To the Point

The Terrorist Threat and the Risks of Complacency

Six months after September 11, America is still an open society. Major public events like the Winter Olympics still get maximum protection, but elsewhere security precautions are being relaxed. The Pentagon may end air patrols over major cities, and barriers around public buildings are coming down. Has the terrorist threat diminished or, in the midst of recession, are the benefits of stepped up security now being weighed against the costs? We look at the America's evolving approach to security with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a former transportation security advisor, an investigator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and an expert in privacy and civil liberties. Newsmaker: EPA Official Resigns over Pollution Policy Next week, the Senate will debate the Bush energy plan, already passed by the House. At the same time, a Senate committee will be examining the administration's environmental record. One of the people they may want to interview is a former EPA official who was frustrated by the energy industry's undue influence in shaping policy. Washington Post reporter Eric Pianin has more on the recent resignation of Eric Schaeffer. Reporter's Notebook: American Pop Culture on Middle East Airwaves Westwood One is the biggest distributor of commercial radio programs in the US. Now, the founder of the multi billion-dollar company is engaged in a new project with the Voice of America that he calls "the new station for the new generation." Norm Pattiz gives us a preview of how his new project will sound when it's beamed by radio into Muslim countries of the Middle East.