Iowa Public Television

Washington Week

Episode #4304

Moderator: Gwen Ifill. Coalition forces took out two of Iraq's biggest bullies and American troops received the welcome news that the Pentagon is beginning to set finite limits on soldiers' deployments in the region. How do these developments change the outlook of operations in Iraq? Marth Raddatz of ABC News assesses the progress. After months of double checking pre-September 11th intelligence information, a congressional panel tries to answer the tough questions: was a "smoking gun" ignored? Did officials "connect all the dots" they could? Pete Williams of NBC News has been reading the 900-page report and will dissect the findings with our panel. Elsewhere in the intelligence community, this week saw a new admission of error regarding the faulty information that ended up in the President's State of the Union speech. Jeanne Cummings, White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal, explains how this continuing controversy is affecting the administration. The signatures are in: California Governor Gray Davis will face a recall vote in the early fall. He'll campaign to retain his office in a state burdened with high unemployment, huge budget deficits, and cutbacks in public services. California is not alone in coping with these challenges; could Davis's battle forecast troubles ahead for elected officials nationwide? Karen Breslau, San Francisco-based reporter for Newsweek, spells it all out---live from the Golden State.
[26 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.