To the Point

Moving US Troops Out of Europe and Asia

Liberal Senator John Kerry today reminded the conservative Veterans of Foreign Wars about his record in Vietnam. He talked tough about building the military and using force overseas while strengthening alliances with other countries. He took issue with the President-s call to bring home or redeploy 70,000 soldiers from Europe and Asia, cautioning that "it needs to be done at the right time and in a sensible way; this is not that time or that way.- In the swing state of Ohio, he denounced the call for troop re-deployment made before the same audience Monday by President Bush. Warren Olney speaks with political correspondents, experts in foreign policy and international security, military analysts and former NATO and Defense Department officials about military deployment and presidential politics in the 21st Century. Making News: Muqtada al-Sadr Accepts Peace Plan With Iraq-s interim government promising a -decisive battle- to -liberate- the shrine of Imam Ali, Muqtada al-Sadr has promised to withdraw his troops from the mosque. But, so far, it-s only on paper. Babak Dehghanpisheh, who is in Baghdad for Newsweek magazine, says Shiite cleric's reputation for flip flopping means that his letter must be taken with a grain of salt. He also updates efforts to establish an Iraqi National Congress. Reporter-s Notebook: Athletes Compete at Birthplace of Olympic Games Thousands of people have been watching the Summer Olympics on TV, but there are large numbers of empty seats in the stands in and around Athens, as well as rampant commercialism and disputes about doping. Today, the action shifted 200 miles to ancient Olympia, where the games began 2,780 years ago. Alan Abrahamson of the Los Angeles Times, who went to cover the men-s and women-s shot put, called what he saw "sport in its purist form."