New Members Redefining NATO by Sean OíDriscoll In November, NATO held a meeting in a former Soviet bloc country for the first time, a little bit of history that would have left Stalin choking with rage if he could have foreseen the future. The meeting in Prague in the Czech Republic welcomed seven new members to NATO: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Its importance was marked by the presence of President George W. Bush and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who were also there to sell the U.S. position on Iraq to the new member states....more... Morton H. Halperin Foreign Policy Analyst Urges Caution With Iraq by John Shaw When Morton H. Halperin testified last summer before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during its high-profile hearings about American policy toward Iraq, he had an impact that all witnesses dream about: Senators leaned forward in their chairs and listened carefully to his comments. Halperin, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the director of the Open Society Instituteís Washington office, told the congressional panel there is an alternative to a U.S.-led war with Iraq....more.... Post-9/11 Visa Processing Often Confusing, Intensive by Sean OíDriscoll On March 11, 2002, six months to the day after Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi flew planes into the World Trade Center, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) notified a Florida flight school that the two men had been approved for student visas. Four months later, Yugoslav pianist and EMI recording artist Aleksandar Serdar was refused a work visa for the Carmel Bach Festival in California, despite having excellent references from some of the w orldís top conductors. The differences in visa processing since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks show the sometimes-chaotic evolution of the homeland security system over the past year, with tens of thousands of students and workers caught up in the confused new system....more... Norwalk Virus May Take Wind Out of Sails on Cruise Ship Vacations by Gina Shaw Could your cruise ship be sick? As we head into the height of winter cruise season, dreaming of Caribbean breaks from the cold, ships from at least three major cruise linesóHolland Americaís Amsterdam and Statendam, Carnivalís Fascination, and Disney Cruise Lineís Magicóhave been hit by large outbreaks of the Norwalk virus....more...

Culture Section A Second Rebuilding Project For Afghanistan: Mending Its Embassy by Sanjay Talwani In a stately three-story brick building in Washingtonís Kalorama neighborhood, workers are still banging nails and finishing floors in the Embassy of Afghanistan after years of disuse. The roomsóthose that are habitableóare still stark and lightly decorated. Wiring and fixtures are not complete. In one area, boxes left over from a previous regime are stuffed in an alcove. Even in the personal office of Ambassador Ishaq Shahryar, the furnishings are, for now, basic. For Shahryar and his fledgling diplomatic staff, the embassy has come a long way in less than a year since the new government reclaimed a building that was essentially abandoned and, somewhat like the nation itself, left to deteriorate. ...more... Portable Missiles May Become Next Weapon of Choice for Terrorists by Timothy Gusinov The recent missile attack on an Israeli charter jet in Kenya indicates a frightening escalation in the war on terrorism. This may be only the first attack in the line to come, and only limited time may separate us from the moment when such weapons could be smuggled into and used in the United States or against one of the major U.S. European allies in the war on terrorism. ...more... Social Secretaries Organize Embassy Entertainment Life by Heather Nalbone When the German ambassador receives an invitation to a private dinner reception, he talks to Katheryne Walker. She is not a diplomatóor a German for that matter. Walkerís early career background, sheís proud to say, is in high school and college education. Her official title is social secretary, and her skills are in high demand at the stately six-story building on Reservoir Road in Northwest Washington. In a city where wining and dining is a substantial component of professional life, Walker is indispensable. Sheís the backbone of Germanyís social exchanges with the United States and the foreign diplomats located here, as are dozens of others filling the same role in embassies throughout Washington....more...