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

Temerbism, opium, and international politics.

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

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

Pakistan's

President Purvez Musharraf has backed out of tomorrow's summit meeting in Afghanistan with

President Hamid Karzai. Just Monday with Karzai at his side, President Bush warmly endorsed the

get-together. Musharraf says he hopes lower-ranking officials can resolve issues between the two

countries, but his withdrawal is seen

as a snub to the United States. U.S. intelligence says al-Qaeda has regrouped in Pakistan.

Karzai says they're helping the Taliban stage a bloody resurgence, which is also fueled by a

record crop of opium poppies. On to the point, will Karzai have to go it alone? Would legalizing poppy production help ease the pressure? 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. Mormon Alney back with To the Point.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has backed out of tomorrow's summit with President Hamid Karzai of

Afghanistan. On To the Point, will Karzai have to go it alone against terrorists funded by the opium

trade? Is Musharraf's action partly a snub to the United States?

First this news update. When the clocks counted down to 8 p.m. in Tiananmen Square,

China marked exactly 12 months until the 2008 Olympic Games.

That country's chance to show the world its rising political and economic power.

Alan Abrahamson has covered the Olympics for the past eight years. He's now a staff writer with NBCSports.com and NBCOlympics.com.

Alan Abramson, always good to have you with us.

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