Congressional investigators confronted Clinton administration officials last week with the latest information from SOFTWAR. House and Senate investigators want to know why the U.S. and China continue to operate joint signals (SIGINT) intercept bases inside the People's Republic of China. The joint CIA/PLA bases are located at Korla and Qitai in the western province Xinjiang. The bases were established in 1978, during the height of the Cold war. In response, Clinton administration Defense Dept. officials refused to answer questions about the joint CIA/Chinese Army bases. At one point, Clinton officials refused to answer any questions on joint U.S./Sino military operations. "We are going to have to call them in on the carpet," stated one frustrated Congressional investigator. "We certainly need to know about Korla and Qitai. The Chinese Army is setting up a SIGINT base with the Cubans to monitor U.S. military forces 90 miles from Florida. Just how much of that new PLA base is 'made in the U.S.A'?" One Congressional source told this reporter that the two CIA/PLA bases at Korla and Qitai are of little use today. "Some years ago, I asked about the quality of the stuff coming from there and was told, 'C+ at best'", stated the source, a top Hill investigator and a China specialist. "My guess is that it is even lower, now. Again, as I recall (former Defense Secretary) Perry and (PLA General) Ding set it up in the late 70's, maybe 1980... I get the impression we continue the program for political reasons with China, not any real military reasons at this point." The joint CIA/PLA SIGINT bases are also reported to be part of the National Security Agency (NSA) chain of stations linked to the "ECHELON" system. ECHELON is a giant NSA network of intercept posts, satellites and super-computers intended to monitor communications and signals on a world-wide scale. ECHELON is also plugged into various monitoring systems, each with individual code names such as "MAYFLY". Whether the Chinese receive information from the ECHELON system is no longer in question. The inclusion of red China into the ECHELON system raises serious concerns that Clinton has a secret deal with communist China to share global communications intelligence. The secret deal is reported to include CIA training inside the United States and equipment. The bases at Korla and Qitai are jointly manned by NSA and Chinese Army personnel. Representative Bob Barr (R-GA), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, recently participated in a panel discussion that centered on Project ECHELON. According to Barr, ECHELON began in the 1980s, and is controlled largely by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) in coordination with at least four other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. "Anyone who cares about protecting privacy rights of American citizens should repeatedly contact Members of Congress, the news media, and the Administration. We must demand the government account for its surveillance activities, including Project ECHELON, and take steps to ensure the privacy of electronic communications," said Barr. ================================================================ source documents - http://www.softwar.net/korla.html ================================================================ 1 if by land, 2 if by sea. Paul Revere - encryption 1775 Charles R. Smith SOFTWAR http://www.softwar.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pcyphered SIGNATURE: 556703788D935BA8AFA6D033715988A3FB31E37590A76295619963D5A751428E 46E7290D4AC2F7069FCCC2042F28EE52206676986C160EA85B57026A4971E78C D1F2EAC8BD31EC3C ================================================================ SOFTWAR EMAIL NEWSLETTER 05/10/99 *** to unsubscribe reply with "unsubscribe" as subject *** ================================================================
