The Role of Education, Science & Technology in

National Security

Jameel-Un Nabi

GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences & Technology

28th July, 2016

Islamabad

National Security

• National security is a multifaceted concept and can mean different thingsunder different circumstances.

• The term suggests a predominantly military aspect but has broadermeaning in the post-modern world.

• Economic, political, environmental aspects are important. Over the last twodecades cyber-security has become extremely important.

• Therefore virtually every macro level problem (whether of national defenseor population control) is to some extent part of National Security. It issimply a question of priorities.

• For instance: one reason for the demise of Ancient Rome was loss of arableland due to over farming. The destruction of Pakistan’s trees has hadsimilar effects (e.g. soil erosion).

Purpose of National Security Policy – Nation Building…

Political Stabilitystructures - institutions

Overcoming Povertyfunctioning economy

Military & PoliceSecurity

Civil Infrastructuresocial coherence

Nation Building

Poor National Security policies lead to…

• General chaos

• Civil wars

• National decline

• Martial Laws

• Poor institutions

• Crumbling economies

• Eroding standards (whether technical or ethical)

• Decline in the respect for law

• Regional power games (e.g. Balkanization, Finlandization)

• Hindered growth and decline in standards of living

• A reduction in the scientific approach towards societal problem solving

Stake Holders for Science and Technology and National Policy• Federal Government

• (and all its subsidiary departments whether technical or non-technical)

• National Research Organizations and Labs• Universities• Armed Forces• Private Industry

• The usual list of detector manufacturers plus more• Contracted to government• Tech transfer from labs

• State and local governments• The common man

Our Role as Scientists and Technologists • Research and Development

• Testing and Evaluation

• Manage lab, vendor, and university work

• Support as well as convince government to develop greater R&Dinfrastructure

• Analysis of data in support of lab and field operations

• Development of standards within the purview of National Security

• Assist government in laying out clear policies

• Field Operations Aspects of Ideal Strategy

• Short-term: Improve systems and techniques

• Long-term: Modernize the way our institutions run

Avenues for Progress

• Given the broad scope of the subject matter, we can only refer to a few keyareas pertinent to Pakistan’s situation.

• Specifically I would touch disaster management, space issues and resourcedepletion.

• It is important to plan ahead however…

• Given Pakistan’s complex internal (and external) politics there is often adisconnect between politics and economics. The economically optimalsolution may not necessarily be the best political one.

• This therefore already makes it incumbent that quite often we have nochoice but to start off with a sub-optimal solution whether we like it or not.The Kalabagh Dam would be a case in point.

Disaster Management

• Geographically Pakistan is in adisaster prone region.

• Given the scale of earthquakes andfloods that we face, disastermanagement is an important issuethat connects not only to economybut also the environment.

• Pakistan must also be constantlyaware of the seismic risks to itsnuclear facilities to avoid aFukushima like scenario.

Space Race • The concept of National Security now extends beyond the limits of theEarth’s atmosphere.

• “The now-ubiquitous and interconnected nature of space capabilities andthe world’s growing dependence on them mean that irresponsible acts inspace can have damaging consequences for all of us.” - US National SpacePolicy (2010)

• The current and future strategic environment is driven by three trends –space is becoming increasingly congested, contested, and competitive.

• Space is now like any place of real estate here on Earth (cf. BahriaTown/DHA). We must book our places now.

• According to Suparco, five GEO satellites and six low earth orbit (LEO)satellites will be launched between 2011 and 2040 under Space Program2040.

Planning Ahead for Resource Depletion

• While natural resources like natural gas get more publicity,we will also face congestion in some less obvious but no lessimportant resources.

• One example is the RF spectrum.

• Demand for radiofrequency spectrum to support worldwidesatellite services is expected to grow commensurate withthe rapid expansion of satellite services and applications.

• Since we lag behind other nations in the technology sector,this could act as a bottleneck to our progress in the future.

• Roughly 9,000 satellite communications transponders werein orbit by 2015. As the demand for bandwidth increases andmore transponders are placed in service, the greater theprobability of radiofrequency interference and the strain oninternational processes to minimize that interference.

The Dark Side of National Security

• Those who would give up essential Liberty, topurchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neitherLiberty nor Safety. (Benjamin Franklin)

• National Security and the greater good of a nationshould not override basic civil liberties.

• Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks showed that wecannot take our fundamental rights for granted.

• The National Security policy must take a morallypositive stand with respect to ordinary citizens suchas you and me.

• However we must not be careless as a nation either(see next slide)…

• On June 11, 2013, The Guardian published a snapshot of the NSA's global map of electronic data collection for the month of March 2013. Known as the Boundless Informant, the program is used by the NSA to track the amount of data being analyzed over a specific period of time. Note that the data from Pakistan and Afghanistan are under greatest surveillance

• Boundless Informant is a big data analysis and data visualization tool used by the United States National Security Agency (NSA).

One solution is to do what the Russians do…

• News: After Edward Snowden Leaks Russian Secret Service buys typewriters

Economics of National Security

• The geopolitical factors are a key factor in determining which aspectsof National Security take precedence.

• However every aspect of National Security comes at a cost.

• Pakistan has had to spend a substantial portion of its annual budgeton military matters and military technology, thereby putting otheraspects extremely underfunded.

• CPEC gives us breathing space and an opportunity to change all that.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor• The Corridor is a great opportunity to develop

infrastructure that would be a boon to national security.• The corridor can positively impact various aspects of

National Security:PoliticalEconomicInfrastructureCommunicationsEnergy sectorMilitaryDevelopment of marginal regions

• We should avail this opportunity to develop greatercollaboration with Chinese universities and researchgroups.

• Also a great opportunity to develop Industrial linkages.

References

• D. Jokanovic and M. Josipovic, "RF spectrum congestion: Resolving an interference case," Microwaves, Communications, Antennas and Electronics Systems (COMCAS), 2011 IEEE International Conference on, Tel Aviv, 2011, pp. 1-4.doi: 10.1109/COMCAS.2011.6105933

• Suddle, D.Sc., Mohmmad Riaz (19 December 2009). "Pakistan's Space Programme" (Webcache). SUPARCO Media Research Directorate. Dr. MohmmadRiaz Suddle, Director of the Paksat-IR programme and current executive member of the SUPARCO's plan and research division. Retrieved 11 August 2011.

• US National Space Policy (2010) https://fas.org/irp/eprint/nsss.pdf

• Global Flood Hazard Map. SEDAC. http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/ndh-flood-hazard-frequency-distribution/maps

Questions?

THANK YOU