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

The U.S. and Britain. Guns or butter.

Hello again, I'm Oman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues.

Americans care about most.

The U.S. and Britain are the countries most deeply committed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A United Nations report says there also last among developed nations in the quality of life for their children.

The Netherlands is number one. On to the point, is there a tradeoff between military actions overseas and the needs of people at home? Are the U.S. and Britain aggressive cultures that care more about power than social welfare? Do countries like the Netherlands get a free ride because of protection by the Anglo-American Alliance?

I'm a reporter's notebook later on Barack Obama and the legacy of slavery.

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. I'm on Al-Neback with To the Point. The U.S. and Britain

are first in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and last among developed nations and taking

care of their children. On To the Point, is there a connection? We'll talk about imperialism,

the welfare state, history, and contemporary realities.

On reporter's notebook, genetic research shows the ancestors of presidential candidates owned slaves.

The candidates are John McCain, John Edwards, and Barack Obama. First, this news update.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders have a new strategy to unite their party around a new law that could bring U.S. troops home by the end of this year. It's the brainchild of Los Angeles Democrat Howard Berman, an original war supporter. He says it would hold President Bush accountable for his recent increase of troops. Congressman Berman, welcome to our program.

Thank you, Warren. Good to be with you again.

How would you hold the President accountable?

Very simply, we take the benchmarks he set out, the goals he claimed that this surge

...