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China Acquires Missile Technology Charles R. Smith The summer of 2006 was filled with missile news. North Korea fired a volley of missiles right after Independence Day, followed by its first ever nuclear weapons test. Now the fireworks of 2007 may turn out to be even more exciting. May has been the month of missiles. Satellite photos of a North Korea parade show that Kim Jung Il has been a busy dictator. The termite kingdom put an upgraded version of a 1960s Russian ballistic missile, the SSN-6, NATO codename "SERB," on display. The 14-ton missile, which uses a storable liquid fuel, first entered service in 1968 on Russian ballistic missile submarines. The North Korea version is slightly modified with the addition of a second stage, which boosts the range of this missile to 3,000 miles. The new storable fuel also allows the North Korean army to move the missiles from site to site and fire them rapidly. The missile's extended range has brought new concerns inside Tokyo and Washington because North Korea can now target U.S. bases on Okinawa, including the all-important Kadena airbase. North Korea is well aware that U.S. aircraft based at Kadena can respond to any crisis in the region. USAF B-2 stealth bombers and F-22 stealth fighters have recently been deployed to Kadena.
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Ironically, the Clinton administration provided North Korea with detailed satellite photos of the air base at Kadena during the 1990s as part of an "earth resources" deal with China. U.S. Dept. of Commerce documents show the Chinese satellite "remote Sensing Center" was supplied with "world class remote sensing data acquisition, processing, archive and distribution" equipment. The state-of-the-art satellite equipment was provided by Hughes Corp.
According to a 1997 Commerce Dept. report, the Clinton administration gave the Chinese "fine images of rural China and Beijing as well as Siberian port cities, Seoul, and Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa." According to the same 1997 document, Commerce officials "were told that two North Koreans visited the station some time ago but did not buy any (satellite) imagery. The North Koreans do not have any significant earth resources satellite utilization capability." There are indications that Kim Jung Il will test his new rocket sometime this summer. Japan has already witnessed a North Korean Tae Po Dong missile wing its way over the most populated islands in 1998. The new missile does not have the range of the Tae Po Dong, but any test is likely to pass over Japan and land in the Pacific Ocean. China, not to be outdone by their North Korean comrades, has issued a nose cone load of new missile news. First, the U.S. Defense Department has determined the Chinese anti-satellite test was carried out by a newly developed mobile missile system.
The Chinese anti-satellite missile destroyed an aging weather satellite over 500 miles up. The missile that carried the space weapon is a modified Dong Feng 21 (DF-21) medium-range rocket. U.S. satellite data indicated that the Chinese used a wheeled "mobile" launching system to destroy the target in space. The mobile capability of the modified DF-21 missile launcher raises new concerns about the Chinese army intentions to hide these weapons and deploy them as needed in various firing spots. The size and price of the system also indicates that Beijing may market the mobile Anti-satellite missile to its best customers such as Pakistan, Iran or North Korea. China has also revealed the first tantalizing images of its Dong Feng 31 (DF-31) long range ballistic missile. The images released by Beijing show the DF-31 in flight during an early 1990s test launch. Previous images have only shown the missile housed inside its launch canister during parades. The missile can carry thermonuclear warheads and has the range to reach the West Coast of America. The DF-31 is reported to be armed with a single one megaton (one million tons of TNT) H-bomb that could level any major U.S. city, including Los Angeles or San Francisco.
U.S. intelligence information obtained during other DF-31 test flights showed the missile can also carry up to three independently targeted warheads. The DF-31 is also a mobile missile, carried by a large multi-wheeled truck that can deploy it to prepared launch sites. Again, ironically, much of what makes the DF-31 so dangerous was provided to Beijing by the Clinton administration. In 1996 President Clinton personally signed an executive order releasing a wide variety of space and missile technology for export to China. Much of that technology is now serving the Chinese military onboard the DF-31 missile. The 1996 Clinton executive order was supported by the CEOs of Lockheed, Loral, and Hughes, and it allowed China to purchase sophisticated electronics, guidance and control systems for its military missiles. According to a Hughes document sent in March 1995 to Clinton national security advisor Anthony Lake, space technology "has no military significance." The Hughes document concluded control over the export of a wide range of advanced U.S. satellite technology should be moved to the Commerce Department. The U.S. technology sent by Clinton to China included the entire list of items sought by Hughes; anti-jamming capability, advanced antennas, crosslinks, baseband processing, encryption devices, radiation hardening, and perigee kick motors. In fact, the CEOs of Hughes, Loral, and Lockheed co-wrote a letter to Bill Clinton in October 1995, expressing their desire for the president to "transfer all responsibility for commercial satellite export licensing to the Commerce Department." The 1995 letter, signed by C. Michael Armstrong of Hughes, Bernard Schwartz of Loral and Daniel Tellep of Lockheed, states that "we understand you many soon be issuing an Executive Order intended to make further improvements to the process for reviewing export license applications. "During a recent meeting involving Vice President Gore and representatives of the satellite industry discussing national/global information infrastructure, this was one of several issues raised. We clearly appreciate your administration's strong commitment to reforming the U.S. export control system, but we respectfully request your personal support for establishing the Commerce Department's jurisdiction over the export of all commercial communications satellites," states the letter from the three CEOs. Hughes, Loral, and Lockheed all later paid massive fines for illegal exports of advanced missile technology to China. Hughes paid the largest fine after being charged with 123 counts of national security violations. Loral eventually had to declare bankruptcy in part due to the China-gate scandal. Today, Loral's CEO, Bernard Schwartz, continues to make massive donations to the Democratic Party and its associated 527 liberal advocacy groups. Schwartz has donated nearly $4 million to the DNC and to various presidential hopefuls including Hillary Clinton. Schwartz has a long donation history with the Clintons. In a September 1994 memo to the President Clinton, Harold Ickes, then White House chief of staff, informed him that Schwartz could be used to raise campaign donations "in order to raise an additional $3,000,000 to permit the Democratic National Committee to produce and air generic TV/radio spots as soon as Congress adjourns." Ickes then urged Clinton to invite Schwartz to the White House "to impress [him] with the need to raise $3,000,000 within the next two weeks." In another memo, Ickes informed Clinton that Schwartz "is prepared to do anything he can for the administration." Immediately after the donations, Clinton authorized Schwartz to meet with PLA Gen. Shen Roujun, then head of Chinese army missile development. Schwartz and General Shen managed to cut several deals for advanced space technology, all with the blessing and approval of the Clinton White House. Between October 1995 and March 1996, as Clinton mulled over whether to ignore the State, Justice, and Defense Departments' reasons against granting Loral waivers to export advanced military technology to China, Loral Chairman Bernard Schwartz injected more than $150,000 into the DNC's coffers. In 1996, President Clinton moved the oversight of satellite exports from the State and Defense Departments to the Commerce Department. After Clinton's decision to lift the ban in Loral's case and to allow the exportation of the company's technology to the Chinese military, Loral CEO Schwartz handed over an additional $300,000 to the DNC. In a May 3, 1996 letter signed by the CEOs of Hughes, Lockheed, and Loral, the three executives expressed their thanks directly to Bill Clinton. "In October of last year we wrote to you asking you to complete the transfer of responsibility for commercial satellite export licensing to the Department of Commerce. Your administration recently announced it intention to do just that. "We greatly appreciate this action which demonstrates again your strong commitment to reforming the U.S. export control system," states a letter signed by Hughes CEO Armstrong, Lockheed CEO Norman Augustine and Loral CEO Bernard Schwartz. All this should serve as a history lesson for those considering the Clintons for the White House in 2008. Hillary's campaign has made it clear that she and Bill are a "two-fer" package, hoping to play on the former president's popularity. Bill, however, is not too popular inside military and national security circles since much of his Chinese export-games led to the sudden post Cold-War growth of the Chinese nuclear missile arsenal. The missiles of the summer of 2007 are related to the Clintons in every way. You are the target of bombs built with your tax dollars. Remember that when the fireworks explode.
Editor's note:
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