July 25, 2003

Top two American military officers warn of significant dangers facing United States military involvement in Liberia, two days after Secretary of State Colin L Powell calls for speedy deployment of troops to that country; Gen Richard B Myers and Gen Peter Pace, chairman and vice-chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, call for clear mission statement and strategy for successful end before any troops are sent; Myers says situation in Liberia does not lend itself to quick fix; Pace says if American troops are sent there, they may have to take military action; generals face insistent questioning from Sen John W Warner, chairman of Armed Services Committee, who calls situation in Liberia 'very tragic' but voices concern about sending American troops into 'volatile situation'; Congressional action is not required for Pres Bush to send in peacekeeping troops, but Warner urges him to define clear national security interests before ordering troops to Liberia; Powell, in closed session with House International Relations Committee, reiterates his support for American role, citing it as moral imperative (M)

Analysis: Congressional report on intelligence failures prior to Sept 11 may force Bush administration to confront troubling question that White House thought it put to rest months ago: how best to prevent another terrorist attack; report provides even more damning indictment of intelligence community than many had predicted, prompting fresh debate over whether federal government should create national intelligence czar or even strip FBI of its domestic intelligence duties in favor of wholly new agency; many analysts expect scathing report to raise doubts about whether administration has gone far enough to prevent terrorist attacks; say this will give political ammunition to Pres Bush's Democratic rivals in election season; Congressional findings paint picture of counterterrorism system that was essentially dysfunctional, with CIA and FBI not sharing information at critical junctures; Daniel Benjamin, former National Security Council aide on terrorism, says it is not clear that longstanding problems in communication and cooperation that are described in report have been properly addressed; photos (M)

Ben Curtis, who won British Open and first tournament of his young career, is trying to survive publicity rush that is following, as news media wants to know more about improbable winner of major title; photos (M)

Ben Brantley reviews revival of Roger Miller musical Big River, simultaneously sung and rendered in American Sign Language, presented by Deaf West Theater and Roundabout Theater Co; directed by Jeff Calhoun; photos (M)

Microsoft outlines new corporate approach designed to allow company to weather period of slow growth in computer industry; at same time, its execs dispute idea that information technology boom had ended for good; chmn Bill Gates announces company's plans to increase its research and development spending this year by as much as 8 percent, to total of $6.9 billion; company also says it will expand its work force by 4,000 to 5,000 positions during current fiscal year (M)