Newsnight 13 August

Presented by Jon Sopel.

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Journalist released

James Brandon Profile

The British journalist who was kidnapped in Basra was released. Reports claim that his release has been engineered by Muqtada al-Sadr - the Islamic cleric behind the current wave of Shia insurgency in Najaf and other parts of Iraq.

We looked at the influence of al-Sadr and asked how the new Iraqi government intends to break up his Mehdi army.

Jon was joined by Ali al-Bayati from SCIRI - the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

Kerry's war record

The American presidential campaign got nasty - again. This time it was the war record of the two candidates that was causing the mud slinging. John Kerry's under attack from Vietnam veterans.

We spoke to John O'Neill, author of the book Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry and also to the Director of Veterans for Kerry, John Hurley.

Click here for the discussion

Olympics

And before the fireworks have even been lit, a cloud over the Athens Olympics. Two Greek sprinters will appear before a disciplinary hearing after missing a random drugs test. We heard from the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, who's in Athens.

Plus Newsnight Review from Edinburgh

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