Free Republic

Spy veterans hit at 'timid' CIA agents By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 21/02/2004) Today's CIA agents are spoiled, inexperienced, and hamstrung by safety rules, leaving vital operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in near disarray, senior American officials and intelligence veterans said yesterday. Angry intelligence sources told the Los Angeles Times that the head of the CIA's Baghdad station - the largest in agency history - was sacked recently amid concern that his team of more than 500 was failing to penetrate Iraq's deadly insurgency. In Baghdad, many CIA employees are sheltered in secure compounds at the airport or in...

<p>President Bush's proposal to set up a research base on the moon as a first step to traveling to Mars and beyond is a perplexing mixture of necessary and hardheaded rethinking of government's role in space - and empty opportunism. Unfortunately, the proposal doesn't move beyond an attempt to give the National Aeronautics and Space Administration the real sense of purpose it has lacked for upwards of 30 years to serious thinking about what could make space exploration a sustainable activity.</p>

Timid people 'more prone to early death' Shyness may help to shorten a person's lifespan, according to findings from a new animal study. Scientists found that rats with a fear of anything new were far more likely to die early from cancer than less timid individuals. Animals identified as "neophobic" had a 60% greater chance of dying at any one time. They also produced a greater surge of stress hormones when placed in an "exploration arena" containing unfamiliar objects. Scientists say an almost identical hormone response is seen in children that are shy, inhibited and fearful. Such behaviour is characteristic...