-Caveat Lector-
TOP POLITICAL STORY
GOP candidates denounce Clinton for 'security lapses'
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By Donald Lambro
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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<Picture: T>he Republican candidates for the 2000 presidential nomination
accused President Clinton yesterday of endangering America's national
security by failing to take steps to prevent China from stealing U.S. nuclear
technology.
In a blizzard of statements reacting to the Cox report's disclosures
that China has obtained valuable nuclear-missile information, the candidates
blamed Mr. Clinton for the administration's lax security at the Energy
Department's Los Alamos, N.M., nuclear labs.
They also made it clear by their responses that the security issues
raised in the report of the bipartisan panel headed by Rep. Chris Cox,
California Republican, will be at the top of their agendas in the 2000
presidential campaign.
"It is very alarming that these serious allegations of spying activities
were known for some time and compromised our national security, yet the
Justice Department refused to investigate them," said Sen. John McCain,
Arizona Republican.
He said "too little action was taken too late by the administration,
resulting in the fact that the Chinese may have been able to build nuclear
weapons comparable to ours."
Mr. McCain said the administration was to blame for a "complete failure
to effectively bring these breaches of security to a halt."
"Questions will be asked why, in the face of overwhelming evidence that
these operations were taking place, didn't the Justice Department and this
administration do more to stop it?" he said. "The public deserves a swift and
honest response."
"Every American should be outraged by the security lapses at our
national laboratories and the subsequent failure of the Clinton-Gore
administration to deal with this breach," said Elizabeth Dole, another GOP
contender for the White House.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the front-runner for the GOP presidential
nomination, likewise attacked Mr. Clinton for not taking action to halt the
theft of information even after the administration was aware of the problem.
"Presented with detailed information about China's espionage, this
administration apparently did not take it seriously, did not react properly
and it is still trying to minimize the scope and extent of the damage done,"
Mr. Bush said as he called for a full-scale congressional investigation.
Mr. Bush acknowledged that China's espionage has been going on for
years, including during the administration of his father, former President
George Bush, but he said that did not excuse Mr. Clinton from his
responsibility to keep strategic military secrets out of the hands of
America's adversaries.
"It's unfortunate that China has been stealing secrets during Carter,
Reagan, Bush and Clinton. But there is only one administration that has been
given the news. Only one administration knew -- and that's the Clinton
administration. The interesting question is, when did they know?"
Mr. Bush also called for "a full and serious review of export controls"
to prevent further U.S. technology from helping China militarily.
Magazine magnate Steve Forbes said the spying went unheeded because of
what he called the administration's "hear no evil, see no evil and speak no
evil" policy toward China, which "has deeply wounded the U.S.'s ability to
defend itself."
Mr. Forbes called for suspending all U.S. armed forces cooperation with
the Chinese military, slapping "stiff sanctions" on People's Liberation Army
companies doing business in the U.S., fully funding a missile-defense system,
and rejecting China's membership in the World Trade Organization.
"This is going to be a big issue in next year's campaign," said another
GOP candidate, Gary Bauer, who has made U.S. relations with China a major
issue in his presidential bid.
"I've been in eight states in the last couple of days, and the anger
level over this is unbelievable," Mr. Bauer said. "When I say we are likely
to give China most-favored trading status, there are boos in the audience."
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