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Curb on tech exports eased (Bush eases supercomputer export restrictions)
Washington Times ^ | 1/3/01 | Joseph Curl

Posted on 01/03/2002 7:49:12 AM PST by truthandlife

Edited on 07/12/2004 3:50:23 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

President Bush yesterday more than doubled the limit on the speed of supercomputers that U.S. companies can sell to such countries as China, Pakistan and India, a move critics said endangers U.S. security and puts American troops at risk.

Under the new guidelines, U.S. producers of supercomputers can export hardware capable of running at 190,000 millions of theoretical operations per second without notifying the federal government. The current cap is 85,000 MTOPS.


(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
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Comment #21 Removed by Moderator

Comment #22 Removed by Moderator

To: Black Jade
There is a lot too this stuff...

Some corporations derive 50% of their sales overseas. Not with just China in mind, that is not forgotten. China is actually one of the smaller markets.

The pace of building newer and faster computers is outpacing several things:

1. Our government keeping up on more than one front. a) updating our OWN stuff with the latest equipment so that selling more stuff overseas won't be such a threat. b) with other nations ability to develop weapons. I am sure there is a c) d).. etc too.

In other words a 5 year old computer could aid in weapons development for the sole reason that the tech gap between the US and other countries is widening. Anything anyone has in the product line will help someone...

Trying to control every pocket calculator results in a big chaotic system where people drop the ball. That is when the controls don't work. Plus the idea that you can now buy 5 year old (former) "supercomputers" at a garage sale in Bangkok does not help prevent the bad guys from getting stuff.

The problem as criticised was that our government is not keeping up. They have 1990 export controls on 2002 product lines. Plus in a defense sense of the word they are not investing nearly enough in encryption development or whatever else there is.

Those foreign governments progress slowly. Our government progresses slowly too, and so far has drugg their feet on updating themselves. The only people not really sitting around doing 'little' in ways of new technology is the tech industry. In other words it seems like we have all this stuff laying around that no one uses yet.

What consoles me though is that at least Bush is coming to the realization that proliferation is going to happen and is taking pertinent measures. Missile Defense.

Keep in mind that just because someone has a computer does not mean they automatically can get a bomb or something.

You don't need to convince me that I don't want every freak on the block having these computers to make weapons. But what else are you going to do?

23 posted on 01/06/2002 6:33:51 AM PST by super175
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To: Black Jade; soccer8;
NMD sets Bush apart IMO from Clinton...
24 posted on 01/06/2002 6:37:47 AM PST by super175
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To: Black Jade
This sounds like the liberals saying that the oil companies had bought Bush. Well I guess they want their contributions back since oil prices keep going down.
25 posted on 01/06/2002 8:33:08 AM PST by weikel
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To: super175; Black Jade
Bump.
I agree with both of you. Currently, the government is not keeping up with new technology controls etc. and foreign governments, one way or another, have fairly easy access to otherwise restricted technology. Then again, as BJ indicated, I don't think its worth just giving up and making the acquasistion of potentially sensitive technology easy for 'strategic competators'. Lets face it, even if the technology is obsolete to the US, it can be a leap of 5-10 years to a 'low-tech' nation (especially when combined with critical espionage information). A five-ten year boost in missile/nuclear/weapons technology is significant to a nation playing 'catch-up.
If I remember correctly, there once was an international orgainsation (I believe its acronym was COCOM) comprised of the US and its allies which used to take on the regulation of sensitive technology at on the world level. Unfortunatley, the Clinton Admin. dismantled COCOM, forcing the US to act unilaterally in technology control (which, as indicated by super175, is quite easily circumvented).
It appears that Bush has chosen to just give up on some tech controls. I would have rather seen him try to reestablish COCOM or a similar organisation. Then again, it is likely that US allies (especially some European allies) would resist the re-establishment of such an organisation since their local companies make a good deal of money selling and outsourcing high tech stuff to the Chinese. Even Canada would probably resist given Nortel's investments in China...
26 posted on 01/06/2002 9:26:39 AM PST by batter
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To: Black Jade; soccer8; Hopalong
I hate to say it, but I think Sept 11 knocked the heck out of everyone sort of for the better. It drastically changed the security environment.

The push for NMD, the increase in intel funding, and alleviation of the 'post cold war; its ok' thinking is good.

Another difference between Bush and Clinton is that they were seperated by time, and overall security environments. Clinton was in an era where they were not funding intel nearly enough, there was no real push on NMD, and America was in an overall weaker position. In that overall environment making a decision about loosening export controls was definately not good, literally or politically. While Clinton may have won brownie points with the industries involved, he did not make his decisions in an overall environment. He had just one slice of the pie going and that was about it.

Bush on the other hand is retooling the whole focus of the military and pushing NMD. Then Sept 11 pushed everyone into giving more money to the intel community and forced everyone to invest in them. To be honest I feel a whole lot better about this in the new environment than I ever did in the old. Clinton was loosening controls, but at the same time not doing much in way of meeting threats.

While on the surface the decisions look the same, it is other things that make the difference.

27 posted on 01/06/2002 10:27:28 AM PST by super175
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To: OKCSubmariner
bump my posts and the relevant replies.

Give me your honest opinion.

28 posted on 01/06/2002 10:29:05 AM PST by super175
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To: Black Jade
"India, Pakistan, all of the Middle East, the countries of the former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam and parts of southeastern Europe"

Figure up 2% for each of the mentioned...

7 areas are mentioned and some areas do more than 2% of corporate revenue, but at an average of 2% that would amount to almost 15% of corporate revenues, and in reality probably a lot more.

Most big corps in this industry get about 40-50% of their revenue outside the USA. They are making money off of development...mostly legit development...

Then take into account that most, probably 98% of those computers are used to develop countries infrastructure, such as telecom, or whatever...

the vast majority have total legit uses... but yet those corporations are sick of waiting 180 days to sell one 3 year old computer... and lose out on those development projects....

29 posted on 01/06/2002 10:38:23 AM PST by super175
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To: Black Jade; soccer8; Hopalong
To blame it all on China is not really a smart thing to do.
30 posted on 01/06/2002 10:41:48 AM PST by super175
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To: Black Jade
The problem here is that lifting trade limits on enemy nations will only bring about more serious problems in the future. Not that they have not already started them here in the U.S. re jobs.
31 posted on 01/06/2002 6:59:34 PM PST by goldilucky
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Comment #32 Removed by Moderator

To: Black Jade; super175; all
I'm not blaming China, I'm blaming those in government and companies like Loral etc. who 'forget' that some technology can have a dual purpose.
The NMD thing is nice, as long as Boeing, and others mentioned in Black Jade's post do not undermine the NMD technology by selling/developing systems in China that can be used to get around a missile defense. NMD isn't a silver bullet (note: I'm not saying super175 believes it is) but it is another tool that can be used to weaken the CCP. Hopefully, the CCP will peacefully expire as indicated in the article below. One can only hope.

Here is another good read from super175, for those interested:
Jiang's heirs will bring about Cold War foe's vision

33 posted on 01/08/2002 1:04:34 PM PST by batter
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To: soccer8
Maybe we should not say 'weaken the CCP' because it might not do that. What it might do is keep their power in check to some extent. NMD alone is not enough.

You are right though, NMD is no silver bullet. I never said it was, but I do think it is a really good tool in the arsenal of a comprehensive policy.

34 posted on 01/08/2002 1:13:18 PM PST by super175
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To: super175
I do think it is a really good tool in the arsenal of a comprehensive policy.
Bump. That is exactly the way I feel.
35 posted on 01/08/2002 1:20:27 PM PST by batter
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To: soccer8
NMD might not weaken the CCP at all. What it might do is protect Asia from Chinese bad intentions.
36 posted on 01/08/2002 1:39:20 PM PST by super175
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Comment #37 Removed by Moderator


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