Bush, meanwhile, has responded by raising the stakes in the covert war. He has approved a secret order authorizing the CIA to harass—but not overthrow—Iran’s theocratic regime, according to government sources familiar with the issue, who asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject. Just what methods the CIA has been authorized to use are unclear. But a former intelligence official who has talked with current agency employees and contractors said that among the ideas being discussed are various methods for extending the range of uncensored Internet service into Iranian border areas to stir up dissent among non-Persian Iranians, such as the Kurds.
Experts, however, say these kinds of measures are unlikely to topple the mullahs. U.S. officials admit they don’t know how effective Department 9000 has been either. The only thing certain is that it’s going to be a long, hot summer in Iraq. —Mark Hosenball
ISRAEL: Tracking Trauma As an increasing number of war vets around the world are diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), some military establishments are questioning the validity of patient claims, given that they often result in financial settlements. In Israel, mental-health experts estimate that more than 3,000 vets suffer from some form of the disorder. Meanwhile, Israeli Defense officials have admitted to hiring private investigators to conduct surveillance on former soldiers to find out whether they are faking.
The vets aren’t pleased. Human-rights lawyer Shlomo Rehavi, who last week filed a high-court petition on behalf of a group of former soldiers, argues that the spying—and the alleged use of hidden cameras and tape recorders—is an infringement on the vets’ privacy. And since PTSD is a mental disorder, says Rehavi, secretly observing everyday behavior is virtually useless and could even have a chilling effect on vets who are already wary of social interaction. Consider one veteran of Israel’s Yom Kippur war (he didn’t want to be identified in order to protect his privacy) who told NEWSWEEK that his symptoms developed into severe asocial behavior and that at times he felt as if he was being followed. It turns out that he was. —Kevin Peraino
The barons of private equity keep breaking new barriers. Terra Firma Capital Partners has scored the first big private-equity deal in music, buying EMI for $4.7 billion. The hope, everywhere private equity strikes, is that aggressive new owners will streamline old business models. But Terra Firma bought EMI because, unlike other big music firms, EMI isn’t fighting to save the CD. It’s moving into the digital age. Some analysts believe Terra Firma may keep only EMI’s profitable business selling synchronization rights for the use of songs in movies, ringtones and games, while offloading its money-losing recording studios on a rival. —John D. Sparks
Diego Luna In recent years, Mexico has produced some big global names in the arts. Take Diego Luna, whose performance in “Y Tu Mamá También” propelled him to stardom. Now the 27-year-old Mexican actor has turned director, focusing his attention on legendary Mexican boxing champion Julio César Chávez in a documentary called “Chávez.” Luna spoke to NEWSWEEK’s Joseph Contreras:
You subtitled the documentary “The Last Mexican Hero” in your own country. What Julio César Chávez did in his career is unbelievable. Just imagine being the best at what you do for more than 11 years, and not losing a fight in 14 years. When Julio fought, the whole country would stop to watch him.
The idea of doing “Chávez” came when you were ringside in Las Vegas and the former champ was sitting nearby? Yeah, that was the first time I’d been close to a ring watching two fighters fight. It was unbelievable. Boxing is very cinematic—the images you see are so strong and stay in your head for so long. —Joseph Contreras
MOVIES: Zombie Zone The population of London was wiped out by the Rage virus in “28 Days Later,” Danny Boyle’s stylishly resonant zombie freakout, but in “28 Weeks Later,” the city is starting to come back. Reconstruction has begun, and a new imported civilian population is ensconced in a heavily fortified enclave in East London patrolled by jittery and increasingly trigger-happy American troops. The sequel focuses on the remains of a family that is reunited in the London security zone. Mom turns out to be the rare human who carries the virus without succumbing to it. She’s also passed on this genetic trait to her children. Fans of “Children of Men” may feel déjà vu as the plot revolves around getting these kids, who may represent humanity’s hope of a future, to a safe haven. But the children are up against U.S. soldiers, too. There is, of course, one good American soldier who tries to safeguard the kids. You wouldn’t want to completely alienate the lucrative U.S. market, and “28 Weeks Later” is unlikely to do so. —David Ansen
MEDICINE: A Real Mouthful Breath-mint technology could revolutionize vaccines. Johns Hopkins University just announced that a team of biomedical engineering students working with Aridis Pharmaceuticals has discovered that cellophane-like strips containing vaccines can simply be placed on the tongue, where they melt in seconds and are absorbed into the bloodstream. The real boost is to the developing world. Last year Aridis Pharmaceuticals developed a vaccine for rotavirus—a diarrheal disease that kills some 600,000 children worldwide each year—that works at room temperature (most vaccines must be kept cold) and approached Johns Hopkins with the breath-strip idea. Aridis has received $2 million in funding from the Gates Foundation; with further testing and refinement, it will be four to six years before the vaccine strips are put into use. —Nick Summers
Reality Check It’s long been believed that breast-fed babies are less likely to develop weight problems later in life. But a Harvard Medical School study of 35,000 females who were weighed several times since 1989 showed that even though there was a tendency toward leanness at the age of 5 in those who had been exclusively breast-fed as infants, this tendency didn’t persist into adulthood.
