[Letter to Colleagues from Peter Duesberg]

27 December 1991

Dr. Lawrence Bogorad
Proceedings of the Nat'1 Acad. Science
2101 Constitution Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Dear Dr. Bogorad,
I assume you wanted me to transmit to Peter Duesberg your letter and the three
reviews of his manuscript, and I did. You will find his reply enclosed. Recognizing the
concern that his skepticism about the viral etiology of AIDS might encourage unsafe sex,
he is prepared to endorse "all current efforts to prevent AIDS based on the virus-AIDS
hypothesis". I suggest all future communication about the article itself be addressed
directly to him, as I find it awkward and irregular to be acting as an intermediary.
Duesberg's reply speaks for itself. I would only repeat my statement of Oct. 3 that
while I do not agree with his categorical emphasis on drugs, I feel it should not be
suppressed. I find it disturbing that the comments of the four scientists I asked to review
the manuscripts were totally ignored or belittled.
There is one problem that does require continued correspondence between you and
me. I solicited the four reviewers under the universal assumption of their anonymity
beyond the editorial room. I explicitly accepted responsibility for such anonymity in one
case where it was requested. Now I find at the end of your review #2 that the names of my
reviewers were made known to your reviewers and perhaps to others beyond them. Would
you be willing to identify your first group of reviewers to mine? I find this breach of
confidentiality entirely unacceptable. It is apparent in the disdain with which the comments
of my reviewers have been greeted that they have risked their reputations. They will
certainly think twice about reviewing a controversial paper again. I am afraid this action,
certainly novel in some 40 years of my experience with editors, suggests a bias Qf your
own, and calls for an explanation. I will certainly have to provide one to my reviewers.
I await your reply.
Sincerely yours,
Harry Rubin
enc: Duesberg reply
HR/dr