Don't Leave Home, Please

By Janice Castro

Old habits die hard. Military experts in the former Soviet Union were mighty uncomfortable last week about the prospect of sharing their most important secrets with the team of U.S. technicians arriving to help dismantle their nukes. Meanwhile, American officials are concerned that unemployed experts in nuclear weaponry, aircraft design and other military technology may be tempted to hire out their skills. Washington has no intention of drafting all that talent but has drawn up a list of those the U.S. would like to see stay put. Part of the $400 million appropriated by Congress for nuclear-disarmament assistance may go for salaries for the key wizards. Sort of like a high-stakes version of paying American farmers not to plant crops.

With reporting by Wendy Cole