No Foreign Nationals for R&D At the Department Of Defense

Andrea Widener has a short article in the November 5 issue of Chemical and Engineering News. It concerns a report from the National Academies on the manpower of Research and Development section of the Department of Defense (DOD).

          The National Academies is a combination of four other societies, which are all honorary membership organizations. Total membership is about 6,000 scientists, engineers, and health professionals.

          The National Academies' report generally criticizes the Department of Defense for poor management of its employees but concentrates on the shortage of qualified scientists and engineers in the department. To alleviate that situation, it suggests that Congress reform the H-18 Visa system to allow more highly trained non-American graduates of US universities to work at DOD.

          This is a ridiculous recommendation, which this scientist strongly opposes. No matter what our shortage of qualified scientists and engineers may be in the DOD, we should never allow entrance to non-Americans. DOD research and development work is highly confidential. We have enough foreigners trying to kill Americans, without giving them access to improved technology. How far do you think we would have gotten in development of the atomic bomb if we had invited German and Japanese scientists to participate?