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

McCain and Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan.

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 a new poll showing Americans split down the middle on what to do in Iraq, Barack Obama

today defended his timetable for troop withdrawal. John McCain called it a recipe for defeat.

Both candidates talked about how to cope with the Taliban in Afghanistan and with terrorists on the

Pakistani border.

On to the point, has Obama adjusted his policies because the surge has reduced violence?

Is McCain pursuing victory in an unwinnable war?

We'll ask those questions and get some perspective from an Iraqi point of view.

On reporter's notebook later on, dogs and cats are being treated for mental

illness. We'll hear about pill-popping pets. First, 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. McArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Warren-Aulney, back with To The Point. McCain and Obama today went head-to-head

on Iraq and Afghanistan. On To the Point, we'll hear about the surge and a timetable for troop

withdrawals. Is the Iraq War a distraction from terrorist threats in another part of the world?

On reporter's notebook, owners can now buy beef-flavored Prozac for nervous dogs.

We'll hear about the growth in medication for pet mental illness.

First, this news update, President Bush said today, these are tough times, but the economy's

not as bad as some people think it is.

I think the system basically is sound.

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