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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.

The articles observes how events in the Middle East represent some of the most promising democratic developments in the region in years. After protesters prompted Lebanon's Syrian-backed prime minister to resign--itself an unprecedented event--they continued protests demanding an end to Syria's military occupation. In the wake of a historic Palestinian election, the Palestinian parliament threatened to topple the government unless the new prime minister replaced corruption-tainted aides, a first in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia's monarchy is permitting first-time municipal elections. Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, made called for a constitutional amendment to allow multicandidate presidential elections. And after months of pushing for greater democratic reforms in the Middle East, the U.S. President George W. Bush administration helped Iraq stage its first free parliamentary election. U.S. officials are beginning to compare these developments to the wave of democratization that swept eastern Europe in 1989 after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. But some critics warn that an abrupt transition to democracy in the Mideast could bring deeply religious and even radical elements to power. INSET: A CHANCE TO VOTE.

Offers a look at the War on Terrorism and United States politics as of August 2004. Elevation of the terrorist threat level to orange and the disclosure of al Qaeda plans to attack financial centers in the U.S.; Disclosure that the intelligence data on which the attack plans were premised were years old; Cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan in fighting terrorism; Arrests of Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan and Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani in Pakistan. INSET: Anatomy Of A Terrorism Alert.

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.

Discusses the investigation into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq. Finding of Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller that United States oversight of Iraqi prisons was almost nonexistent, which he reported to Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq; Question of who is responsible for prisoner abuses carried out by the 372nd Military Police Company; Number of low-level soldiers facing court-martial, including Spc. Jeremy Sivits; Speculation that blame will be placed on Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski and others further up the chain of command; The role of intelligence operatives in the scandal; Details of the U.S. Congressional hearing on Abu Ghraib; Two factors that confuse the issue of who was in charge of the prison; The controversy over interrogation practices and detainees held at the Pentagon's base at Guantánamo Bay; Mention of Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq; Concern that the Abu Ghraib photographs will further endanger Americans.

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.

Reports on insurgency in Iraq and the United States-led military occupation. Idea that President George W. Bush is contemplating a rapid exit from Iraq and how it would affect Saudi Arabia; Efforts to shift more authority to a new Iraqi government; Discussion of whether the guerrilla movement is growing, the similarity between "Iraqification" and Vietnamization, and how American administrator Paul Bremer will hand off political power; Outlook for Ahmad Chalabi to be installed as leader; Reaction of King Fahd to terrorism in Riyadh; Saudi raids on suspected al Qaeda operatives; View that establishing a democracy in the Middle East will be more difficult for President Bush.

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.

Looks at how authorities tracked down and arrested alleged snipers John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. The killing spree in suburban Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia; The history and pathologies of Muhammad and Malvo; How they transformed their car into a killing chamber; Attempts by criminologists to explain the crime in light of past serial killers; Frustrations of Police Chief Charles Moose; Phone calls made by the snipers; Muhammad's .223-caliber Bushmaster assault rifle; Uncertainty of motive.

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

Focuses on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Videotape which featured bin Laden admitting responsibility for and delighting in the attacks; Possible role of Saudi Arabian radical Sheik Ali Ben Said al-Ghamdi; How the tape confirms preconceptions about Al Qaeda; Belief that bin Laden escaped from Afghanistan into Pakistan; Bombing of the caves of Tora Bora by the U.S.

Discusses the bioterrorism attacks on the United States, in light of deaths and sickness from anthrax. Idea that public health officials are learning quickly about the medical science behind bioterrorism; Topic of the composition of the anthrax spores which were sent to Senator Tom Daschle; Question of whether there are more letters containing anthrax in circulation and how virulent they are, and how people should be examined and treated.

Focuses on concerns about the presence of anthrax in mail in the United States. How the U.S. Postal Service ordered anthrax testing at a number of mail centers along the East Coast and random checks around the country; Response of the White House to the attacks; Statement of Ari Fleischer that the anthrax sent to Tom Daschle must have been produced by a Ph.D. microbiologist in a well-equipped lab; Implications of a meeting of terrorist hijackers Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi with a pharmacist.

Reports on fears of anthrax in the United States. The effect of government warnings concerning bioterrorism and biological weapons preparedness on the public consciousness; Fear and hysteria concerning instances of anthrax exposure to major public figures; View that terrorists behind the anthrax delivery have succeeded in their goal to create fear.

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.

Focuses on Robert Hanssen, senior agent with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who was arrested and charged with espionage against the U.S. for the Russian government. Biographical information; Details on how he was caught; Thoughts on the public image of Hanssen, and how it contradicts charges that he was a traitor. INSET: The Bloch case: shnook or spy?.

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.