Posted on 10/19/2001 1:07:53 PM PDT by freedomnews
How Clinton Turned U.S. Intelligence Into a Cash Cow
Charles R. Smith
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001
In 1993, terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden bombed the World Trade Center in New York City. In response, Bill Clinton turned the massive resources of the U.S.
intelligence community away from national security and instead focused on commercial espionage.
The Clinton administration did not consider Russia, China or Osama bin Laden to be a threat against the United States. Instead, Bill Clinton considered the economic threat of losing global contracts to our allies in Europe to be the greatest evil.
The Clinton emphasis on commercial espionage became public in 1994 when then CIA Director John Deutch announced that electronic intercepts of a Saudi prince gave Boeing a major contract.
According to Deutch, the National Security Agency had recorded phone calls between a Saudi prince and European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The NSA intercepts suggested the Saudi prince was being bribed by Airbus over a multibillion-dollar airliner contract.
Deutch revealed to NBC news that the NSA recordings were provided to the Saudi government, which then promptly arrested the prince and awarded the billion-dollar contract to Boeing.
Boeing was not the only U.S. firm to take advantage of commercial espionage data provided by the Clinton administration. Another heavily documented case involves U.S. electronics maker Motorola and exports to China. This case, however, points directly at Bill Clinton.
USA v. UK -- The Battle of Bucks
In 1993, Motorola hired Clinton national security advisor Dr. Richard Barth to be a lobbyist inside Washington. Barth, who then worked alongside now CIA Director George Tenet, was a key member of the Clinton NSC White House staff. Barth was so important that Tenet wrote to him personally, trying to convince Barth to stay inside the White House.
"Barthman. Why are you leaving me?" asked Tenet in a 1993 White House e-mail. "Do you want my job? My wife? My 1974 Camaro? This place will suck eggs without you to keep me sane."
Despite the emotional appeal by George Tenet, Barth left the White House to take a six-figure job with Motorola. In 1994, Barth returned to the White House, this time as a Motorola employee. Interestingly, Barth now sought to export sophisticated electronic scrambling devices to China.
"European firms have for a number of months been able to market and sell encryption in China as a result of a decision taken by the UK intelligence agency, GCHQ," wrote Barth in a 1994 letter directed to the White House.
"I understand that our National Security Agency is aware of this change in GCHQ's position and would support our request for a change in US requirements for export licenses for China. The NSA has agreed that there should be a 'level playing field' in regard to China."
The Barth letter clearly illustrates that the Clinton administration was involved in an intelligence food fight with our allies in Europe. The UK intelligence agency GCHQ was now pitted against its U.S. counterpart, the NSA, in an export battle for bucks. Instead of cooperation in tracking known terrorists and global threats, the two agencies were now fighting each other at the behest of corporate profiteers.
NSA v. GCHQ
Most Americans do not even know of the National Security Agency, much less the super-secret British GCHQ. I find it interesting indeed that the National Security Agency, well known for keeping its mouth shut, would spill its guts to an ex-NSC member employed in the commercial sector.
How did Barth know British GCHQ had changed its position? Who in the NSA told him there should be a "level playing field" for Motorola exports to China? How did Barth obtain this data for his company? No one in the NSA, GCHQ or Motorola will say, and Barth has so far declined to be interviewed.
The battle between Atlantic allies continued through 1994 and well into 1995. The documents from Barth clearly show that Motorola sought to export more than just scrambled radios to communist China. Barth's request included radiation-hardened electronics that are quite useful in nuclear combat.
Barth's correspondence also shows that President Clinton was directly involved.
"This is to request that your office initiate action to obtain a waiver from requirements for individual export license notifications to Congress for wireless mobile communications systems containing encryption for China," wrote Barth in a letter addressed to the State Department, dated Nov. 23, 1994.
"Such a waiver was issued by the President in September of this year for civilian satellite systems and encrypted products for use by American firms operating in China. Finally, while we now are not yet applying for licenses for encrypted systems for satellite positioning, we may within months be applying for such licenses for our IRIDIUM systems," noted Barth in his letter.
Barth's letter noteed that Motorola sought to export sophisticated scrambled satellite control systems to Beijing, the same kind of hardened electronics that are now installed inside Chinese nuclear bombs aimed at America.
Yet, Motorola had far more than Barth and the NSA inside the Clinton White House.
Motorola's CEO flew with Ron Brown on a Far East trade mission in 1994. Motorola's Hong Kong VP had coffee in the White House in 1996 with President Clinton.
In fact, Motorola's CEO had dinner with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and President Clinton inside the White House.
No small company could match the high-paying lobby jobs, the Commerce trips to China, the inside information from U.S. and British intelligence, the White House coffees or the state dinners.
Motorola played a game of musical chairs, with the players occasionally changing titles on six-figure jobs as they rotated from industry to bureaucracy to political staff and back again.
Presidential Waiver
Yet, there is final proof that corporate profits overrode global national security inside the previous administration. The Motorola story ends on a classic Clinton note, with a single letter written to Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.
"Dear Ron," wrote Motorola CEO Gary Tooker in July 1995. "I am writing to thank you and some key members of the Commerce Department for your assistance in obtaining the Presidential waiver for encryption export sales to China."
The 1995 Motorola letter is proof positive that Bill Clinton is directly responsible for the present-day U.S. intelligence disaster. Bill Clinton turned America's spy network into a personal cash cow, aimed at pleasing big-dollar contributors instead of protecting the free world.
If any single person is responsible for the sad state of our NSA and CIA today, it is Bill Clinton.
First, Clinton did not consider China a threat; he most certainly embraced China and allowed flagrant and repeated violations of EVERY SINGLE NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY China ever signed to go unpunished.
Please see the following Congressional reports:
CRS96-889 “China: Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) and Defense Industries,” Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division, Shirley A. Kan, December 3, 1997.
CRS94-422S, “Chinese Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Policies: Implications and Options for the United States,” Report for Congress, Congressional Research Service, Robert G. Sutter, Senior Specialist In International Politics, Office of Senior Specialists, March 24, 1994.
CRS94-92F, “China: Current U.S. Sanctions,” Report for Congress, Congressional Research Service, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division, Kerry Dumbaugh, Specialist in Asian Affairs with the Assistance of James Casey Sullivan, Office of Senior Specialists, Updated April 14, 1995.
CRS92056: “Chinese Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Current Policy Issues,” Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division, Shirley A. Kan, June 1, 1998.
CRS98-485 F, “China: Possible Missile Technology Transfers from U.S. Satellite Export Policy - Background and Chronology,” Congressional Research Service, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division, Shirley A. Kan, June 12, 1998.
CRS94002: “China-U.S. Relations,” Congressional Research Service, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division, Kerry Dumbaugh, November 25, 1996.
Further, the Clinton Administration DID change the rules to allow China to buy dual-use telecommunications equipment:
General Accounting Office of the United States Report #GAO/NSIAD-97-5, “Export Controls: Sale of Telecommunications Equipment to China,” Letter Report, November 13, 1996.
The New York Times, “Donor's Actions Raise New Questions on Buying Access to President,” by Stephen Labaton, December 27, 1996.
EX. ORD. NO. 12981. ADMINISTRATION OF EXPORT CONTROLS, Ex. Ord. No. 12981, Dec. 5, 1995, 60 F.R. 62981, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 13020, Oct. 12, 1996, 61 F.R. 54079; Ex. Ord. No.13026, Sec. 1(b), Nov. 15, 1996, 61 F.R. 58767, William Jefferson Clinton.
Next, the Clinton Administration DID coddle Russia. See "Improving Russia’s Access to Early Warning Information, Preliminary Results,” Congressional Budget Office, June O’Neil, September 3, 1998. The Democrats asked for nearly $1B to sustain Russia's military; after a dog-fight, they got only $444M through the Congress.
As for bin Laden; Saudi Arabia offered to hand bin Laden over to us in 1996. The Clinton Administration DROPPED THE BALL and only picked it up again during the Impeachment. They also DROPPED THE BALL in Iraq by allowing our inspectors to thrown out, retaliating with a meaningless bombing raid, and then not DOING ANYTHING to get our folks back in there.
The US inspector for the UN testified before Congress that the White House LIED to him repeatedly. If anyone can dig up his testimony, I'd appreciate it. I think I've supplied our friend with enough reports to keep them busy for a while.
I've offered plenty of evidence suggesting Ron Brown, the conduit for much of the restricted technology the Clinton administration passed to the Chinese in exchange for ILLEGAL campaign contributions, was murdered because he was about to turn state's evidence about Chinagate and campaign finance illegalities. And I've repeatedly offered to debate you about that evidence. But you keep RUNNING. Why, Hidy?
Even if I allowed your analogy to stand despite its histrical error, on the one hand we have US troops under US command doing something in October. On the other hand, we have a foreign intelligence service giving us arguably questionable information in March, with no forces in place.
In other words, even if the Somalia debacle occurred in 1992, as you erroneously claim, your analogy still sucks. Better luck next time.
But I understand your general point, that on this forum, criticism of the former administration comes quicker. On the other hand, we have the Washington Post and the New York Times to balance the scale.
Incidentally, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin resigned over the Somalia dêbacle. He gets a lot of respect for that. I wonder sometimes that if Bill Clinton had asked more of his appointees to fall on their swords at the appropriate times, then maybe some of his scandals might have gone away faster. On the other hand, his damage-control crew was tops.
Because of the timing, coming just a couple of days after his disasterous speech after he testified before Starr. And, as it turns out, Clinton was nowhere close to hitting bin Laden. Couple that with the attack on the Sudanese asprin factory on completely bogus intel (one soil sample purportedly showing traces of empta, which you can also get from spraying Round-Up on weeds), and it was a wag-the-dog. As for Bush not getting bin Laden when he got the chance - Bush had been in office for all of two months and still did not have the nation fully behind him. He does now. And he is moving strongly to get bin Laden AND other terrorist groups.
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