MIT: The Missle-Defense Propoganda Arm of the Department of Defense?

A missle defense sensor was tested at MIT Lincoln labs in 1998. The trumpeted result: the sensor works, it can sense incoming missles. Forward with missle-defense.

Later, a contract engineer came forward with documents she said proved the classified data had been tampered with. The sensor doesn't work.

MIT's mission is research of unimpeachable integrity. Faked data don't square with that. MIT launched an investigation in 2002. They put together a committee of outside academics with secret security clearances.

The Defense Department says: clearances or no, you can't look at the data. Full stop. MIT has now given up on investigating.

[Nature Article, subscription required]

Critics could say that, if MIT can't police its own research, then MIT is simply part of the propoganda arm of the United States Department of Defense.