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

What's next in Iraq? And on Capitol Hill.

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

Americans care about most.

Official Washington and much of the world are waiting for Wednesday's announcement of the President's new way forward for the war in Iraq.

Most reports say it'll mean an increase in troops, which Democrats now call an escalation in reference to Vietnam.

On to the point, the new leaders say voters rejected the war,

but what power does Congress have to change the way it's conducted? Does the Iraqi government

have the will or the capacity to meet benchmarks that might be demanded by President Bush?

On reporter's notebook later on, a new president launches a new war on drugs in Mexico, one without guns. 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. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren Alney. Back with To the Point. President Bush has yet to

announce a new strategy for Iraq, but Democrats already are lining up to oppose it. On To the

Point, what power did they have to change the way the war is conducted? Well, the Iraqi government

agreed to benchmarks if President Bush demands them?

On reporter's notebook, Mexico's latest war on drugs involves disarming local police in Tijuana.

Can federal troops overcome municipal corruption? First, this news update, the current U.S.

ambassador to Iraq has been nominated as America's next ambassador to the United Nations.

The president wants Zalme Khalilzad to succeed John Bolton, who could not get enough Senate votes for confirmation.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the announcement.

As our ambassador to Iraq these past 18 months, a time of extraordinary change and extraordinary challenge.

Zal has performed heroically and at great personal risk to help Iraqi reformers and responsible

...