WHAT'S NEW Friday, January 09, 2004

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 9 Jan 04   Washington, DC

1. WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION: A RATIONALE FOR WAR   OR A PRETEXT?
The New York Times reported yesterday that a 400-member team of
military weapons hunters has been quietly withdrawn from Iraq, to
be replaced by a force trained to deal with homemade bombs.  This
must be "the imminent threat" we were told about before the war.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that, "Iraq's arsenal
exists only on paper."  In fact, plans for a long-range missile
consisted of a hand drawn sketch on two sheets of notebook paper. 
The 1,400 member Iraq Survey Group has searched Iraq for more
than seven months at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. 
Citing "unauthorized" interviews with Survey Group members, the
Post report says the Group now sees no prospect of finding banned
weapons or production facilities. Also on Wednesday, the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace released a report on WMD in
Iraq.  In the months before the war, it says,"the intelligence
community began to be unduly influenced by policymakers views"

2. INTELLIGENCE: WAS A "BEWARE OF DOG" SIGN MISTAKEN FOR A DOG? 
Yesterday, Secretary of State Powell conceded that at the time of
his UN speech last year, he had no concrete evidence linking
Saddam Hussein to Al Queda.  Where had the administration gotten
its information?  I decided to call my colleague, Ali Mentari, a
nuclear physicist at Bagdad U. "How did you fool a smart guy like
Powell," I asked.  Ali paused long enough to finish chewing, "We
not try to fool Americans.  You got no idea of what we must do to
survive under homicidal maniac.  Saddam say 'build atomic bomb,'
but we got no stuff to make bomb.  So we drink tea and send
reports to Saddam about great progress.  We are truly sorry your
CIA intercept them."  The eating resumed; the interview was over. 

3. MARS: "LIKE COLUMBUS, WE DREAM OF SHORES WE'VE NOT YET SEEN."
Those stirring words were spoken by President George H. Bush on
the steps of the Air and Space Museum on July 24, 1989, the 20th
anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.  He called for a
return to the Moon, and on to Mars.  President George W. Bush,
who seems driven to complete his father's unfinished work, is
expected to issue a similar call next Wednesday. It's a curiously
old-fashioned dream.  Progress of society is measured by the
extent to which work that is menial or dangerous is performed by
machines.  The scientists that command telerobots like Spirit,
having become virtual astronauts, are the explorers of today. 

4. APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR SUMMER 2004 MASS MEDIA FELLOWSHIPS:
The APS is sponsoring two ten-week summer fellowships to work in
mass media organizations.  Priority will be given to graduates in
physics or closely related fields.  The deadline is Jan. 31, '04.
Details at http://www.aps.org/public_affairs/massmedia/index.html
You know what the media is like; here's a chance to improve it. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.  
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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