Informed Sources

The POW/MIA Debate Gets Nastier

WASHINGTON -- Senator Robert Smith of New Hampshire, who believes that U.S. soldiers may still be alive in Vietnam, has asked Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate what he calls "potential federal criminal violations" by 10 former and current high officials at the State Department, the Department of Defense and the Defense Intelligence Agency. In a letter obtained by TIME, Smith, former vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW-MIA Affairs, charges that the 10 officials withheld information from him and lied to his committee.

Forcing Arafat Out of the P.L.O.

JERUSALEM -- Yasser Arafat is in a fight to retain his position as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a post he has held for 24 years. A dissident group within the central committee of Fatah, Arafat's faction in the P.L.O., has been threatening to demand his removal. Under pressure, Arafat agreed to convene a rare session of the larger, 100-member revolutionary council in Tunis this week to discuss the controversy. Some in the P.L.O. want to oust Arafat because of their dismay over his handling of peace talks with Israel. Says a Fatah official: "For the Chairman this is a 'to be or not to be' situation."

The Journalist as P.R. Agent

LOS ANGELES -- Celebrity profiles regularly read like glorified press releases, but Vanity Fair may have taken the concept a bit too far. The magazine's August issue contains a brief but gushing piece on director John Woo written by David Chute. Chute just happens to have been the unit publicist for Woo's forthcoming action film, Hard Target. In his story Chute quotes people who compare Woo to Sergio Leone, Michelangelo and Martin Scorsese. Although Woo is considered by many critics to be a talented filmmaker, the author's link to the movie isn't brought up in the piece. Chute claims that he - mentioned his professional connection to Woo in the story he turned in, but that an editor deleted it.