off with Saddam Hussein out of power and Iraq being rebuilt and democratized. When the President first asked the UN to back the Iraq invasion, his argument was based on alleged weapons of mass destruction. Yesterday, he told them the war was part of a campaign to promote democracy and human dignity around the world. Is Iraq a distraction from the war on terror or crucial to its long-term success? Does the US still have the resources to deal with other threats? What will Kerry's change of focus mean between now and November? Warren Olney speaks with journalists, experts in foreign policy and national security, and members of the Bush and Kerry campaigns. Making News: Dispute Surfaces over Release of Iraqi Women Detainees With kidnappers threatening to murder another hostage, there's still confusion about the status of two female prisoners being held in Iraq. Though an Iraqi official said one of the women would be released, as the kidnappers have demanded, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has told the Associated Press he hasn't made up his mind. Newsweek's Rod Nordland has more on the dispute over the prisoners as well as the safety of reporters in Iraq. Reporter's Notebook: A Torture Killing by US Forces in Afghanistan This week, the Los Angeles Times reported that nine Afghan soldiers were beaten, immersed in cold water, hung upside down, given electric shocks and had their toenails torn off by US Special Forces. One 18-year-old soldier is said to have died. That's according to a 117-page report prepared for Afghanistan's Attorney General, and shown to the Times by the Crimes of War Project. Anthony Dworkin is web editor for the Washington-based group.