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The article examines an alleged double standard in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) about male operatives and female operatives. In 1995 the CIA paid nearly a million dollars to over 400 women over sex discrimination. The CIA has been under fire for turning away potential recruits because of their foreign relatives. At least 25 women have complained to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission citing they are held to a higher standard concerning sexual affairs than men. INSET: Suspicious Minds.

This article discusses the military intelligence industry in the United States during 2006. The article notes that, while the intelligence industry has come under fire due to scandals involving eavesdropping and secret prisons, the intelligence industry serves a valuable purpose in preventing terrorism and aiding law enforcement. INSETS: THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY;A Man Who's Not Getting Much Sleep.

The article discusses the Summer Hard Problems workshop (SHARP), a new aspect of the war on terror. SHARP was organized by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in order to discuss the motivations behind the spread of extremism around the globe and how to stop it. Participants in SHARP workshops include intelligence experts as well as experts from the social sciences, including anthropologists and social psychologists. The article presents an account of a SHARP meeting.

The article discusses the bomb attack in Iraq in June 2006 which killed Iraq's most wanted terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi. The article details the operation which was eventually responsible for Zarqawi's death but also questions whether or not the death will lead to much, if any, real change in the area of terrorism in Iraq.

The article reports that the police across the U.S. are keeping tabs on ordinary Americans. City and county police in the name of homeland security have surveilled or harassed animal-rights and antiwar protesters, union activists, and even library patrons surfing the Web. The U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have spent important sums of money into building up local and state police intelligence operations. INSET: When the Cops Only Saw Red.

The article looks at how jihadist terrorist groups are using organized-crime tactics and profits to finance attacks around the world. The terrorist attacks on Bombay in 1993 and the attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, are examples of organized terrorism aimed at the heart of a nation's financial center and intended to maximize civilian casualties. The terrorist attacks in Bombay were linked to gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Dawood is accused of supporting Islamic terrorist organizations. The link of terrorist organizations with organized crime allows the terrorist groups to increase their survivability. The article references the book "Al Qaeda in Europe," by Lorenzo Vidino. Drug dealers were behind the Madrid train bombings in Spain. INSETS: A Godfather's Lethal Mix of Business and Politics;An Unlikely Criminal Crossroads.

Examines how the United States is spending millions in the war on terrorism to change the very face of Islam. How the U.S. government has embarked on a campaign of political warfare unmatched since the height of the Cold War; Campaign to influence not only Muslim societies but Islam itself--from military psychological operations teams and covert operatives to openly funded media and think tanks; Views of many U.S. officials that the U.S. can no longer sit on the sidelines as radicals and moderates fight over the future of a politicized religion with over a billion followers; Growing effort to influence what officials describe as an Islamic reformation.

Profiles the efforts of groups in the United States government to reform the intelligence agencies of the nation as investigations regarding the attacks of September 11, 2001 continue. Details of the programs under works by central intelligence; Efforts of the 9/11 Commission to find new information regarding Al Qaeda and the terror attacks; Role of Richard Clarke of the National Security Council; Lists and identities of CIA "spooks"; Quotes from analysts; Role of India as a nuclear power.

Reports on the resignation of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet. Discussion of the controversies surrounding Tenet and the CIA during his seven-year tenure as director; Details of the challenges Tenet faced when he took over the post in 1997; Tenet's achievements as director; Claim that Tenet is particularly proud of the CIA's work in the war on terrorism, the Middle East peace process, and the agency's unraveling of the nuclear black market that stretched from Pakistan to Libya and North Korea; Comparison between Tenet and the last long-serving CIA director, William Casey; Discussion of the CIA's biggest blunders under Tenet: the agency's failure to stop the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and its flawed intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; Speculation about whether the CIA will be able to regain its status as the world's leading intelligence agency after these and other glaring failures; Speculation about why Tenet resigned last week; Speculation about who will replace Tenet.

Reports on the reaction of the administration of U.S. president George W. Bush of criticisms of their record on terrorism by former counterterrorism czar Richard A. Clarke. Details of Clarke's testimony before the commission investigating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; Details of charges made by Clarke against the Bush and Clinton administrations in his book, "Against All Enemies;" Report on the controversy surrounding national security advisor Condoleezza Rice's refusal to testify under oath before the commission; Speculation about whether Clarke's criticisms of Bush could raise doubts about his effectiveness as a wartime leader; Details of the media campaign by the White House to counter Clarke's charges and undermine his credibility; Response of Clarke and his supporters to the White House attacks; Potential impact of Clarke's assertions that the Bush administration failed to take seriously the threat posed by Al Qaeda prior to September 11; Potential impact of Clarke's sharp criticisms of Bush's decision to go to war Iraq; Details of the findings of the September 11 commission; Speculation about whether the CIA was serious about plans to assassinate Osama bin Laden prior to September 11; Details of testimony by CIA director George Tenet. INSET: THE TRAIL OF TERROR.

Reports on Saudi Arabia with the view that Saudi oil money supported the creation of a global terror network. The role of Saudi Islamic charities in funding jihadists in many countries; Details of how charities were used to spread Wahhabism; The role of Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, al Qaeda, and Afghanistan in forging bonds among Muslims who promote violence; Focus on the Muslim World League, Al Haramain Foundation, and the International Islamic Relief Organization; Background on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency investigation of foreign jihadists in Bosnia and other countries; Probe by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation into terrorist fundraising; The issue of American desire for Saudi crude oil; Challenges facing Western intelligence services in penetrating terrorist cells; Idea that the Saudi royal family is trying to modernize the fundamentalist society; The lawsuit in U.S. courts filed against the Saudis by family members of terrorist victims.

Discusses the search for al Qaeda by U.S. terrorist hunters. Retracing of the war on terror; Impact of America's frontline agents on disabling the al Qaeda terrorist network; Concern over future terrorist attacks in the U.S.; Warnings from al Qaeda official Ayman al-Zawahiri following bombings in Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Discusses the discovery of the top U.S. cell of Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terrorist organization, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sergeant Bob Fromme of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and his investigation that revealed a multimillion-dollar tobacco smuggling ring; Leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Mohamad Hammoud, and his many faces in Lebanon; Tactics Ken Bell, a veteran prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office in North Carolina, used to capture Hammoud.

Discusses how hundreds of Americans have joined the jihad movement and ventured overseas to attack those they believe threaten Islam. Estimated number of American recruits by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation; The key roles some have played in terrorism; Web sites that spread the call to holy war; John Walker Lindh, the best-known American jihadist. INSETS: ABU MALIK;HIRAM TORRES;ISA ABDULLAH ALI;KHALID ABU AL-DAHAB

Reports on bioterrorism in the United States. Envelopes containing white power sent to a Microsoft office in Reno, Nevada, National Broadcasting Co. Inc.'s offices in New York, and to American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida; Difficulties in launching biological terrorism attacks. INSET: A once and future scourge.

Focuses on Osama bin Laden, who runs a terror network from his Afghan hideouts. How his son's marriage to an Egyptian fused two of the world's top terror organizations; Details of bin Laden's network, al Qaeda, and the ways it evolved; Role of al Qaeda associate Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who bombed New York's World Trade Center in 1993; Biographical details; Why bin Laden turned his wrath on the United States; View that al Qaeda will rally new supporters.

Focuses on the terrorist attack on the United States Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the World Trade Center in New York City. Reaction of the country to the attack; Declaration of war by U.S. President George W. Bush; Support which the U.S. has received from other countries; Role of Pakistan in retaliation efforts of the U.S.; Need for the terrorists to be identified; Evidence suggesting that terrorist Osama bin Laden was involved in the attacks; Way that Americans have united after the attacks. INSETS: Anatomy of a collapse;A five-sided nightmare.

Discusses the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). How public support of the FBI has eroded due to its failure to disclose evidence to the lawyers of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's lawyers and to the discovery that veteran agent Robert Hanssen was a Russian spy; Problems which occurred while Louis Freeh was director, from 1993 to 2001; Slowness with which the FBI adopts technology; Penchant of the FBI for keeping secrets; Outlook for the FBI under a director to be named by President George W. Bush. INSETS: Success and failure;The greatest hits.

Discusses investigations at the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Energy, prompted by the arrest of FBI agent Robert Hanssen and unproven spy allegations against physicist Wen Ho Lee. Damage done by counterintelligence investigations at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after the arrest of double spy Aldrich Ames; Question of whether polygraphs are helpful in such investigations; How the agencies must guard national security, but not at the expense of agents' individual rights. INSET: Pandora's box.

Reports on the efforts of the United States to control acts of terrorism. Discussion of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the terrorist attack on the USS Cole; Discussion of terrorist cells, which are placed under surveillance; Use of a legal process called rendition in which suspects are returned to their home country; Role of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); Discussion of the mujahideen underground railroad, which recruits young terrorists to Afghanistan.

Discusses the international car theft trade. Industry dominated by crime syndicates; Number and costs of vehicles stolen yearly in the United States; Number of US stolen cars smuggled abroad in 1997; Profits which can be made on US stolen cars overseas; Soft penalties for car smuggling; Drug dealers who steal cars; US cars that end up in Mexico; Use of high technology to track down car thieves; Views of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). INSET: Protecting your car from a pro, by Richard Folkers.

Describes the illegal activities conducted by officials from North Korea. The country's vast criminal enterprise; Smuggling and drug trafficking since the 1970s; Evidence of corruption; The country's need for cash; Funding the nuclear program with drug profits; Cultivation of opium poppies since the 1980s; North Koreans targeting the drug trade in Europe; Drug of the future for North Korea seen to be methamphetamine; Use of counterfeit money.

Describes efforts of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in investigating the US embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Work of Special Agent Sheila Horan; The FBI's largest overseas investigation; Indictment of Osama bin Laden; Highlights of the investigation; FBI work with authorities in Kenya and Tanzania; Collection of evidence; Interrogation of suspects.

Details the investigation of the theft of millions of dollars worth of valuables from the Russian national treasury. Work of Joe Davidson, of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Theft scheme reaching to the highest levels of the Russian government; Theft through the company Golden ADA; The company's owners, Andrei Kozlenok, and Ashot and David Shagirian; The company's operations and shipments; More.

Focuses on the corrupt or criminal groups involved with the Japanese financial system. Involvement of crime syndicates or mobsters known as Yakuza; Concerns of investors from the United States; Efforts of Japan to reform the system; Impact of the financial crisis; Discussion of the impact of organized crime; Efforts to investigate firms and investments before investing; Tolerance for criminal activity in Japan.

Focuses on the increase in individuals suspected of using or planning to use radiological, biological, or chemical agents in terrorist attacks in the United States. Background on suspects James Dalton Bell, Larry Wayne Harris, suspects from the Minnesota Patriots Council, and followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh; Other suspects; Why exotic poisons are attracting terrorists and other criminals.

The article explores the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against President George W. Bush's post-September 11 policy that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to al Qaeda terrorist suspects. The president revealed the transfer of top al Qaeda suspects from Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) overseas prisons to the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay (Cuba). He maintains, along with CIA officials, that techniques employed at the secret prisons provided necessary intelligence gains. INSETS: TERROR'S TRAIL;Gitmo Bound.

The article questions whether General Michael Hayden can reform the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the same way he did the National Security Agency (NSA) after the Cold War. As President George W. Bush's appointee for the position of CIA director, Hayden is set to undo the mistake of predecessor Porter Goss. His nomination is contentious, the main concern being his role in implementing the warrantless wiretaps and information mining that comprise the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

This article looks at the news that the U.S. government has been monitoring and eavesdropping on Americans without appropriate warrants. The National Security Agency and the FBI have been running counterterrorism investigations on animal rights, environmental, antiwar, and peace activist groups without warrants. President George W. Bush has authorized the warrantless searches on at least thirty occasions and plans to continue. He believes that Americans want him to err on the side of security. Civil liberties watchdogs believe that the security agencies have gone overboard. INSET: The Good Old Bad Old Days.

The article discusses Chechen terrorism in Russia. This southern Russian community of 30,000 endures the heartbreaking aftermath of Russia's worst terrorist attack: the takeover of Beslan's Middle School No. 1, in which at least 368 people were killed and hundreds of others injured by explosions and gunfire. The killings are but the latest of a dozen bloody attacks that have claimed nearly 1,000 lives in Russia over the past two years. Among the targets: airliners, commuter trains and subway stations, government buildings, a hospital, a rock concert, and a Moscow theater. Russian officials blame all these attacks on terrorists from Chechnya, a Muslim republic with the legacy of a dogged independence movement, and a growing influence of Islamic radicals from abroad who have found there both a battlefield for jihad and an inspiration for their global cause. The Russians call them the Vakhabity--the Wahhabis--using the name for adherents of Saudi Islam to describe religious militants in their Muslim republics. They began appearing as early as 1987, before the Soviet Union broke up, according to Alex Alexiev, a terrorism specialist at the Center for Security Policy. Among the key funders, investigators say: the Riyadh-based al Haramain Foundation, through its offices in nearby Azerbaijan and Dagestan as well as in the United States. Just last week, Treasury officials officially blacklisted al Haramain's U.S. branch, based in Oregon, for alleged ties to al Qaeda and fund transfers to Chechnya. Another foundation, Benevolence International in suburban Chicago, sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Chechen fighters, according to court records.

Considers the role of the United States Congress in overseeing the nation's intelligence agencies. Criticism of Congress by the 9/11 commission for lacking the power, influence, and sustained capability to properly oversee the nation's 15 intelligence agencies; Impact of partisanship on a collapse of the oversight system; Challenges faced by members of the intelligence committees because term limits keep them from building up the knowledge they need; Use of experience by intelligence officials to intimidate congressmen and deflect tough questions; Focus on "turf battles" in Congress.

Looks at the independent investigation being conducted on intelligence failures on September 11, 2001. A link to Osama Bin Laden and others through eavesdropping by the National Security Agency (NSA) a year before the attacks; One suspect who turned out to be Khalid al-Mihdar, one of the hijackers who would die that day; Failure to discover al-Mihdar was in the United States at the time of the tapings; Questions of why the calls were not traced and followed up; Claim by the agency that it foiled several plots over the next three years; Findings of inquiry so far; Limitations of the U.S. intelligence services.

Discusses the anti-terrorist actions in Southeast Asia. Preparations for a summit meeting of 21 presidents and prime ministers from around the world; Sign that the region is finally taking terrorism seriously; Past terrorists who have met in Southeast Asia, which has been known to harbor al Qaeda and its network; Jemaah Islamiyah, an ambitious home-grown network with cells that stretch from Thailand to Australia.

Reports on the effect of the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden. Evidence that was seized in the arrest; Region where they are searching for bin Laden; Risks associated with his arrest, such as increased terrorist attacks by al Qaeda and sympathizers; Details of the investigation which led to his arrest.

Reports on the arrests of al Qaeda terrorists, and victories in the United States war on terrorism. Exploitation of intelligence documents and interrogations; Use of informants; Capture of terrorist Ramzi Binalshibh; Status of high alert for U.S. officials; Investigation of Osama Bin Laden's training camps; Risk of intelligence failures.

Discusses the investigation into the terrorist attacks on the United States, and the efforts of investigators in the U.S. to link Osama bin Laden to the attacks. Actions of U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller; Arrest of people thought to be linked to the attacks; Outlook for the cooperation of suspects; Need for evidence against bin Laden before an attack can be launched by the U.S. against the Al Qaeda organization.

Discusses why international drug traffickers are invading the global gold trade. Evidence that gold is joining the United States dollar as the standard currency of the drug trade; Imports of gold from the cocaine production centers of Colombia and Peru; How the gold buying and money laundering schemes work; How the gold trade challenges law enforcement.