A new white paper from the Center for Strategic & International Studies has a good observation on security in general in its specific discussion of policy regarding granting/denying visas to foreign scientists and engineers who want to study in the United States:
Philosophically, erecting barriers is an increasingly counterproductive way to ensure security in a world of globalized science and technology. In a world of globalized science and technology, security comes from windows, not walls. It is true that
knowledge gained by foreign nationals in “research and work� in certain areas of science and technology has the potential to “be harmful,� in the language used by the Government Accountability Office to describe the Technology Alert List. But when the
United States has very little ability to control the development and dissemination of such fields, our security depends on being able to monitor and assess them, and particularly on being able to identify illegitimate applications. We cannot remain aware of the global
development and application of security-relevant fields of science and technology unless we interact with those researchers who are working in them.
"Security comes from windows, not walls." It goes against the conventional wisdom, but I think it's true. Or maybe it's only true if everyone has windows.
The white paper has plenty of short term fixes as well as long-term policy recommendations.
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