To the Point

Israel's Nuclear Weapons

There-s a -glimmer of hope- for a nuclear-weapons free Middle East. Those optimistic words were voiced today by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, after his meeting with Israel-s Ariel Sharon. That optimism is based on a host of conditions. So far, only Israel is believed to have nuclear weapons, but Iran is suspected of working hard to develop nukes of its own. Is Iran developing nuclear weapons? Are Israel-s nukes making the region safer, or increasing the danger of confrontation? Warren Olney reveals just how challenging that prospect is in his conversation with a spokesman for the IAEA, the director of the Carnegie Endowment's Nonproliferation Program, other experts in Middle East arms and arms control, and Iran's first ambassador to the UN. Making News: Secretary Ridge Warns of 'Credible' al Qaeda Plot Tom Ridge briefed all 50 Senators and then talked to reporters today about -credible- intelligence that terrorists plan an attack designed to disrupt the November election. The Secretary of Homeland Security, who did not raise the terror level, denied that the timing of today-s announcement was itself political. But the absence of any new information leaves Los Angeles Times' reporter Josh Meyer unconvinced. Reporter's Notebook: Ken Lay, George Bush and Texas Cronyism In Houston today, former Enron CEO Ken Lay surrendered to federal officials and was led away in handcuffs. Later, he pleaded innocent to criminal charges of securities and wire fraud, and misleading investors, which could land him 175 years in prison and millions in fines. But in addition to being involved in one of America-s most spectacular business collapses, Lay has also been a Bush family insider. Robert Bryce, author of Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America-s Super-State, expounds.