To the Point

The View from Iraq: Impending Invasion, Aftermath

Today, British Prime Minister Tony Blair failed to persuade French President Jacques Chirac of the need for military action against Iraq. Tomorrow, US Secretary of State Colin Powell is promising -compelling evidence- that Saddam Hussein has breached Security Council resolutions. The massive buildup and statements by President Bush, as well as Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi leaders, make war sound all but inevitable. Do Iraqis, the war-s likely -collateral- targets, doubt that President Bush will make good on his threats? Do they want to see the last of Saddam Hussein? Have they been lulled into a false sense of security? We hear from Baghdad and speak with Iraqi human rights advocates and journalists about what they hear from friends and relatives back home. Making News: NASA Ignored Warnings about Shuttle Safety Lapses As NASA continues its search for a -missing link- to explain conflicting data about Sunday-s Columbia accident, President Bush took part in today-s memorial service at the Space Center in Houston, Texas. The ceremony honored the seven astronauts who died when the shuttle broke up during re-entry. Peter Pae of the Los Angeles Times has turned up a top-level safety report that provided some ominous warnings--three years ago. Reporter's Notebook: Did US Bury North Korean Nuclear News under Iraq Build-up? In October, the Bush administration confronted North Korea with intelligence information that Kim Jong Il-s regime was trying to enrich uranium for possible use in nuclear weapons. Although the American public was not informed until weeks later, the Washington Post reports that the information had been accumulating for more than two years. The Post-s Walter Pincus addresses the delay in blowing the whistle on Korea.