To the Point

Weapons of Mass Disappearance: Credibility under Fire

In January, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expressed certainty that Iraq has -chemical and biological weapons.- In March, Vice President Dick Cheney said, -we believe [Saddam Hussein] has reconstituted nuclear weapons.- Since the war in Iraq, no such evidence has turned up, and the Bush administration is being accused of manipulating intelligence information to the pubic and Congress in order to justify an invasion. Though the administration flatly denies the charge, there-s been talk in the Senate of a full-scale investigation. Is it Bush-bashing and partisanship-or an important political scandal? We speak with a defense and national security experts, a former CIA analyst, and a former communications director for the Republican National Committee. Making News: Top Executives Resign from New York Times Just one year after winning a record seven Pulitzer Prizes, there-s been a major shakeup at America-s most prestigious newspaper. Two top officials--Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd-have resigned from the New York Times. Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, considers the paper-s climate of relaxed management that led to these resignations and others. Reporter-s Notebook: Was RFK-s Assassination the First Shot in the Terror War? It was 35 years ago today, just after winning the California-s presidential primary that Robert Kennedy was shot to death in Los Angeles. The Senator was challenging President Lyndon Johnson over his handling of the Vietnam War. It was also one year after Israel defeated the Arab nations and seized lands claimed by the Palestinians. Historian Michael Fischbach calls ignoring the assassin's explanation for his actions a historic mistake. (An abbreviated version of this interview was broadcast yesterday on Which Way, L.A.?.)