Syracuse-based Transactional Records Clearinghouse (TRAC), a non-partisan group monitoring federal staffing, spending, and enforcement activities, recently posted this report covering referrals for prosecution in international and domestic terrorist cases. It is difficult for the American public to monitor the federal governments efforts to find and prosecute terrorists because of the necessary...

Released on June 5 by the National Commission on Terrorism and posted online in its entirety by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), this new report contains a number of recommendations that have raised objections among civil libertarians, parts of the Arab-American community, and others. The commission, composed of private experts and former federal officials, was created in the wake of...

_Countering the New Terrorism_, a new 153-page book published by RAND, has recently been made available online. The book contains four chapters that address the changes, trends, and implications of the new terrorism. The introductory chapter, written by Ian O. Lesser, overviews the changes in terrorism in a changing world. The second chapter, "Terrorism Trends and Prospects," by Bruce Hoffman,...

Available on the Washington Post Web site, the above listed link is the entire transcript of the Senate's Judiciary Committee hearing on FBI counterterrorism efforts held on June 6, 2002. Users can view remarks from members of the committee, and hear testimonials from others such as the FBI director and Inspector General Glenn Fine. Although the transcript is rather long, it not only gives...

Many of the nation's lawmakers are concerned this week with how to square national security measures with civil liberties. Attorney General John Ashcroft has asked Congress to quickly pass legislation granting broad powers to the administration, including the ability to indefinitely detain those considered a threat to security, greater discretion in surveillance, and more power to seize people's...

Prepared by the National Research Council (NRC), this report on the contributions of science and technology to defend against terrorism is in the pre-publication form. Because the entire document is nearly 400 pages long, it is divided by chapter for easier downloading. The report begins with discussions of different kinds of threats that face the US, such as biological pathogens and nuclear and...

The National Academies Press (NAP) offers the full text of several publications related to bioterrorism, laboratory safety, and cryptography, among other topics, for browsing online. Although not all of the titles are new, NAP has collected them on one page for easy access in light of current events. The 26 titles include Airline Passenger Security Screening: New Technologies and Implementation...

On September 21, the National Security Archive (NSA) posted the first volume in their new series The September 11th Source Books. The series aims to fulfill NSA's mission "to put on the record the primary source documentation that can enrich the policy debate, improve journalism, educate policymakers, and ensure that we don't reinvent the wheel or repeat the mistakes of the past." As such, this...

This helpful omnibus of links to timely research, editorials, papers, and other written material on the situation in both Iraq and Afghanistan is provided by the Project on Defense Alternatives. The Project was found in 1991, and part of its mission is to "adapt security policy to the challenges and opportunities of the post-Cold War era. Toward this end it promotes consideration of the broadest...