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In the interview in the September 21, 1987 issue (p. 14) Edward Teller says: I believe that this situation is a quite peculiar one. For instance, a number of technical people working on SDI have submitted to the Physical Society their arguments, to be published together with the original report. They were refused. And I believe that it is really a sad situation where, in questions of such great importance, free speech does not prevail in science, where free speech should be most highly honored

Written byN Bloembergen
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In the interview in the September 21, 1987 issue (p. 14) Edward Teller says:

I believe that this situation is a quite peculiar one. For instance, a number of technical people working on SDI have submitted to the Physical Society their arguments, to be published together with the original report. They were refused. And I believe that it is really a sad situation where, in questions of such great importance, free speech does not prevail in science, where free speech should be most highly honored.

As co-chairman of the study group that wrote the report Science and Technology of Directed Energy Weapons, which was recently published in the Reviews of Modern Physics, I would like to make the following comment on Teller’s statement, which unjustifiably damages the reputation of the American Physical Society.

The technical people referred to by Teller have always been free to submit manuscripts for publication. Any ...

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