Douglas Bennet, the Clinton administration's newly confirmed assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, says that after nearly a decade of severed ties between the United States and the United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), renewal of the relationship is now "definitely a possibility."

Bennet's assessment comes at a time of increasing activity on the part of those strongly favoring renewed U.S. involvement in UNESCO. Recently, discussions on the subject among congressional leaders, Clinton administration officials, professional societies, and scientists have gained in frequency, as has the circulation of petitions supporting a U.S. return to the UNESCO fold.

Many scientists support rejoining UNESCO because, among other activities, the organization coordinates six global communication networks and programs such as the International Commission of Scientific Unions.

For the past six weeks, both the State Department and the National Security Council have been involved in an interagency review concerning the...

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