High-Tech Towers Could Seal Border

Michael Hayden says it would have backfired then, and would now, too

(NEWSER) - George W. Bush's administration pondered an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and ultimately rejected it, says former CIA and NSA chief Gen. Michael Hayden. He and others concluded that an attack on Iran's nuke factories "would guarantee that which we are trying to prevent—an Iran that will spare nothing to build a nuclear weapon and that would build it in secret," Hayden said, according to Foreign Policy . The same rationale holds true today, he warned: Go with diplomacy and back channels or risk pushing Tehran into speeding things up. More»

Foreign Policy lists 10 quiet but essential world events

(NEWSER) - What events and trends flew under the radar in 2011 but could erupt into massive headline-grabbers in 2012? Foreign Policy rounds up the top 10 "stories you missed" this year.

1. India grows its military: India is now the globe's leading weapons importer, accounting for nearly 1 in 10 international arms transfers.
2. The euro's allure fades: Eastern European countries once excited to join the euro zone are balking. Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Latvia have all postponed. So much for the euro fixing their economic problems.

$4.3M, 18-foot fence to extend into Imperial Beach waters

(NEWSER) - For some people, "from sea to shining sea" just isn't good enough, not when it comes to keeping illegals out of America the beautiful. The Great Wall of America is getting a $4.3 million upgrade at its westernmost point, at scenic Imperial Beach, where an 18-foot-high steel fence will be extended 300 feet into the Pacific Ocean, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

He was deported to Mexico instead

(NEWSER) - It’s not every day an American citizen gets charged with pretending to be an illegal immigrant, but that’s what happened to one Utah 27-year-old this week. The man was originally arrested for dealing drugs in February 2010, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. He told the judge he was an illegal immigrant from Mexico named Saul Quiroz. Instead of prison, the court sent him to ICE to be deported. More»

State education dept. relaxes rule after thousands don't show

(NEWSER) - Alabama issued a statement yesterday imploring parents to send their children to school even if they don’t have a birth certificate, after thousands of Hispanic students failed to show up for classes this week. Alabama’s strict new immigration law requires all enrolling students to present a birth certificate, but state education superintendent Larry Craven stressed that students will be enrolled even if they can’t produce one, Politico reports. More»