http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030728/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/terror_marketBy KEN GUGGENHEIM, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites) is setting up a commodity-market style trading system in which investors would be able to bet on political and economic events in the Middle East — including the likelihood of assassinations and terrorist attacks.
Two Democratic senators said Monday they want the project stopped before investors begin registering this week.
The Pentagon office overseeing the program said it was part of a research effort "to investigate the broadest possible set of new ways to prevent terrorist attacks." It said there would be a re-evaluation before more money was committed.
The Policy Analysis Market is intended to help the Pentagon predict events in the region based on investors' information or analyses.
A graphic on the market's Web page showed hypothetical futures contracts in which investors could trade on the likelihood that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) would be assassinated or Jordanian King Abdullah II would be overthrown.
Although the Web site described the Policy Analysis Market as "a market in the future of the Middle East," the graphic also included the possibility of a North Korea (news - web sites) missile attack.
That graphic was apparently removed from the Web site hours after the news conference by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota criticizing the market.
"The idea of a federal betting parlor on atrocities and terrorism is ridiculous and it's grotesque," Wyden said.
Dorgan described it as useless, offensive and "unbelievably stupid."
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UN-FRICKING-BELIEVABLE!!!
A new low for our federal government. I CAN'T believe this.
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