The Best Defense Is A Strong Offense

Allan Bromley, sworn in on August 4 as the president’s science adviser and the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, appears to differ from his predecessors on the relative importance of national security in strengthening the nation’s scientific base. While William Graham and George (“Jay” Keyworth, with similar backgrounds in black-box military research, stressed the importance of defense-related R&D, Bromley took a decidedly more dovish approach at his recent Senate confirmation hearing. Asked by Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) about the 70-30 itnbalance between military and civilian research spending, Bromley replied that “at a time when tensions between the two superpowers seem to be easing, the Defense Department may need to put more into its basic research effort. I quite agree that the percentage spent on military expenditures seems extraordinarily high.” Likewise, the predominance of OSTP staffers with experience in the...

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