People Who Mattered 2002

TOMMY FRANKS

Could you stare this man down? General Franks is the officer in charge at U.S. Central Command, the nerve center for American military operations in 25 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. That means he is responsible for running the war in Afghanistan, and, if it comes to that, he will be giving orders in Iraq. Franks has taken flak for wanting to wage war the old-fashioned way. But no one questions the strength of his resolve.

CHIEF CHARLES MOOSE

The situation called for subtlety, smarts and swiftness, and for a few days people wondered whether a man named Moose was the right person for the task. But with all eyes on him, the Montgomery County, Md., police chief led some 1,000 investigators in a 22-day manhunt for the snipers who haunted Washington's suburbs. In the end, he got the duo believed to be the shooters, and America got a new hero.

HANS BLIX

Those impassive eyes do not judge. They merely observe. Blix may look like your grandfather's accountant, but the affable Swede, who heads the U.N. weapons-inspection team in Iraq, is now the eyes of the world, which is counting on him to find out what Saddam has up his sleeve. Blix knows, however, that what you see isn't always what you get.

NANCY PELOSI

The first woman to be elected party leader in either house of Congress, Pelosi has practical experience in doing the impossible. She will need it for her next assignment: an unapologetic liberal, she must bring unity and direction to a Democratic Party still smarting from its midterm spanking. As the daughter of an old-school Baltimore, Md., ward boss, Pelosi might just be the woman for the job.

SERENA WILLIAMS

When 2002 began, there were only two players in women's tennis who mattered: Venus and Serena Williams. Now there's only one. Serena took the last three Grand Slam events of the year, besting her older sister in all three, and crowned herself undisputed queen of the courts. She's the Tiger of tennis--and she has the cat suits to prove it.

BISHOP WILTON D. GREGORY

A rising star in a year of fallen priests, Bishop Gregory led the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in drafting a new, tougher policy to deal with clergy accused of sexual abuse. In December the Vatican approved it, albeit in modified form, but the heartbreak and the lawsuits will continue, and Gregory, whose home diocese is Belleville, Ill., must pray for guidance on the difficult road ahead.

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF

How's this for a balancing act? In 2002 Pakistan's President cooperated with America's war on terrorism while mollifying his fundamentalist Muslim subjects. He reasserted Pakistan's claims to Kashmir while avoiding an all-out war with India. Washington can only hope the act lasts a long time; if Musharraf were to go, there would always be the chance a hard-line Islamic radical could rule a nuclear-tipped Pakistan.

ARIEL SHARON