To the Point

Public Health System in Critical Condition

A year ago, anthrax-tainted letters raised the issue of disaster preparedness and public health. Yet many people inside the US public health system say they-re coping with daily disasters, brought on not by terrorism, but by budget constraints. Los Angeles and New York are facing severe cutbacks, and public hospitals and clinics nationwide are operating in the red as they try to care for the millions who rely on it daily for both emergencies and basic health needs. How crucial to homeland security is the public health system? We examine the failing condition of the US public health system with doctors, representatives of local, state and nationwide healthcare systems, an epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and a health policy expert from the Cato Institute.Guest hosted by Jeffrey Kaye of public television-s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Newsmaker: Rumsfeld Lays Out His Case against Iraq Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee today, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld testified that the President has made no decision on military action against Iraq but also laid out the case for military action. John Handren, Pentagon correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, reports on Rumsfeld-s forceful argument, seemingly mixed signals from the Bush Administration and the committee-s reaction. Reporter-s Notebook: Al Jazeera Scoop Dismissed by Western Journalists Earlier this year, two top al Qaeda operatives gave interviews to a reporter from al Jazeera, the Arab satellite network, about their roles in the September 11 attacks. Western journalists paid little attention until one of the men, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, was arrested by Pakistani authorities. Felicity Barringer, of the New York Times, has been following the mysterious trail of the dramatic confessions and their omission in the US media.