From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Is the world in for a new kind of Cold War?

Hello again, I'm Arminolny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues. Americans care about most.

With the fall of communism, some Americans called it inevitable that Russia and even China would become more like the

West. But the Beijing Olympics and Russia's actions in Georgia are the latest demonstrations that economic

strength does not always lead to liberal democracy.

On to the point, how should the United States act now in a world that's increasingly competitive,

economically, politically, and militarily?

Is it time for increased aggressiveness or accommodation?

How important are ideological differences?

On reporter's notebook later on, the latest polls on McCain and Obama. First, here's the news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica

and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation

and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again,

Warren Alney, back with To the Point. China's strength, as shown by the Beijing Olympics, and Russia's

actions in Georgia, have dramatized new challenges to the U.S. and the Western Alliance.

On To the Point, is it time for Cold War-style aggressiveness or accommodation? We'll talk about that

with several intellectual and policy experts.

On reporter's notebook, with less than a week before the nominating conventions begin,

what's the latest on public opinion? First, this news update. Yesterday, 10 French paratroopers

were ambushed and killed in Afghanistan. Today, as many as 10 people died from a missile strike on a suspected militant hideout in Pakistan.

Meantime, French President Nicolas Karzakos-Z has arrived in Kabul, where Anand-Gopal is reporting for the Christian Science Monitor.

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