-Caveat Lector-
Senator Inhofe Blasts Clinton's 'Betrayal Of National Security' With China
The Clinton National Security Scandal and Coverup
Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Senate, June 23, 1999
"I fully realize that the majority of Americans will not
believe me. They have continued to believe our President even after he has
demonstrated over and over that he has no regard for the truth."
"The Cox Report has shed light on the fact that the Clinton
administration has actually helped China in its technology acquisition
efforts or made it easier for them to commit thefts and espionage."
Mr. President, I ask that you listen again. I am going to
pick up on the incredible but true story of the Clinton administration's
betrayal of national security and the scandalous coverup that continues as
we speak. In doing so, I fully realize that the majority of Americans will
not believe me. They have continued to believe our
President even after he has demonstrated over and over that he has no
regard for the truth.
Though you would never realize it by listening to the
national media or the Clinton spin doctors, the recently released Cox
Report has revealed a wealth of information on how the Clinton
administration has undermined national security to simultaneously pursue
its misguided foreign policies and self-serving domestic
political agendas.
On the one hand, there is the mind-boggling story of how
the Clinton administration deliberately changed almost 50 years of
bipartisan security policies--relaxing export restrictions, signing waivers
to allow technology transfers, ignoring China's violation of arms control
agreements, and its theft of our nuclear secrets, opening
up even more nuclear and high technology floodgates to China and
others--thus harming U.S. national security.
On the other hand, there is the continuing coverup--the
effort to hide from Congress and the American people the true damage that
has been done to national security and the Clinton administration's central
role in allowing so much of it to happen on their watch.
Over three months ago--on March 15--I spoke on this floor
about China's theft of the W-88 nuclear warhead. To remind you, this is the
crown jewel of our nuclear arsenal. It is the warhead that has 10 times the
explosive power of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima and yet just a
fraction its size. I spoke about how serious this was to our national
security--how it was a story with life and death implications for millions
of Americans.
I told how President Clinton was directly responsible for
downplaying the significance of and covering up this story. While the
information on the W-88 design--the crown jewel of our nuclear arsenal--was
stolen in the late 1980's, the theft was
first discovered in 1995 by this administration. So people remember, it was
the Chinese walk-in informant to the CIA that gave us all this information.
I told how it was this administration and this President who deliberately
covered up this vital information from
Congress and the American people and, at the same time, lulled our people
into a false sense of security by repeating the lie that there were no
nuclear missiles targeted at America's children.
At that time, I spoke of six proven incontrovertible
facts, and let me repeat them now:
1. President Clinton hosted over 100 campaign fundraisers
in the White House, many with Chinese connections.
2. President Clinton used John Huang, Charlie Trie, Johnny
Chung, James Riady, and others with strong Chinese ties to raise campaign
money.
3. President Clinton signed waivers to allow his top
campaign fundraiser's aerospace company to transfer U.S. missile guidance
technology to China.
4. President Clinton covered up the theft of our most
valuable nuclear weapons technology.
5. President Clinton lied to the American people over 130
times about our nation's security while he knew Chinese missiles were aimed
at American children.
6. President Clinton single-handedly stopped the
deployment of a national missile defense system, exposing every American
life to a missile attack, leaving America with no defense whatsoever
against an intercontinental ballistic missile.
On March 15, I began my speech by asking the American
people to listen as I told them 'a story of espionage, conspiracy,
deception, and cover-up--a story with life and death implications for
millions of Americans--a story about national security and a
President and an administration that deliberately chose to put national
security at risk, while telling the people everything was fine.'
In the three months since I made these statements, none
has been refuted.
Now, I come before you to tell some of the rest of the
story that we have learned since March 15. And it is a truly astounding
story. We thought the W-88 story was bad--and it is. But with the release
of the Cox Report last month, the American people have been presented with
documented evidence that the harm President Clinton has done to U.S.
national security is enormously worse than we thought.
On March 15, I said that, as damaging as the W-88 breach
was, I believed we had not yet scratched the surface of the national
security scandal exposed by this one revelation. I must say that I was
right--even beyond my own worst fears.
Let's not be distracted by the self-serving Clinton spin:
that everybody does it; that it all happened during previous
administrations; that this is only about security at
the nuclear weapons lab; that there is equal blame to go around on all
sides; that President Clinton acted quickly and properly when he found out;
and that the only problem is now being fixed.
I am here today to tell you that all of this is wrong. The
Clinton spin is nothing more than a dishonest smokescreen designed to
divert attention from the real issues. It is also, I believe, an attempt to
dissuade people from actually reading the Cox Report
and discovering for themselves that the Clinton spin is a snare, a
delusion, and a lie.
This is why I want to take some time to walk through some
of the more important revelations in the Cox Report and to remind my
colleagues that we have an obligation to tell the American people the
truth--the truth that the media is inexplicably
ignoring and that the President seems to hope the people will never find
out on their own.
First, let us begin with a simple fact: Sixteen of the 17
most significant major technology breaches revealed in the Cox Report were
first discovered after 1994. With the lone exception of the W-70 technology
that was discovered back in the 1970's
during the [Carter] administration, all the rest of them were discovered
since 1994. Again, that is when they had the individual who came into the
CIA and exposed all of those.
Let me repeat--sixteen of the 17 most significant major
technology breaches revealed in the Cox Report were first discovered during
the Clinton administration. Those who tell you otherwise are willfully
lying to you.
Second, of the remaining 16 technology breaches, one
definitely occurred during the Reagan administration--the W-88 Trident D-5.
Seven occurred sometime before 1995, though it is unclear exactly when. And
eight occurred--without question--during the Clinton administration.
Let's take a closer look at these. The seven that occurred
before 1995 included breaches of information on all of the currently
deployed nuclear warheads in the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile
arsenal: the W-56 Minuteman II; the W-62
Minuteman III; the W-76 Trident C-4; the W-78 Minuteman Mark 12A; and the
W-87 Peacekeeper. In addition, there was the breach of classified
information on reentry vehicles, the heat shield that protects warheads as
they reenter the Earth's atmosphere when delivered by long-range ballistic
missiles.
Let me repeat that all of these technology breaches were
first discovered in 1995. They were discovered when a Chinese 'walk-in'
agent actually approached the CIA at a location outside of China and handed
them a secret Chinese government document containing state-of-the-art
classified information about the W-88 and the other U.S.
nuclear warheads. We still don't know why he did this, but he did.
The Cox Report also tells us that the Energy Department
and FBI investigations of this matter have focused exclusively on the loss
of the W-88, which we know happened around 1988. There have been no
investigations undertaken about the loss of the other warheads, the timing
of whose loss cannot be as clearly pinned down.
Next, we move to the other eight major technology breaches
revealed in the Cox Report. All of these were not only first discovered
during the Clinton administration, they also happened during the Clinton
administration:
No. 1, the transfer of the so-called Legacy Codes
containing data on 50 years of U.S. nuclear weapons development including
over 1,000 nuclear tests;
No. 2, the sale and diversion to military purposes of
hundreds of high performance computers enabling China to enhance its
development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and advanced military
aviation equipment;
No. 3, the theft of nuclear warhead simulation technology
enhancing China's ability to perfect miniature nuclear warheads without
actual testing;
No. 4, the theft of advanced electromagnetic weapons
technology useful in the development of anti-satellite and anti-missile
systems;
No. 5, the transfer of missile nose cone technology
enabling China to substantially improve the reliability of its
intercontinental ballistic missiles;
No. 6, the transfer of missile guidance technology (by
President Clinton to China) enabling China to substantially improve the
accuracy of its ballistic missiles--these same missiles that are targeting
U.S. cities;
No. 7, the theft of space-based radar technology giving
China the ability to detect our previously undetectable submerged
submarines; and
No. 8, the theft of some other 'classified thermonuclear
weapons information' which 'the Clinton administration' (not the Cox
committee) 'has determined . . . cannot be made public.'
We used to think China was decades behind us in terms of
building a modern advanced nuclear arsenal. Now we learn that, later this
year, China is planning to test its new JL-2 long range ICBM, a submarine
launched ballistic missile with MIRV capability--meaning multiple
independently targeted warheads on each missile--almost a replica of our
Trident ICBM. This missile will have a range of over 13,000 kilometers and
could reach anywhere in the United States from protected Chinese waters.
In addition, we know that China has been helping North
Korea, among others, with weapons and technology. North Korea is also
expected to test its long range Taepo Dong II missile later this year.
I am reminded of something that happened last August when
I made a request to sort of see where we were and where North Korea was in
terms of a threat to the United States.
In a letter that I received from General Shelton, who was
depending on our intelligence system for his response, he said it would be
at least three years before the North Koreans would have a multiple-stage
rocket. That was August 24. Seven days
later, on August 31, they fired a multiple-stage rocket.
I remind my colleagues we have no defense against either
of these potential threats, because of the policy decisions of the Clinton
administration. Someone very smart back in 1983 determined that we would
need a national missile defense system in
place by Fiscal Year 98. We were on track to meet the deadline until 1993
when President Clinton, through his veto power, stopped this missile
defense system.
But as the Cox Report points out, nuclear espionage by
China is only one part of the problem. China's efforts to acquire U.S.
military related technology is pervasive. Operating through a maze of
government and quasi-government entities and front
companies, China has established a technology gathering network of immense
proportions.
The Congressman from Pennsylvania, Congressman Curt
Weldon, has done extensive research in putting this together, and other
charts to show exactly what capacity China has to collect our nuclear
secrets.
When there is time to look at it, it shows you operational
entities of the Chinese military in red, the Chinese military entities and
those in contact involving financial entities in green, and you have the
Chinese military front companies in blue.
You can see that this is well thought out. It took many
years to put it together to make it effective.
They are willing and able to trade, bribe, buy, or steal
to get U.S. advanced technology--all for the purpose of enhancing their
long-term military potential. Their success is often determined largely by
our willingness to make it easier for them
to get what they want.
The Cox Report has shed light on the fact that the Clinton
administration has actually helped China in its technology acquisition
efforts or made it easier for them to commit thefts and espionage. You know
the truth is always difficult and controversy
is difficult. It is easier to take polls and tell people what they want to
hear. But I have to make a decision--who do I love more--this President or
America.
I find that to be very easy in this case.
The following are just some of the things that the Clinton
administration has done. And I want to applaud Congressman Weldon for
helping to bring many of these things to light.
No. 1, in 1993, the Clinton administration removed the
color-coded security badges that had been used for years at Energy weapons
labs claiming they were 'discriminatory'--as if that makes any sense
whatsoever. Now just a few weeks ago, in the wake of all these revelations,
the Energy Department has reinstated the color-coded
badges.
But during the time that these thefts took place, they
were not able to wear these badges.
No. 2, in 1993, the Clinton administration put a hold on
doing FBI background checks for lab workers and visitors, an action which
helped to dramatically increase the number of people going to the labs who
would previously have not been allowed to have
access.
No. 3, in 1995, the Clinton administration took the
extraordinary action of overturning its own agency's decision to revoke the
security clearance of an employee found guilty of breaching classified
information. When this happened, it sent a
message to employees throughout the Department, that this administration
was not serious about countering breaches of classified information.
No. 4, the Clinton administration deliberately, and many
would say recklessly, declassified massive amounts of nuclear-related
information in what the Clinton administration touted as a new spirit of
openness.
No. 5., in the W-88 investigation, the Clinton
administration turned down four requests for wiretaps on a suspect who was
identified in 1996 and allowed to stay in his sensitive job until news
reports surfaced in 1999.
No. 6, in 1995, someone at the Department of Energy gave a
classified design diagram of the W-87 nuclear warhead to U.S. News & World
Report magazine which printed it in its July 31 issue that year.
Representative Curt Weldon is still trying
to get answers about how this leak was investigated and what was
determined. He has good reason to believe the investigation was quashed
because it was going to lead straight to President Clinton's Energy
Secretary.
No. 7, career whistle-blowers at the Department of Energy
who tried to warn of serious security breaches--including Notra Trulock,
the former Director of Intelligence for the Energy Department, and Ed
McCallum, the former Security and Safeguards
Chief--were thwarted for years by Clinton political appointees who refused
to let them brief Congress and others about what they knew. Trulock was
demoted but will now get to keep his job. McCallum appears to be on his way
to being scapegoated and perhaps fired for trying to tell the truth.
Members will remember we had extensive hearings. Notra
Trulock testified under oath that he thought that the theft of the W-88 was
so significant, he wanted to give it to Congress. He was refused being
allowed to do that by the then-Acting Secretary of the Energy Department.
No. 8, rejecting advice from his Secretaries of State and
Defense, President Clinton approved switching the licensing authority for
satellites and other technology from the State Department to the Commerce
Department, making it easier for China to
acquire U.S. missile technology.
No. 9, President Clinton granted waivers making it easier
for U.S. companies to transfer missile and satellite technology to China
during the launching of U.S. satellites on China's rockets.
No. 10, in 1994, President Clinton ended COCOM, the
Coordinating Committee on Multinational Export Control, the multinational
agreement among U.S. friends and allies that they would not sell certain
high-technology items to countries like China. When this happened, it
opened the commercial floodgates. Ever since, there has been a wild
scramble for competition to sell more and more advanced technology to
China. As a result, the proliferation has never been worse than it has been
in the last 6 years.
No. 11, in a series of decisions throughout his
Presidency--and many surrounding the 1996 election--Clinton has
consistently relaxed export and trade restrictions on various forms of high
technology of interest to China.
Again, I applaud Congressman Weldon who put this chart
together. This timeline was not put together because President Clinton
took office in 1993, but that is when all the compromises took place. This
timeline shows categories including machine tools, telecommunications,
propulsion. All were compromised, or as we normally say stolen.
No. 12, President Clinton has ignored or downplayed
numerous Chinese arms control violations by not imposing sanctions required
by law. While we are selling more and more high tech to China, China is
sending prohibited military technology to
countries such as Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya and Egypt.
What does the Clinton administration do? They do nothing.
What are the motives for all this? Why did the Clinton administration act
the way it did, with almost total disregard for any traditional concern for
U.S. national security?
The Cox Report did not answer these questions because it
was only concerned with the facts of the security breaches
themselves, not what was behind it.
But FBI Director Louis Freeh did assign one man to look
into this. His name was Charles LaBella, who became head of the Justice
Department's China Task Force. He and his investigators spent months
looking into the connections, trying to connect
the dots with campaign contributions, foreign influences and administration
actions. What he found is laid out in a 100-page memo he prepared for Janet
Reno. We know this memo argues in favor of the appointment of an
independent counsel to carry on the
investigation.
But the memo itself has remained secret, even through it
has been subpoenaed by Congress. Janet Reno, who rejected
its recommendation for an independent counsel, has refused to release the
memo to the Congress or to the public. It is time for that memo to be
released.
FBI Director Freeh has testified that the public knows
only about one percent of what the FBI knows about the Chinagate scandal.
It is time for the truth to come out. It is time for the public to get some
sense of the other 99 percent which is contained in the
LaBella memo.
Mr. President, over the last six years, President Clinton
and his administration have shown a pervasive disregard for national
security. In both actions and inactions, this President has broken ranks
with the bipartisan consensus about national
security that helped us win the cold war.
His policies and attitudes--towards export controls,
nuclear weapons, militarily important high technology, and dealing with our
adversaries in the world--have been strikingly different from those of all
of his predecessors in the modern era.
His administration has acted as if the end of the cold war
gave them carte blanche license to open the commercial and technology
floodgates to countries like china simply because it was good for business,
or good for getting campaign contributions, or good for other domestic
political reasons.
The traditional concern about national security--about
protecting our nuclear secrets, about maintaining our
military and technological superiority, about sanctioning those in the
world who engaged in flagrant and hostile espionage and proliferation--all
that went out the window, replaced by other priorities this President
somehow thought were more important.
President Clinton claims he has 'redefined' national
security. In fact--as the Cox Report conclusively documents--he has
'harmed' national security. This is the message that every American must
understand.
My hope is that we never again have a President who is so
disrespectful of, and inattentive to, traditional national security
concerns.
Yesterday at the joint hearing of the Armed Services,
Energy and Intelligence Committees, I asked whether or not it would be
possible to put in place some safeguards so that no future President could
ever again so successfully undo the country's national security defenses as
this President has. We are working on an
answer.
Some of us will continue to speak, out--seeing it as our
highest duty of public service. As I said on March 15--and repeat again
here today--I only hope America is listening. We have a nation to save.
The truth will get out. Winston Churchill said:
"Truth is incontrovertible: Panic may resent it, ignorance
may deride it, malice may destroy it, but there it is."
I yield back the remainder of my time.
_________________
Published in the Jun. 28, 1999 issue of The Washington
Weekly.
Copyright © 1999 The Washington Weekly
(<http://www.federal.com/http://www.federal.com).
Reposting permitted with this message intact.
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