© THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY

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of Rockefeller

*\ University

P3555 5° October 19, 1989

N

1230 YORK AVENUE NEW YORK,NY 10021

JOSHUA LEDERBERG

PRESIDENT

L Dr. Christian Anfinsen
Department of Biology
The Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland 21218

Dear Chris:

I have your letter of October 10th and its appeal for a
pledge against the "military use of biological research".

I wish you had taken more time to inform yourself about
the details of biological research in the military, before
putting the great weight of your name behind a document that
has worthy ideals but has some imprecisions. Have you informed
yourself about the actual programs at Ft. Detrick? I am sure
that Phil Russell and others would be glad to take the oppor-
tunity to do that, so you could understand just what biological
research is going on in the military.

The most troublesome point is what you mean by "military"
use of biological research. Of course the development of bio-
logical weapons is a very grave risk in an unstable world and
one which deserves all of the ethical opprobium that lies be-
hind your solicitations. But there are "military uses" of bio-
logical research if for nothing more than the medical care of
our troops, and their protection against infectious disease in
a wide variety of contexts. I cannot believe you intended to
condemn those although they would be covered by that general
title. And in fact they constitute the overwhelming part if
not the totality of the Army's biological research programs.
But why don't you look into these and focus on exactly what it
is that you would want to prohibit, before mobilizing this
broadside.

We are right in the middle of extensive discussions with
Soviet biomedical scientists, trying to get them to understand
the need for as much public disclosure of their biological research
programs as exists in the U.S. In the wonderful new spirit of
glasnost, great progress has been made in this direction. They
are just beginning to open up. But I am concerned that the
political reactionaries in the Soviet Union will feel that they
can make hay out of our domestic attacks against the U.S..Army's
program and slow up the process of glasnost with respect to
their own activities.

Ese C2, au (ofag- Weg ren
Dr. Christian Anfinsen
October 19, 1989

- 2 -

I have no problem at all with the actual final sentence in
the pledge; and perhaps others will understand precisely what is
and is not meant by "military use of biological research"... But
I really would hope that there could have been a more precisely
stated context for this campaign so that it would not be sub-
verted for ends and consequences that I believe you would not
want either...

You could have an easy opportunity to discuss these matters
with your colleague Bob Chanock at the NIH. If I do not see
you myself before then I hope you will have done so. He will
also be in a very good position to tell you of some of the very
undesirable side effects of diminishing the budget for research
on exotic diseases, in which historically the Army has played
the most constructive role, and which will almost. certainly be
orphaned as a by-product of this kind of campaign.

Yours, sincerely,

  
  
  

> ne
Jos ua Lederberg

cc: Dr. Robert Chanock

Encls. P176
197

bec: Major General Philip kK. Russell

bee:

Dr. Thomas Monath

Major General Philip K. Russell
Dr. Thomas Monath