Opening the GateWider
Bt David Ruppe
ABC News
A little-noticed White House regulation change urged by Silicon
Valley will allow the Chinese military to buy some of the most
powerful U.S. computers without a government license or security
review.
The move, announced by President Clinton on Aug. 3 and applauded
by Vice President Al Gore, is drawing fire from security experts
who say the computers could help foreign militaries develop
nuclear weapons more quickly, and from a congressman who charges
the White House is compromising national security for political
profit.
The new regulations, scheduled to take effect in February, will
relax U.S. government oversight on exports of ultra-powerful
high-performance computers, or HPCs, to nearly all countries
around the globe.
Security experts are particularly worried because the regulations
reduce special oversight on computer exports to the the
militaries of approximately 50 nations the United States has
designated security concerns, including China, Russia, Pakistan
and India, so-called Tier III countries.
Under the new rules, militaries in those countries would be
allowed to buy, without a U.S. government license and 10-day
multi-agency security review, systems with processing speeds as
fast as 28,000 million theoretical operations per second (MTOPS),
made by manufacturers like IBM, Silicon Graphics and Cray Inc.
A joint Commerce-Defense Department study has found nuclear
blasts can be simulated with computers between 10,457 and 21,125
MTOPS.
The average desktop computer might measure around 1,000 MTOPS.
In its Aug. 3 announcement, the White House said the new
regulations �promote national security� while they �ease
unnecessary regulatory burdens on both government and industry.�
Industry Advocacy
The new regulations are the fifth and most aggressive relaxation
of national security controls on high-performance computer
exports since Clinton took office in 1993. Like changes before,
they were made at the urging of America�s top computer companies
� specifically, the chief executive officers of IBM Corp., Unisys
Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co. and NCR Corp., at a June 8 meeting
with Clinton administration officials.
The CEOs left that meeting �very encouraged,� according to a
statement from the Computer Coalition for Responsible Exports, an
organization representing the industry.
Following Clinton�s announcement, Unisys CEO and CCRE Co-Chair
Lawrence Weinbach congratulated the administration. �The
president�s decision makes U.S. computer manufacturers more
competitive in the worldwide marketplace.�
Democratic presidential candidate Gore issued a statement also
applauding the decision, saying it would �increase the ability of
U.S. high-tech companies to compete and win in global markets.�
Silicon Valley Support
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., a frequent critic of the
administration�s technology export policies, believes the changes
are a reckless move to bolster campaign support from America�s
prosperous computer sector.
�It�s another example of this administration�s wanton efforts to
not worry about our security because they�re more concerned about
favoring companies and enterprises, in this case involving China,
which will benefit from this technology,� he says.
�None of it�s justified strategically,� says Peter Leitner, a
strategic trade adviser at the Department of Defense, who has
been critical in the past of administration and Pentagon
technology export policies. �They�re in the pocket of Silicon
Valley and they�re trying to do whatever they can to get whatever
they can out the door before they leave office.�
America�s computer manufacturers must be happy with something the
administration has been doing. The computer equipment and
services industry has been the fourth largest contributing
business sector to the Democratic National Committee this
election cycle, donating $3.2 million from Jan. 1, 1999, to July
1, 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The industry contributed $1.9 million to the Republican National
Committee, making it the ninth largest contributor during that
period, according to the center.
That time frame, it turns out, coincides with some of the
administration�s most radical decontrols.
In January this year, the computing performance level requiring a
license and security review for Tier III militaries was increased
by the White House from 2,000 to 6,500 MTOPS. This month, it was
raised again to 12,500. The latest decontrol will raise the
limit to 28,000.
�Only a short time ago the Chinese were having trouble getting
licenses for computers over 3,000 or 4,000 for military
applications,� says Gary Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin
Project on Nuclear Arms Control.
�If this were to happen 20 or 30 years ago, presidential
candidates or incumbents would have to do what Richard Nixon did,
which was resign in shame. Today, it�s more or less anything
goes, and it�s outrageous,� says Weldon.
Security Concerns
Milhollin and other security experts are concerned it will become
easier for countries of concern to purchase advanced computers
they can use to more quickly and secretly develop and test
nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other arms.
Previous government licensing reviews, according to Milhollin,
blocked Digital Equipment Corp. from selling a high-performance
computer to China�s Harbin Institute of Technology, which makes
components for China�s long-range nuclear missiles, and an IBM
deal with China�s Northwest Polytechnical University, which
develops engines and guidance systems for large rockets.
Advanced high-performance computers can help China more quickly
develop miniaturized nuclear warheads that will fit on cruise
missiles or can be grouped on larger missiles, says Steven Bryen,
a former director of the Pentagon�s technology control office.
�No one would argue that if you didn�t sell them a supercomputer
they wouldn�t eventually be able to do it,� he says, �but
high-performance computers will allow them to do so much
quicker.�
More capable computers also could help countries more quickly
develop techniques for foiling a future anti-ballistic missile
system, says Leitner, who has testified several times on Capitol
Hill against the administration�s export policies.
�Here [the administration is] trying to prematurely push a
National Missile Defense system. And they�re concerned that
other guy might develop better warheads with decoys and be able
to simulate what we�re going to do,� says Leitner. �So why the
hell are we giving them the computer horsepower to do that?�
Uncontrollable?
The White House and computer industry representatives justify
reducing the oversight not because security concerns have
changed, but rather, by arguing hardware up to 28,000 MTOPS will
soon be available commercially and therefore become too
widespread to be controllable.
The new threshold represents �a realistic and enforceable control
level,� said the White House statement, in light of �advances in
basic computing technologies, and the problems inherent in trying
to control commodity level items the administration has
determined that widespread commercial availability.�
CCRE Co-Chair Daniel Hoydysh told a congressional committee in
May the U.S. company Intel will soon be selling commercially a
powerful new microprocessor, the Itanium, four of which can be
linked to make a 23,700 MTOPS Internet business computer.
�At least five foreign firms [NEC, Siemens, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and
Bull] have already indicated that they intend to market computer
systems with the Itanium,� he said.
Controllable?
Congress�s nonpartisan watchdog agency, the General Accounting
Office, says the White House has made its judgments about
widespread availability based on industry projections, not on
actual sales.
Furthermore, GAO Associate Director Harold Johnson noted at the
May congressional hearing those projections were based on
expected sales of U.S. computer technology � the very technology
that would be controlled if the export regulations remained
unchanged.
�It sounds to me like a self-fulfilling prophecy,� said Sen.
Fred Thompson, R-Tenn, chairman of the Senate Government Affairs
Committe.
Raising further question about the White House�s judgment of
uncontrollability, Johnson noted U.S. companies and their
subsidiaries are the main sources of supply for the most advanced
high-performance computer technology around the world.
The GAO also concluded the administration has not presented a
good analysis on how its new regulations might affect U.S.
national security.
�The executive branch has not clearly articulated the specific
national security interests to be protected in controlling the
export of computers at various performance levels, nor has it
stated how countries of military concern could benefit from using
such computers,� said Johnson.
The relaxed restrictions will promote security, the White House
asserts, because they would free up more government resources to
stop proliferation of other technologies and because more money
for U.S. computer companies would mean a stronger tech sector.
�The administration�s policy also recognizes the importance to
our national security of maintaining a strong and vibrant
industrial and technology base,� said Gore.
A Problem With Definition
Nearly all agree � the administration and its critics alike �
that U.S. computer export regulations need to be tailored to
distinguish between desktops, systems designed for business, and
other parallel processors that could be used for military
purposes.
The MTOPS criteria currently used applies to all computers. So,
when an MTOPS limit is raised ostensibly to allow sales of new
desktop or business computers, the higher threshold also makes
available systems that could be used to design advanced aircraft
or nuclear weapons.
Complicating the challenge, however, is the fact that systems
designed for business can be used for military work.
The administration has for some time been considering tailoring
the regulations to reflect distinctions between the different
capabilities of computers.
�That�s still an open question,� says Eugene Cottilli, a
spokesman for the Commerce Department�s Bureau of Export
Administration, responsible for controlling HPC exports.
In the mean time, Milhollin says higher MTOPS levels will allow
Tier III militaries to access the most advanced computer systems
that can help them design and test weapons.
�It means the Chinese military can advance cheaper, faster and
better with U.S. equipment.�
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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