1676 



Author's Reassessment 



Following are some retrospective comments made by Dr. Whelan 

 in early 1976: 



The brain drain is as real a diplomatic problem for the United 

 States today as it was in the mid-1960s, even if less visible. In the past 

 year or so there has developed a renewed congressional perception of 

 the reality of the problem. This perception is evidenced in the first 

 instance in a growing awareness of interdependence and its importance 

 for U.S. foreign policy. "It took the oil embargo to shake us up and 

 make us aware of this interdependency." Another aspect is growing 

 congressional concern over the domestic impact of the medical brain 

 drain."* 



In this new era of interdependence [notes Whelan], international development 

 holds a central place. International development means modernization ; moderniza- 

 tion means the application of science and technology. A new requirement is thus 

 imposed upon the United States and the other advanced nations: To perceive the 

 interrelationship in coping with the problems of international devekpment. 

 The brain drain problem enters the picture at this point, since skilled manpower 

 is one of the many key requirements for development. 



It has become especially evident in the past year or tvv^o that 

 relationships between the developed countries and the LDCs are 

 undergoing a real and substantial permanent change. "The old 

 attitudes and assumptions of the West have lost their force; we can 

 no longer exploit the LDCs as we have done since the beginning of 

 the expansion of Europe in the 15tli century." "Brain drain" is a 

 form of exploitation, not perceived as such in the United States, but 

 resented in most of the LDCs. The remedy may be found in "salvation 

 by interdependence." Here the United States has the advantage of 

 the values of its civilization. As never before, Whelan observes, this 

 country can provide the saving grace for many of the world's problems : 

 i.e., a saving grace resulting from judicious application of U.S. re- 

 sources in science and technology. 



U.S. interests in the LDCs, apart from purely humanitarian 

 concern, derive from a need for global stability and for access to 

 material resources that are important to us and vital to many of our 

 Western allies. U.S. policy has been to seek peace and stability in the 

 Third World as a way of heading off great-power confrontations. The 

 LDCs constitute the most unstable area in the world. They have been 

 a source of unending conflict, crisis, and tension involving the United 

 States directly and sometimes indirectly. During the years 1945-67, 

 80 conflicts occurred in the Third World. Since 1967, major wars 

 have erupted between India and Pakistan and in Nigeria, the Middle 

 East, and Southeast Asia. The conflict in Angola threatened U.S.- 

 Soviet detente. The United States has been deeply involved in LDC 

 troubles. One reas on fo r instab ility in the LDCs is underdevelopment 



2T* Dr. Whalen points out In July 1977 that there have been significant developments 

 In both executive and legislative branches since this reassessment was made, and that 

 together these developments represent a renewed expression of the U.S. official concern 

 about the brain drain that had been so evident in the 1960s but hardly visible since then. 

 One development was the forthright position taken by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger 

 at the fourth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD IV) 

 at Nairobi In May 1976 : Kissinger proposed "appropriate Incentives and measures" to 

 curb the Immigration of highly trained manpower from the developing countries. (U.S. 

 Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Media Services. UNCTAD IV: 

 Expanding Cooperation for Global Economic Development. Speech by Secretary Henry A. 

 Kissinger before the fourth ministerial meeting of the United Nations Conference on 

 Trade and Development. May 6, 1976. 15 p.) The other development, focusing specifically 

 on the medical brain drain, was a step toward fulfillment of the U.S. commitment : it was 

 the enactment by Congress of a revision and extension of the Health Professions Educa- 

 tional Assistance Act (P.L. 94-^84, October 12, 1976), Title 6 of which amended the 

 Immigration Act to eliminate special preferences In the entry of forei'rn medical gradu- 

 ates Into the United States and to establish more rigorous conditions governing exchange 

 visits. 



