atw: Technical Content And Applications Engineering: OFAC and Copyediting for the "Bad Guys"

As I said earlier, I do understand why the US Treasury Department's =
Office of Foreign Asset Control is going off on copyediting for the =
world's bad guys.

Some time ago, I wrote the following in response to a post from someone =
else, which appeared on techwr-l.

=3D=3D=3DBegin Edited Except=3D=3D=3D

EExcerpt 1 from Original Poster: I am told that years ago an unnamed =
executive determined that our documents were "too good" and decided to =
remedy this situation by firing the entire tech pubs department. Since =
that time the engineers have been doing all their own writing (with the =
expected result - incredibly bad documentation).

Response 1 from Me (edited for brevity by me): With any commercial =
high-tech company, this would be ludicrous indeed. However, we're =
talking about General Dynamics here. More specifically, we're talking =
about a division that develops avionics systems...  As such, the issue =
of knowing the reader audience is more than a little critical.

The contention that the documentation is "too good" may in fact be =
extremely valid...  Documentation that is truly too good can be a =
temptation for someone to copy it and give said copies to a foreign =
power. Even though the Cold War has been over for awhile, there are =
still those countries... who would love to learn how some of our more =
sophisticated technologies work. Why? So that those countries can =
develop effective electronic countermeasures systems... to nullify our =
current strategic and tactical advantages...

Operations and maintenance manuals for those systems would decidedly be =
a top priority for foreign intelligence services to acquire by any means
necessary, including blackmail, extortion, graft, and even murder by =
assassination... Remember, technical writers have a unique access to the =
technical
information database being drawn upon to author the manuals. Getting a =
technical writer working for a defense contractor to provide schematics =
of a
JDAM's guidance system would be a MAJOR technical information coup...

How major? Try on the scale of the Walker-Whitworth spy scandal of the =
1980s, when war-winning significant information (our military message
encryption codes, and their upgrades for over 20 years!) was leaked to =
the Russians...

=3D=3D=3DEnd Edited Excerpt=3D=3D=3D

With respect to how this could apply to copyediting foreign works =
submitted to the IEEE and the American Chemical Society, consider the =
following scenario:

* Both chemistry and electronics, especially digital electronics, tend =
to be complex subjects that very few people, practitioners aside, truly =
understand. While editing a paper on a chemical process can seem =
initially harmless on the surface, the question of how that chemical =
process might be incorporated into a larger process -- explosives =
manufacturing, for example -- could have the unintended result of the =
development of a new type of ordnance.=20

This ordnance may be either tactical, chemical, or biological, being =
created by sophisticated terrorist organizations, such as al-Qaeda, that =
could escape detection by technical means, such as being able to make a =
suitcase out of the explosive material itself. By developing a new type =
of polymer coating, for example, that could be applied to the explosive =
material, having such a weapon escape X-ray based imaging detection =
systems at airports would have some fatally interesting results once an =
airliner takes off. A digital thermistor embedded in the handle of such =
a suitcase could detonate it in flight, once the proper temperature was =
present. I believe that cargo compartments of airliners are not =
insulated for passenger comfort, because passengers aren't seated in =
cargo compartments.

Implausible? Perhaps. Then again, perhaps not. But if the original =
technical content remains unedited -- and therefore, maybe technically =
erroneous -- then maybe the process doesn't work. In that light, editing =
for clarity and accuracy of the technical content is the last thing =
anyone would want. After all, why make life easier for people bent on =
killing other people?

just a thought.

George Mena
Sr. Technical Writer
ESS Technology, Inc.
48401 Fremont Blvd.
Fremont, CA USA 94538
510-492-1763
e-mail: George.Mena@xxxxxxxxxxx
"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our =
country." -- President George W. Bush, State of the Union address, =
January 20, 2004
"Terrorism must be fought resolutely wherever it appears. ...no just =
cause can be advanced by terror." -- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, =
September 11, 2001


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