11/21/02
The thinking man’s war
While the cops, troops, and spies get the credit for battling terror, the nation’s biggest brains are also getting into the act. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have quietly brought together all-volunteer “dream teams” of top scientists to join the war, reports our David E. Kaplan. Their mission: to brainstorm on ways to fight terrorism with cutting-edge technology. The projects in mind include checking out “pulsed fast neutron analysis.” That’s bomb detection, in case you didn’t know. Also: producing “bulk quantities of advanced energetics.” They’re newfangled explosives, we’re told.

11/20/02
Chowing down
At least for a day, the talk of power brokers in Washington wasn't about the changing of the chairs in the Senate but about good tables and free lunches–or lack thereof–at Washington's power elite steakhouse, the Palm. The rare free lunch served up Tuesday to politicos and media types honored genial Palm general manager Tommy Jacomo–or as one pundit put it, "the most famous man in Washington you've never heard of"–and marked the 30 years he has provided decent tables for the capital's see-and-be-seen crowd, many of whose caricatures line the restaurant's walls. On hand, reports our Jodi Schneider, was a both-sides-of-the-aisle list of Palm regulars. They included longtime Democratic counselor Bob Strauss; the bipartisan couple James Carville and wife, Mary Matalin (with one of their daughters); Solicitor General Ted Olson; and media personalities Chris Wallace, Margaret Carlson, John McLaughlin, and Tucker Carlson, who apparently ruffled some Palm fronds recently with a few unflattering paragraphs. He was forgiven long enough to be welcomed at a table by his dad, former Voice of America head Dick Carlson.

Following a few toasts, D.C. Mayor Tony Williams proclaimed it "Tommy Jacomo Day" in the city and handed the restaurateur the proclamation. That led one politico to call out, "Is that the petition?"–a jab at the mayor, whose campaign was nearly derailed after signatures on his re-election petitions were discovered to be forged. More proof that in Washington, every bite is political.

11/12/02
The voice of the Iraq war
If you still need a signal that President Bush means it when he says the United States is preparing to attack Iraq unless dictator Saddam Hussein eliminates his weapons of mass destruction, look no further than this: The president's top war communicator since 9/11 is shipping off to be the new spokesman for Central Command, the outfit charged with waging and winning the war. At age 32 James Wilkinson may seem young, but he's had a whole world of training for this role of a lifetime. Back in the 1990s he flew into Mongolia to help set up a new government; he's an officer in the Navy Reserves, he worked with House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and ran the post-9/11 war room that had satellite offices in England and Pakistan. Wilkinson also studied Arabic for a year and just came home from a 10-day trip to Morocco where he practiced his new language on the streets. "This is a big signal," says an insider, "that we're getting ready for Iraq." Says another: "Clearly this is a sign that we're serious." Why Jim? We're told because he's close to the president and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, for whom he was spokesman during the 2001 presidential transition. But there are three other reasons: Friends say he can keep a secret, is a pro at long-range message and communications strategy, and is good at coalition building. Obviously with that kind of background and future, some might think he's being groomed to replace Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke. But that's unlikely, we're told, because it was Clarke and Rumsfeld who asked the White House for Wilkinson. Look for Wilkinson to pack his car and leave for the Florida-based Central Command this weekend.

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