National Security

Inside a futuristic-looking dome that rises from the sandy wasteland of the high Mojave Desert, soldiers in plywood cubicles work at computers powered by solar panels and a towering wind turbine. Plug-in cars shuttle the troops across the vast expanses here at Ft. Irwin in San Bernardino County. At night, tents lined with insulating foam provide a cool retreat at the end of a 100-degree day.

The FBI and Justice Department plan to significantly expand their role in global counter-terrorism operations, part of a U.S. policy shift that will replace a CIA-dominated system of clandestine detentions and interrogations with one built around transparent investigations and prosecutions. Under the "global justice" initiative, which has been in the works for several months, FBI agents will have a central role in overseas counter-terrorism cases.

President Obama on Tuesday announced an overhaul of the White House's brain trust for dealing with 21st century threats, merging the domestic security staff with the larger team in charge of all national security issues. The move will integrate the work of the White House's Homeland Security Council, created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, within the existing National Security Council.

Bryant Neal Vinas' unlikely odyssey from Long Island, N.Y., to Al Qaeda's innermost circle of commanders in Pakistan was achieved without any help in the U.S. from the well-oiled "jihadist pipeline" that has guided so many militants from Europe and other countries -- a fact that is cause for concern, current and former U.S. counter-terrorism officials said. His case, which became public last week, showed that a U.S.

President Bush on Wednesday moved to exempt Navy sonar training missions off Southern California from complying with key environmental laws, an effort designed to free the military from court-ordered restrictions aimed at protecting whales and dolphins.

One year from this very moment, someone other than George Bush will be sliding behind that antique desk in the Oval Office. In embassies and outposts that fly the Stars and Stripes, photographs of a face other than Bush's will be going up on the walls. At long, long last.

In the ongoing legal case of the whales versus the Navy, the whales have a number of advantages. For one thing, the law is on their side, as is formidable California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. But the Navy has bigger guns, the backing of the president and a tendency to talk out of its blowhole.

The quarreling between Mitt Romney and John McCain in the closing days of the Florida primary highlights their clash over whether Republicans should make the economy or national security their top priority in choosing a presidential nominee. The two are battling for the lead in Tuesday's pivotal contest in Florida, the most populous state yet to cast ballots in the Republican race.

Shares of 3Com Corp. fell Wednesday after its buyers failed to settle national security concerns with the U.S. government, putting the $2.2-billion deal in doubt. Bain Capital and Chinese partner Huawei Technologies Co. withdrew their application to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The panel had expressed concerns about 3Com's TippingPoint unit, whose security software is used by U.S. government agencies, falling into Chinese hands.

The U.S. attorney general and intelligence director warned Friday that the nation has lost potentially critical intelligence during the last week because telecommunications companies cut their cooperation with the government after a controversial espionage law was allowed to lapse. In an unusually blunt letter to Congress, Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey and Director of National Intelligence J.