In The News

N. Korea Displays 'Nuclear Deterrent'

Glenn Kessler January 11, 2004
A group of American observers visiting North Korean nuclear facilities are expected to report that Pyongyang does indeed have the plutonium it needs to produce nuclear weapons. The group is due to testify to the US Congress next week, but Pyongyang is already saying that it showed the unofficial delegation North Korea's 'nuclear deterrent'. Meanwhile, China is said to be trying...

Stopping Bioterrorism Before It Starts

Lauren T. Hickok January 8, 2004
The anthrax attacks that came on the heels of Sept. 11 frightened many Americans and added further fuel to calls for a global war on terror. Two years on, how secure is the world's supply of biological and chemical agents? Biosecurity experts Lauren T. Hickok and Reynolds M. Salerno write that although Washington has taken steps to mitigate the bioterrorism threat within the US, much work...

World Opinion Is Fragmented on Tighter Security for Visitors

Elaine Sciolino January 7, 2004
New security procedures designed to prevent potential terrorists from entering the United States have met with mixed reaction around the globe. Beginning this week, the US is requiring that visitors from all but 27 countries be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry to the US. Washington is also pushing foreign and American carriers to accept armed US marshals on board US-bound airplanes....

New Scrutiny of Visitors Begins Smoothly

Alfonso Chardy January 6, 2004
In a sweeping change to the way visitors to the US are tracked, the recently established Department of Homeland Security has begun fingerprinting and photographing people from all but 27 countries upon entry at US airports and seaports. As the latest step in the US government's war on terror, the move is intended to help weed out visitors with connections to terrorist groups or criminal...

U.S. Won't Lift Sanctions Until Libya Keeps Its Word

Steven Weisman December 21, 2003
The encouraging news that Libya is willing to disarm its nuclear weapons program came as a relief to the international community and a promise for increased regional stability. Despite these hopeful signs, the US is wary of lifting economic sanctions on Libya until some definite progress is made to dismantle the program. Washington's hesitancy is partly due to continued suspicions about...

Libya to Give Up Arms Programs, Bush Announces

David E. Sanger December 20, 2003
After nine months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy, Libya has agreed to quit its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs. According to US and UK officials, Libya's leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, approached the two countries at the outset of the Iraq War to discuss the issue. Analysts have long suspected Libya of having a nuclear program, despite the country's signing of the...

U.S. and Europeans Agree on Sharing of Airline Passenger Data

Philip Shenon December 17, 2003
In a move that averted a trans-Atlantic showdown over privacy rights, the European Union has agreed to allow the US to collect records on all passengers flying from Europe to the US. The Bush administration claims these records are vital to protecting against terrorists entering the country, but European privacy advocates and some countries claimed the policy violated European privacy laws. In...