Science blockade (In Fact piece)

Potter Wickware writes: Scientific manuscripts are the
latest target of Patriot Act-inspired surveillance and
interdiction. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign
Assets Control, which enforces the trade embargo against
Cuba, Iran, Libya and Sudan, says US scientific societies
could get in big trouble (million- dollar fines, ten years
in prison) if editors of their journals suggest ways for
authors of papers from those countries to improve their
contributions. Leading journals now say they will turn back
submissions from the embargoed countries without review.
According to OFAC's hairsplitting definition of
"transactions," reviewing and editing - even spell-checking
- are prohibited. In the real world, of course, editors
invariably return scientific reports to authors for at least
minor revision. Only about 150 papers a year made their way
from the countries to US publishers before OFAC tightened
its grip, but their perspectives on topics like parasitic
and fungal diseases (Sudan, Libya), battlefield medicine,
transplant surgery (Iran), vaccines, antibiotics and
biotechnology (Cuba) stood out in the scientific press.

The Nation 278(15):6; 19 Apr 2004