The results are judged by outside auditors.In this case the outside judges could be officials of the National Forest Service, or outside environmentalist or economic groups. But it is not clear what powers they would have, or even what standards would be enforced.The new policy has enraged environmentalists, not least because of the timing of the announcement, just two days before Christmas when Congress is not in session, and news coverage will be scant.Democrats expressed outrage too. It set the stage for confrontations such as the decades-long controversy over the northern spotted owl, pitting conservationists against the lumber industry in the Pacific north-west.In recent years, competing pressures on forests have - if anything - increased Not only does the timber industry want greater access. The forests are a growing tourist attraction, with the number of visitors doubling in the past eight years. On the other hand, a quarter of all US species facing extinction live in national forests, according to the NatureServe conservationist group.The new rules extend to environmental management, a system that has gained favour in industry, and has the enthusiastic support of this Republican White House. "This rips the guts out of national forest management plans," a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defence Council said.

"It doesn't ensure the necessary resources."The 155 US national forests cover some 300,000 sq miles, more than three times the area of the UK. Largely concentrated in the Rocky Mountains and the west, they are governed by the 1976 National Forest Management Act.That measure put the priority on preserving the ecological health of forests and protecting endangered species. But this year, the roses were far fewer than hoped for and the mood more solemn.Before the television cameras, Mr Koizumi and his aides flashed big grins as they pinned roses to their specially prepared billboard. Japanese voters returned Junichiro Koizumi to power as Prime Minister yesterday but with a reduced majority and a powerful opposition that has pledged to challenge his decision to dispatch troops to Iraq. Mr Koizumi's party, the Liberal Democrats (LDP), failed to win an outright majority in the Lower House but clung to office thanks to its solid rural vote and the help of two junior coalition partners, the Buddhist-backed New Komeito and the New Conservatives.At their headquarters across from the Parliament building, the LDP practised a time- honoured ritual of pinning an artificial rose next to the name of each elected candidate.It is act LDP officials have performed thousands of times since the party first took hold of the government in 1955. Since 12 May, more than 600 suspected Islamists have been arrested and more than 2,000 suspects have been interrogated. Saudi Arabia's security forces have lost a dozen men in their almost weekly battles with al-Qa'ida fighters and killed more than 15 suspects.The bombing could have been launched on the basis of outdated information that the compound was home to mostly Americans and Britons. Until the late 1990s, it was occupied and sponsored by the American aircraft and defence manufacturer Boeing..

The attack will damage the support the organisation has in Saudi Arabia, where anti-US sentiment has been fed by America's support for Israel's continuing crackdown on the intifada and the occupation of neighbouring Iraq.The ruling Saud family is now al-Qa'ida's number one target, and the kingdom has become the front line in the so-called war on terror. Many initially refused to believe it could have been the work of al-Qa'ida, especially as the bomber struck in the middle of the fasting month of Ramadan. Inevitably, conspiracy theories about CIA and Mossad involvement started to circulate.If it was al-Qa'ida, it may be seen ultimately as an own goal. No one could understand why fellow Arabs had been the target. But the Saudi decision to assist the US-led war on Iraq changed all that, with Bin Laden for the first time explicitly calling for attacks inside the kingdom. The attack is a clear sign to the Saudi rulers and military that al-Qa'ida is willing and able to attack in the heart of the kingdom, despite asecurity clampdown and co-operation between the CIA and Saudi intelligence services.The bombing provoked near-universal outrage among Saudis, who awoke yesterday to find gruesome images of those injured by flying glass on the front pages of newspapers.