The Repubs' War on One Particular Scientist

There's a certain amount of irony in the Washington Post's story about "an expert panel of scientists, and audience members, agree[ing] that the United States is losing stature because of a perceived high-level disdain for science." Perceived? That "perception" is well documented in Chris Mooney's book The Republican War on Science. Under the guise of the "war on terror," the current administration is also attacking foreign-born scientists, of whom we have -- and need -- many, asserts William A. Wulf, Ph.D., president of the National Academy of Engineering.

Between 1980 and 2000, the percentage of Ph.D. scientists and engineers employed in the United States who were born abroad has increased from 24% to 37%. The current percentage of Ph.D. physicists is about 45%; for engineers, the figure is over 50%. One fourth of the engineering faculty members at U.S. universities were born abroad. Between 1990 and 2004, over one third of Nobel Prizes in the United States were awarded to foreign-born scientists. One third of all U.S. Ph.D's in science and engineering are now awarded to foreign born graduate students. We have been skimming the best and brightest minds from across the globe, and prospering because of it; we need these new Americans even more now as other countries become more technologically capable. [emphasis added.]

So you'd think the US would want to hold onto good nuclear physicists, right? Especially American citizens who have been active in the community as well as excellent scientists?

Unless you live in Pittsburgh, and read the Post-Gazette, you haven't heard anything about the story of Dr. Moniem El-Ganayni. An American citizen for 20 years, the nuclear physicist worked for 18 years here at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, until his security clearance was abruptly suspended last October. The case didn't attract any media notice until the PG's Sally Kalson first wrote about it in February.

Without his clearance, and at age 57, Dr. El-Ganayni stands to lose much of what he has worked for since arriving in this country in 1980. His job and medical benefits are in jeopardy. A U.S. citizen since 1988, he won't be able to work in his field, and, if his clearance is not reinstated after an upcoming hearing, he says he'll probably return to Egypt with his American-born wife.

That hearing never happened.

The decision to revoke Dr. El-Ganayni's clearance without holding a hearing was made by acting Deputy Secretary of Energy Jeffrey F. Kupfer, a Bush administration insider .... [who] certified that the appeals process set forth in DOE regulations "cannot be made available ... without damaging the interests of national security by revealing classified information. ...

Furthermore, he stated, his decision is "conclusive," meaning the matter is officially closed.

The ACLU has been trying to help Dr. El-Ganayni and "untold number of Middle Eastern immigrants and Muslims across the country have been quietly ensnared by measures aimed at strengthening national security in a post-9/11 world."

There is no way of knowing just how many, said Art Spitzer, director of the Washington, D.C., affiliate, of the American Civil Liberties Union. "We've heard about a number of cases involving security clearances, so there must be a lot more we haven't heard about," Mr. Spitzer said.

(Disclosure: I am a board member of the Greater Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU, though I am not personally involved in this case.)

Ms. Kalson reports that the "DOE, FBI, Bettis and SCI-Forest [a state prison at which Dr. El-Ganayni worked with Muslim prisoners as an iman] all declined comment" on why or how the security clearance was put in jeopardy in the first place. But in the extensive questionings of the physicist by DOE and the FBI, he got the impression that it was solely his non-work-related activity as an iman that was at issue.

Dr. El-Ganayni believes the complaints against him originated with prison authorities, with whom he had disagreements over the observance of Ramadan -- the month in which Muslims are obligated to fast during the daytime -- and visiting hours.

(Read the story for the background, including the bit about suicide-bomber ants, which is actually from Journey to the Ants, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning winning biologists Edward O. Wilson and Bert Holldobler.)

Invoking national security is "a way to shut down litigation at the outset," says Jameel Jaffer, head of the national security project of the ACLU in New York City. "They insist the executive branch has the unilateral and unreviewable right to make decisions, and they don't have to explain it to anybody."

So a national laboratory loses a valuable scientist and a respected American citizen loses his job -- and never has his day in court.

A lot of people lose their jobs, [says Dr. El-Ganayni.] What bothers me is the way it's been done. They are taking away my livelihood without any due process. Even a serial killer gets a chance to defend himself. This is not justice.

Comments

[breakfast]

Foreign born, but naturalized U.S. citizens are "national security" threats, but dual nationals running our foreign and defense policy apparatus are A-ok.

Foreign citizen good. U.S. citizen bad. Simple, once you get the hang of it.

[WilliePilgrim]

It seems the inevitable result of our society's equating success with income. We begin in school promising every child a college education with the belief that it will provide them with better jobs (meaning higher income). Then they discover that the big money is not in producing stuff (that's for workers overseas or from "somewhere else") and so the manual arts are disparaged and yet, nowhere do we really examine the genuine qualities of happines...not course on how to be self reliant, how to be a hermit, or how to start a small business in your garage or how to find happiness with a job in manufacturing. Our values are focused on money and yet leave us bankrupt. How can we expect any difference.

[Overd0g]

Never trust a scientist that believes in God (or "believes in" anything at all).

[drblack]

Republicans put faith above science. This is a path to becoming a poor and corrupt nation and a police state. This is where the republicans have been leading us.
Reject McCain and republicans if you support American Freedom and prosperity.

[Fez]

Americans should be grateful that foreign-born scientists still want to come to the US and compete against the best in the world. We benefit from the hard work and sacrifices made by these foreign scientists who were studying hard when their US peers were eating Ding Dongs and watching Fast Times At Ridgement High. Take a walk across campus at Stanford, Cal Tech or any other top-notch American universities. You see students of every race and creed and they are all working their butts off to get an education. Meanwhile, Americans whine about foreigners taking their jobs when it has become all too clear that Americans do not produce the best scientists anymore.

[jvarga]

One way to increase the number of american scientists would be to not treat us, financially, like garbage. Hard as it is to believe, after going to college for 9 years and having ~$50,000 in debt, being paid $38,000 (which is below the lofty federal post-doctoral pay scale by about $1,000) from a federal funding source I'm loathe to suggest a career in science to anyone.

Of course I'm bitter, I have nothing to do all day but work and then go home and eat raman noodles and be pissed off at how I've wasted my life :P

[luziannagirl]

See, jvarga, and you are too busy making ends meet to cause much trouble (if you omit commenting on HuffPo, which of course can be stopped with ONE BushCo policy change).

That's all part of the plan!

[Overd0g]

Supply and demand. Basically, there is no demand for your services.

[jvarga]

Aye, and as we talk about trying to import PhDs and grad students from all over the place (China and India produce quite a few nowadays) its important to keep in mind that without an expansion of research budgets that trend of terrible pay will continue.

[glaze]

Am I in danger? This is the text of an email I just sent-
[e-mail]
I don't expect the decision made by Deputy Secretary of Energy Jeffrey F. Kupfer concerning Dr. Moniem El-Ganayni to be reversed.
I also don't expect it to be logical, justified, explained (except for the weakling's excuse-skirt of "national security") or even challenged.
I STRONGLY suspect this has more to do with Dr. El-Ganayni's faith and work with prison inmates than his alleged misdeeds.
The 'decision' well reflects how this administration is filled top to bottom with paranoid hypocrites ready to toe the party line instead of acting fairly, honestly and courageously.
Strangely, it WOULD take courage and intelligence to stand up to these cowards.
Stranger still is the persistent belief on the part of 'the decider' that these 'decisions' are made for the good of the country.
Here'a a clue for you: THEY AREN'T.
I sincerely hope that soon, those guilty of inflicting this treatment on on someone else gets a chance to feel the effects for themselves.

[thedirtman]

This is serious, but it is only a small piece of the real iceberg. At the core of the issue stands an entire conservative War on Intelligent Thought.

The War on Intelligent Thought has escalated from habitual lies to organized bureaucratic idiocy. The truth hides in the closet while consequences are thrust upon the people. It is evident in Iraq when secret lies come out one at a time. It is evident when American cities lie underwater and its people can only await rescue when it become politically expedient. It is evident in science when scientists have to seek permission from the federal government to speak. It is evident when activists are required to be inside "free speech zones" to exercise the First Amendment. It is evident when knowledgeable people are labeled "elitists" and the mainstream media fires up the crosses and pushes hate. All of these are battle maneuvers in the War on Intelligent Thought. Petrifaction, stupefaction, and hopelessness all are weapons used against the people.

[protagonia]

Smart people are not in the neo con's best interests.

[Overd0g]

Smart people aren't in the interest of any government employee. They need obedient "followers" so they can implement their utopias (while enjoying fabulous perks).

[TakeSake]

Money talks. If you want more Americans in college, don't price them out of it.

[luziannagirl]

TakeSake

Don't assume Bush & co, or the Republicans for that matter, WANT more Americans in college.

They don't. They fear a large number of smarty-pants voters.

They want voters to stay on their 24-7 work treadmills, working nonstop as fast as they can, while rich Republicans make off to Switzerland and Dubai with the profits.

Smart people tend to see behind the curtain and make trouble. Tyrannical third world dictators simply kill the intelligentsia. BushCo just reduces ours to the size it can be drowned in the bathtub...oh, wait, that's some other pesky obstacle to unlimited free market wealth, isn't it?

[Overd0g]

Being smart doesn't make you any more likely to tell truth. It just as easily can make you a more effective liar. Don't confuse intelligence with some kind of morality.

[mlaiuppa]

Hold on until January 20. You're going to see a LOT of changes when President Obama takes the oath.

[realpolitic]

The Bush ideological fears of Muslims comes face to face with their disdain of science and the result is we lose many of our best minds. Dr. El-Ganayni seems a good man, being a physicist who finds time to counsel prisoners. For his efforts, he loses his security clearance. Despite being an American citizen, he is the victim of a the Bush administration that exercises ideology over common sense and is prepared to lose many fine scientists in the process.

One of the strangest aspects of modern conservativism is this strange disdain for science. I mean, science and scientific developments are usually to be celebrated. Conservatives are still fighting century old battles to suppress Natural Selection and teach creationism, silence global warming science and stem cell research. All these branches of science offer exciting new finds and, in return, conservatives seek to discredit the science and scientists. How can a conservative movement that is seemingly nationalistic and based on elevating patriotism above all else always denounce science, until America becomes a second rate research center with second rate universities?

[thedirtman]

The neocons hide from global warming because it could limit executive earnings. They hide from the fact that ignoring climate change will incur serious damages to the economy in the long-term. Fundamentalists seek to ignore their own second book of Kings where Solomon chooses wisdom and God is pleased. Libertarians want to ignore the fact that emissions can come with a price too. All these right-wing groups are simply not owning up to what they know to be true.

[Overd0g]

Perhaps. But thinking people will also question any bandwagon that arises that promises to expand government power and lowers their standard of living for no clear benefit.

[realpolitic]

Yes, you right right, thedirtman. But what conservatives ignore is that "green science" and energy saving-type companies could be the really next hot sector and jobs producing sector of the economy. Many entrepreneurs will get rich thinking up ideas and ways that companies can save money on energy consumption.

When we begin to see one humanitarian disaster after another related to climate change, then the problem will be almost impossible to ignore, although many on the right still will. Overall, it gives them a bad name to continually ignore science as if they want to go back to the Dark Ages.

[Ale]

Yes, national security is enhanced by driving the nuclear scientists out of America and back to the middle east
For an encore the Republicans will then drive all the Spanish speakers back to Mexico and the intellectuals off to the Netherlands, then when clinging to guns and Jesus they will wait for the rapture and pump out babies free from birth control, abortion or vaccinations.

[Overd0g]

How does driving out Spanish speakers correlate with anything? Are you worried about Spanish speakers gathering together in Mexico to produce a language assault on English to threaten our way of life?

[dgscol]

I am a scientist, and I believe there is a serious invasion in academia of people with foreign connections, and it has become harder for domestic people to get in and acquire degrees. This is not because foreigners are better, but because minority faculty pull hard for people from their own native culture.
There is no screening of them, and often they are interested in working in sensitive areas. One asian faculty member wanted a state to supply him with a lab for changing viruses he collected here in the US, so as to weaponize them. That is just one example. People have been known also to exclude patriotic people from participation from research programs as a way to exert a foreign orientation to US programs.

Faculty at US universities should be loyal to the US - not have a hostile attitude toward our country. There is also an alarming number of foreign graduate students - 50% in some departments. Our domestic capital is spent on these expensive training programs, and the graduates have nothing to do with our country, or have no allegiance to our country : Asians, Russians, Hindu, Moslems, and Mexicans.

Scientist are also responsible for politicizing "Science", slanting it to favor foreign interests. This shameful practice shows how far our nations integrity in science has slipped. It has lost its edge and functions more like a third world university system.

[oncethere]

This does make sense and I wonder if there is a parallel here to the pervasive outsourcing going on in this country. I have no idea. Do these foreign students come from wealthy families who can afford college tuition in America, whereas many American young men and women cannot?

I don't know about the "patriotic" part about the above statement. What about American students who are not what you call great patriots, who, in fact, have real problems with the policies of our Govt.----should we exclude them as well?

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Can you elaborate on the distinction between pure research and applied science?
Best.

[MamaBird62]

Don't wait up for a reply from the "scientist."

[luziannagirl]

Reason:

Your question raises an important point. Examples:

Cell biology as opposed to medicine.

Ornithology vs upland game bird management.

Research chemist working in lab vs industrial chemist working in the plant.

Yes, there are conflicts. And, no, probably many if not most of those working in applied science fields without pure science credentials should probably not be representing themselves as "scientists". No law against it, though.

Many of the anti-science groups are heavy on the applied science end and light on the pure science end. And, especially light on the "mainstream" pure science end. They pack their ranks with those considered way, way, outside the mainstream (at best) and not well-respected by the scientific community.

[Vinquus]

Scared of a little healthy competition dgscol? A true scientist's nation is all humankind. I would however encourage greater assimilation of the foreign student body and faculty. But I do wonder at your use of the word "patriotic"... how could they tell you were patriotic? Were you wearing a flag lapel? Did you loudly sing the national anthem in the cafeteria? Did you settle for a manly patriotic C rather than striving for one of those snooty foreign A's?

[S1m0n]

It's hard to tell if this guy's the Unabomber, or Daniel Pipes...

[anshumanmishra]

Yes. All these pesky foreign-born scientists are destroying good ol' American science.

For example: Albert Einstein (Germany->Princeton IAS), John von Neumann (Hungary -> Princeton IAS), Werner von Braun (Germany->NASA).

Or even a recent example: Sergei Brin (Russia->Google).

I could give you a hundred more well-aired examples. Of course, I admit that these are outliers and not necessarily representative of general trends in the population. However, I *do* take offense to the statement that American universities are turning into third-world universities. I believe that this shift is intentional. The sheer wonder of it is that as a trained scientist you dismiss the value of a diverse viewpoint, and place other orthogonal aspects of life, such as "patriotism", at a higher pedestal. This is downright weird.

Throughout my youth, I have grown up admiring the ideals extolled by the Founding Fathers of the United States, especially the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What saddens me immensely is the way Americans are visibly turning isolationist and going against the solid moral underpinnings of their great nation. I've watched in dismay as BHO is mocked at because of his middle name. It's patently unfair to judge people based on their origins and not their achievements.

To sum it up, you people still have a lot of admirers in the world, inspite of GWB, and I sincerely hope you don't burn your bridges with the rest of the international community.

And yes: Obama '08. Cheers.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Welcome to HuffPo.

[mgloraine]

The next step by government officials will be to round up any books or papers written by Dr. El-Ganayni and the others to stage a big bonfire and Republikan Party rally against racial impurity.