To the Point

Intelligence and Claims of Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Powell all said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. So did Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. France and Russia never denied it. David Kay, America-s former top weapons inspector, once thought so too but has concluded that he and other intelligence experts -were all wrong- about what they were telling political leaders. Skeptics, both here and abroad, still suspect evidence was manipulated to justify war in Iraq. How could so many intelligence agencies have been so wrong about weapons of mass destruction? What was the intelligence based on? Were analysts stuck with out-dated assumptions? What kind of evidence should be required to justify pre-emptive war? We speak with journalists, former CIA intelligence officials, political scientists and the head of the Carnegie Institute's Non-Proliferation Project. Making News: Hezbollah and Israel Exchange Prisoners Israel and the militant group Hezbollah carried out a trade today that saw hundreds of Arab prisoners exchanged for an Israeli businessman and the bodies of Israeli soldiers abducted four years ago. James Bennet, who reports on the Middle East for the New York Times, takes a closer look at the trade, which went ahead despite the suicide bombing today in Jerusalem by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade. Reporters Notebook: Can the Hubble Be Saved? Today-s New York Times says NASA has made a final decision not to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, citing concerns about risking the lives of astronauts on another space shuttle. NASA's chief administrator told Maryland-s US Senator Barbara Mikulski he stands by his decision to cancel the mission that would extend the Hubble's life. Rick Fienberg of Sky & Telescope magazine says that scientists around the world haven-t given up hope.