A report by the Council on Foreign Relations (a liberal think-tank from which most top US officials are chosen; it is derided by conservatives as part of the "one-world conspiracy") says that the US has not done enough to develop non-lethal weapons. --Stephen V Cole

November 18; BRIGHT STAR began in 1981 as an annual US-Egyptian wargame, but Bright Star 99 is the largest military operation in the world since the Gulf War, involving 75,000 military personnel from 11 nations. It is being heralded as the first cross-regional military exercise, as it includes about half of NATO (France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the US, and Greece) along with pro-Western Arab nations including Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait among others. The exercise included several naval battles, air strikes against warship formations, and an amphibious landing.--Stephen V Cole