AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner on the Crisis in Iraqi Science

Attacks on Iraqi scientists and science facilities are a war within the larger war for the future of Iraq, AAAS CEO and Science Executive Publisher Alan I. Leshner writes in the 16 November issue of the Boston Globe. While the U.S. has initiated some promising programs to recruit former weapons scientists for rebuilding efforts, he says, the programs have been inconsistent and nagged by problems.

"Science is a bastion of rationality and ethics in society," Leshner writes. "Not only does it help solve immediate problems and provide the tools needed for a healthy national future; it can serve as a counterweight to political and religious extremism and provide an element of stability where it is desperately needed. Working in cooperation with Western and Middle Eastern universities, science centers and science organizations, the United States should be part of a focused science and technology assistance plan that will be crucial to Iraq's future."

For more information, read the full commentary.