To the Point

Islamic Terrorism and Western Foreign Policies

Since the London transit bombings, Britain has been preoccupied with the internal threat of Islamic extremists. On Friday, Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to deport extremist clerics, close down their mosques and ban Muslim groups that preach violence or glorify terror. He also wants to reach out to moderate Muslims who want to retain their dress and culture but deplore terrorism in any form. Some of those same moderates feel caught between a rock and a hard place; they think terrorism is fueled by British and US policies, but if they say so, they-re accused of sympathizing with the extremists. Should Iraq and the Middle East get more debate in Britain and the US or is policy irrelevant to a violent perversion of the Muslim faith? We hear from journalists, political scientists and Muslims, including a former UN official and recent candidate for Parliament. Reporter's Notebook: ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings Dies of Cancer The son of a broadcasting executive, high-school dropout Peter Jennings was co-anchoring Canada's major TV newscast by the age of 24. Two years later, ABC hired him as a correspondent, then anchor of its national newscast. Too green to compete with Walter Cronkite and the Huntley-Brinkley Report, he quit to become a foreign correspondent. After years of distinguished reporting from all over the world, he became an anchor again. Colleague Judy Muller remembers Jennings, who died yesterday of lung cancer at the age of 67.