-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Espionage Israel Suspected of Transferring US Laser Weapon Data to China Pollard was just par for the course The Defense Intelligence Agency suspects Israel shared with China restricted U.S. weapons technology obtained during a joint U.S.-Israeli effort to build a battlefield laser gun, The Washington Times has learned. Israeli government agents also have tried for the past two years to obtain embargoed weapons know-how from U.S. defense contractors involved in the Tactical High-Energy Laser (THEL) program, said officials familiar with a Pentagon intelligence report on the issue. The report said officials of the Israeli government armament agency Rafael obtained some restricted technology from a U.S. defense contractor involved in the program in 1996. The unauthorized transfers prompted TRW Space and Electronics Group, the main contractor for the program, to halt further data transfers to the Israelis. DIA suspicions about the technology leakage are based on reports from U.S. contractor employees in Israel who spotted Chinese technicians working secretly with one of the Israeli companies involved in the laser weapon program, and also from a Chinese official who knew details about it, said the officials who declined to be named. "If the Chinese are seeking this technology in Israel, it's another episode in their worldwide effort to purloin Western technology," said Gary Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. The $131 million joint laser weapon program was launched in 1996 in an effort to rapidly build a weapon to knock out Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah guerrillas based in southern Lebanon. The system consists of a pointer-tracker, a laser, and a battle management system. It is being developed by TRW, two other U.S. contractors -- Ball Aerospace & Technology and Contraves Brashear Systems -- along with four Israeli firms. Israel expects to field the first anti-rocket laser unit later this year in northern Israel. As part of a memorandum signed by officials from both countries in July 1996, the lasers are supposed to have built-in software limiting their range. The system is designed for knocking out 122mm Katyusha rockets, which have ranges of several miles, and mortar and artillery. The agreement also restricts transferring the technology to other countries. The Israelis have been trying to obtain the source codes for the laser's target selection computer software to increase its range so the weapons can be used to knock out other targets such as short-range missiles or aircraft. The DIA said if Israel obtains the embargoed software coding used to target the laser gun, it could "fire at targets other than those permitted by the Memorandum of Agreement with Washington," and it would allow "a controlled technology to proliferate." "Acquiring and modifying the source codes would help Tel Aviv overcome the mission-limiting U.S. engineering built into the THEL system," the report said. Some DIA officials were alarmed by several reports that Chinese weapons technicians are working secretly at an Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) plant involved in the laser gun program. IAI is working on the THEL system's radar, fire control assemblies and sensors for its pointer-tracker. According to DIA, Chinese officials were seen at the IAI Systems and Space Technology Division facility outside Tel Aviv twice between July and October 1997. The U.S. employees were told the "Chinese presence" was supposed to be kept secret from the United States. On a third occasion, the U.S. workers at the plant were "rushed" out of the IAI plant after seeing Chinese workers there, the report said. The report stated that Israeli Aircraft Industries in the past offered transfers of restricted weapons technology to foreign customers in an effort to conclude weapons deals. "IAI has transferred technology to China, possibly including U.S.-supplied technology," the report said. The DIA said it could not confirm that Chinese officials at the Israeli factory were working on lasers. But the agency said its suspicions were bolstered by a Chinese scientist who had revealed details about the THEL system and asked for more information about the weapon, once called Nautilus, during an international symposium on lasers. "Beijing is working on high-energy deuterium fluoride lasers most likely for weapons applications and has acquired technology in this area from Russia," the report said. Spokesman for TRW, Ball Aerospace and Contraves Brashear referred calls to the U.S. Army Missile and Space Command in Alabama, which had no immediate comment. A spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy also had no comment. Officials said the reference to earlier leaks of U.S. technology from Israel to China involved Beijing's acquisition of U.S. Patriot anti-missile interceptor technology in 1992. The Bush administration investigated whether Israel illegally transferred Patriot know-how, a probe first disclosed by The Times. The investigation failed to confirm intelligence reports indicating one of Washington's closest allies had shared sensitive weapons data with China. CIA Director Robert Gates said in 1993 that China had acquired the Patriot technology, but government officials were divided over whether Israel had secretly supplied it. Regarding recent efforts to acquire restricted THEL software, the DIA said that after Rafael was denied access to the source codes, the Israeli representatives demanded further software transfers from the U.S. subcontractor, and also tried to "pressure" TRW into having the State Department grant an export license, the report said. The Israeli program manager and an electronics engineer also tried to illegally obtain software codes and details on the THEL computer controller, according to the DIA. In a third case, an Israeli Defense Ministry consultant tried to acquire "tracking algorithms" used in the radar focal plane array used by the laser gun's pointer-tracker. Initial requests for the source code were made on May 1, 1997, and after the request was flatly denied, the consultant set up a meeting with TRW official and again demanded the codes for the weapon's software. "I have no comment on intelligence matters," Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said. A spokesman for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Ala., said he was unaware of the Israeli efforts to obtain embargoed THEL technology or the improper release of data. The Washington Times, Jan. 27, 1999 Impeached POTUS Vote for Witnesses Brings Clinton's Nightmare Nearer "Monica stalked me, threatened me if I didn't have sex with her" THE Senate voted yesterday to call witnesses and quashed a motion to dismiss the impeachment case against Bill Clinton. The President's recurrent nightmare - that Monica Lewinsky, his former lover, would appear on television and recount their alleged lies under oath and obstruction of justice - thus moved to the brink of reality. But the loss of the motion to dismiss by 44 to 56 was a significant victory for Mr Clinton in one way. It signalled that 44 Democrats intended to acquit him irrespective of what the witnesses may say. It takes a two-thirds majority to convict in impeachment trials, so Mr Clinton needs only 34 votes to stay in office. The vote for witnesses was similarly passed by a 56-44 margin. Both votes were largely along party lines, with just one Democratic defector, Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. The trial then went into recess with Republicans pushing a plan to end the trial by next Saturday, Feb 6, whether or not witness depositions lead to live testimony in the well of the Senate. Yesterday's decision was to allow depositions only from Miss Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan, the President's friend who she says told her to destroy evidence of her Oval Office affair, and Sidney Blumenthal, who says Mr Clinton depicted the young woman as a "stalker" who threatened malicious scandal if he refused to have sex with her. It would take another vote, on Tuesday if the Republican plan was accepted, to bring witnesses into the Senate - a move that would command a massive television audience and, Mr Clinton fears, perhaps at last turn public opinion against him. Trent Lott, the Republican majority leader, wants to limit depositions to six hours per witness, three hours each for prosecution and defence. Miss Lewinsky, Mr Jordan and Mr Blumenthal would be interrogated between now and Monday, when their testimony would be released to senators. The depositions may be videotaped and broadcast, as was Mr Clinton's grand jury testimony. The White House condemned the proposal, saying: "This is like blindfolding us". Joe Lockhart, the President's chief spokesman, added that Mr Clinton's legal team must be given plenty of time to prepare for the depositions, otherwise the Senate would be tarnished as "fundamentally unfair", just as last month's House of Representatives' impeachment was. Mr Clinton's team has threatened that it would tie up Congress for months if witnesses were called but the Senate can impose its own timetable. Besides, say many Republicans, the White House is bluffing because there are no fact witnesses who could support Mr Clinton's claims of innocence, so the President is unlikely to call any. Republicans have a shaky 55-45 majority, and it could crumble. Mr Clinton would benefit from an ugly row in the Senate which would demonstrate the partisan nature of the process. Republicans have given ground all the way through to avoid arguments and lend legitimacy to the impeachment and trial. To lure the Democrats into an agreed "bipartisan" exit strategy, the Republicans increasingly support a plan to hold two pairs of votes at the end of the trial. The first pair would decide whether Mr Clinton committed the crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice, and the second whether he should be removed from office for either of them. Guilt without removal is seen by many as unconstitutional. Democrat leaders currently oppose it because it might encourage some in their party to join Republicans in stamping guilt on the Democratic president, knowing it would not trigger the "nuclear option" of removal. Republicans counter that it would also prompt many Republicans to join Democrats and vote to keep Mr Clinton in the White House, as desired by two-thirds of the public. The London Telegraph, Jan. 28, 1999 Impeached POTUS Taking Clinton Down, One Step at a Time by Dick Morris The impeachment snowball isn't in meltdown, it's rolling down Capitol Hill, gaining heft with each rotation. If you believe the three witnesses the Senate will vote to depose - Lewinsky, Jordan and Blumenthal - are the end of the process ... Then you must be one of those who thought that Kenneth Starr would never recommend impeachment ... Or that the Judiciary Committee would never recommend impeachment ... Or that the House would never vote impeachment ... Or that the Senate would dismiss the charges before the trial started ... Or that the Senate would dismiss after opening statements ... Or that the Senate would never depose witnesses ... The deposition of witnesses is merely the next step in a process that, inevitably, will go the distance, with each step justifying the previous one until a full trial has run its course. The depositions will likely lead to live testimony and then to more witnesses and more testimony. Will the president's solid phalanx of support crack? That depends on two people: Webb Hubbell and Betty Currie. Webb and Susan Hubbell were indicted by Kenneth Starr on tax-evasion charges, but their indictments were thrown out by a Democratic district court judge. Yesterday, the circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the indictments. Kenneth Starr doesn't much care about the level of IRS tax collections. He indicted the Hubbells to get Webb to talk about the jobs Clinton and his friends got him to shut him up and stop him from spilling what he knew about Whitewater. Webb will take the pressure. Susan likely won't and then Webb may not stand up either. If the impeachment process goes on for a few more weeks, Starr can pressure the Hubbells and might adduce enough evidence of Clinton's generic patterns of obstruction of justice to make the Senate take notice. Betty Currie says Monica Lewinsky asked for her to pick up the gifts. Lewinsky says Currie asked her and says she spoke with Currie three times on the day she gave Currie the gifts. If Lewinsky asked Currie to pick up the gifts, she might have done so on her own. But if Currie was the one who called Lewinsky, it is very, very, very unlikely that she did so on her own. If Starr uses Lewinsky's testimony to threaten Curry, she might have more to say about what Clinton did or did not tell her to do about the gifts. So the job of the Senate Republicans and the House managers is to take each step knowing that each one makes the next one more likely. As they buy time, Starr can increase the pressure. That's the only way Clinton will leave office early. The New York Post, Jan. 27, 1999 Financial Crisis in Japan Secret Bond Deals Help Japanese Banks Hide Loses Laundered Losses: make money on Japanese governments, lose on other bonds Japanese financial institutions are carrying out unorthodox and secretive securities trades to hide recent losses in Japanese government bond markets. In particular, some banks have been pretending to "sell" JGBs at artificially high prices to large Tokyo brokers, in exchange for other, low quality bonds "bought" at artificially low [should read "high" not "low"--Orlin] prices. The deal allows investors to conceal losses temporarily because although JGB losses need to be regularly reported under Japanese accounting rules, losses on other securities, such as local government bonds, do not. The brokers conducting these deals for their clients insist they are not illegal because the Japanese Securities Dealers' Association, the industry body, changed its trading regulations last month, abolishing the rule that all bond trades need to be conducted within 2 per cent of the market price. However, officials at the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Japan admit that the rule change could encourage banks to conduct a form of tobashi, the traditional Japanese practice of shuffling losses between accounts. Western banks also believe the unorthodox trades would breach global compliance standards. As a result, several have refused to conduct them, even though they have been under huge pressure from Japanese clients. William Campbell, head of research at JP Morgan, says: "This [change in the rule] is very, very disappointing - it is a big step back." The JSDA denies that December's rule change was intended to conceal losses. "I do not think the rule change led to an increase in tobashi. It may have allowed those engaged in the practice to do it on a larger scale," says an official. Many Japanese banks and life assurance companies are struggling to meet capital adequacy and solvency standards at the end of the fiscal year in March. The state of their bond portfolios has recently become critical, since many suffered large losses when 10-year JGB yields more than doubled to 2 per cent in December. The biggest losses are believed to have occurred on 10-year JGBs issued with a 0.9 per cent coupon in the autumn. However, large Japanese brokers are now "buying" these JGBs from investors at around the par price of 100, even though the actual market price has fallen to around 88. In exchange, the brokers are "selling" cheap bonds, such as municipal bonds, at inflated prices. The practice has reduced the "spread" between JGBs and municipal bonds from around 20 basis points to 10 basis points since December. One senior official at a large brokerage house said: "It may be legal but it feels as though we're helping these companies doctor their books - it doesn't feel right." The Financial Times, Jan. 27, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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