Setting aside differences over the Iraq war to cooperate against terrorism and crime, the United States and France agreed today to lead a high-level international study of how to use new, biologically based technologies to prevent forgeries of passports and other travel documents. The United States and France will co-chair a high-level working group of the Group of Eight industrialized countries to develop so-called biometric technologies, which typically use fingerprints, iris scans or facial recognition software to confirm identities and ensure that documents are valid. The agreement was reached during a visit here by Attorney General John D. Ashcroft for a meeting of justice ministers of the G-8 countries. Ashcroft was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Paris since bitter disagreement erupted between the U.S. and French governments over the war in Iraq. Despite today’s agreement, there were continuing signs of ill will. Full Story
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