Posted on 05/09/2010 9:02:41 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Israel's Defense Ministry was said to have censored the lectures of scientists on missile defense. Industry sources said a major conference controlled by the Defense Ministry rejected the lectures of at least three scientists deemed critical of Israeli policy. The three had presented papers critical of the ministry's missile defense policy, particularly its refusal to develop laser-based interceptors.
"The defense establishment has in recent years adopted a policy of censoring scientific and technological facts that everyone already knows, along with disseminating selective information about the missile defense systems," said Oded Amichai, a former scientist at the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and a lobbyist for laser interceptors.
Amichai said his lecture prepared for the first missile defense conference in Israel in May 2010 was rejected by a board dominated by the Defense Ministry. The planning committee of the missile defense conference has been chaired by Aharon Moss, a former senior official at the ministry's Defense Research Directorate.
Another rejected lecture was that of Nathan Farber, a scientist who had worked for the state-owned Israel Military Industries. The third lecturer, who did not want his name published, was identified as a former researcher at the Weizmann Institute.
Amichai, chairman of the Home Front Shield Association, caused a furor at an aerospace conference in 2009 when he severely criticized the Defense Ministry's refusal to develop or procure laser-based interceptors for missile defense. He warned that Israel was being endangered by those who didn't want to change the government's commitment to kinetic interceptors.
"It has also been systematically hiding information about the existence of systems whose effectiveness has been proven and which can be available within a relatively short period of time," Amichai said. "This conduct has a most detrimental effect on state security."
(Excerpt) Read more at geostrategy-direct.com ...
Interesting that the Israeli military is not actively pursuing BOTH options.
I will wait for comments from informed experts in the field.
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