Obama Opens Secret Laboratories to Germany
By Christian Schwägerl
The Americans have always kept their research into anti-terrorism technologies top secret — until now. A new treaty between Germany and the US will give German scientists access to highly restricted laboratories.
It was a productive start to the week for US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and German Research Minister Annette Schavan. The two women met at 7:15 a.m. on Monday for breakfast at a five-star hotel in Berlin to discuss one of the most explosive issues in the era of international terrorism: How can the population and infrastructure be protected against catastrophic attacks without Western democracies being turned into Orwellian regimes?
A microscopic view of anthrax bacteria: The US and Germany are to cooperate on research into fighting terrorism.
After breakfast, Napolitano and Schavan signed a treaty on scientific and technological cooperation in the field of civil security — the first agreement between Germany and the new US administration. “This is an important contribution to the strengthening of trans-Atlantic cooperation with the new US government,” Schavan said ahead of the meeting.
“Homeland security is not about walling ourselves off from other countries, it is about cooperating with our allies,” Napolitano said Monday, according to the Associated Press. Schavan said that Germany and the US wanted to exploit technology to find “innovative solutions” that guarantee a “good balance of security and freedoms.”
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