with no specific target for a nuclear return strike.--Stephen V Cole

State Department officers spend less than 60 seconds on each visa application, which makes it fairly easy to miss criminals who fail to note their criminal connections on their applications. The State Department has compiled a new database of 20,000 names, addresses, companies, and other items related to the Russian Mafia. All visa applications will be checked against the computer database, and any application with a match (e.g., the applicant used to live at an address known to be linked to the Russian Mafia) would get an extra review. In future, other trouble spots may get their own databases. For example, war criminals from Congo or the Balkans might be listed, along with their known associates, addresses,