Scientists set to unveil anti-terrorism ideas in late June

The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council plan to publish a list of recommendations on how the Bush administration can best use the nation's scientific and technical resources to counter terrorist threats.

Lewis Branscombe, co-chairman of the National Academies Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism, said the plan currently is being reviewed and likely will be released June 24 or June 25--shortly before the administration is expected to produce its broader strategy on homeland security.

"What we've tried to do is identify technologies that can be deployed immediately and technologies where research and development should be focused ... that could take one to three to four years" to be ready for deployment, Branscombe said at a press briefing hosted by King Publishing on Wednesday.

Late last fall, the Bush administration sought the science community's advice on technology to help with homeland defense. The National Academies responded with the creation of the committee on countering terrorism and its plans for the study.

John Marburger, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), said at the press briefing that his office has worked closely with the National Academies and that "it's no accident" that the report will be released soon before the homeland security strategy, which is due to be published mid-summer.

Marburger said the security plan will not specify technologies; it will focus on process and procedure, and identify decision makers for executing strategy. OSTP will write a chapter on R&D for fighting terrorism, he said. In addition, the strategy is likely to include a plan for a technology clearinghouse modeled after the Technical Support Working Group, which is an interagency forum for coordinating R&D to combat terrorism.

Various agencies will use the plan in the fiscal 2004 budget process, which begins in earnest in the fall, Marburger said.

When asked about fears that technology to combat terrorism could diminish civil liberties, Marburger said President Bush is "committed to not undermining civil liberties. He is fighting this war to protect our way of life, not to undermine it ... though some sacrifices are inevitable."

He also noted that law enforcement will have to conduct additional training to ensure that officers do not use technology in ways that violate civil liberties.