shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
|
 Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:52 pm Post subject: Virginia class-attack subs are compromised |
 |
|
This has me totally outraged!!! Our terrific new Virginia class subs are compromised!! Chinese spies get away with it because developmental stage is NOT CLASSIFIED!!
| Quote: | ~SNIP~
The document trail led investigators to conclude that he passed information that will allow Beijing to track the Pentagon's new Virginia class-attack submarine, which uses L-3 technology. The compromised technology also will enable the Chinese to develop countermeasures against the submarine and to copy its electronic systems.
Investigators believe he gave China schematics and design information on the latest generation of Aegis weapons systems, which L-3 helped to develop. Aegis -- meaning shield -- is being upgraded to become America's most advanced and mobile anti-missile system for use on guided-missile cruisers, guided-missile destroyers, Sea Wolf-class submarines and aircraft carriers.
Chi Mak worked on four classified Navy contracts related to Aegis. Investigators believe his spy ring was the main supplier of Aegis technology to China and, one U.S. defense official says, the Chinese quickly incorporated it into their Luyang II guided-missile destroyer.
Lesser charges
By the time formal indictments were issued Nov. 15, the most serious charges against Chi Mak and the three others had been dropped. Tai Mak's wife was excluded altogether, though she was charged separately with running an illegal marriage-fraud network that helped immigrants gain entry into the United States.
The three remaining suspects were indicted on relatively minor charges of failing to register as foreign agents. The initial charges could have resulted in prison terms of up to 25 years, but the lesser charges carried maximum sentences of 10 years. Chi Mak, his wife and Tai Mak all pleaded not guilty.
So what changed? U.S. government sources say that petty squabbling between prosecutors and investigators jeopardized the case.
The more serious charges were dropped because the FBI counterintelligence team that conducted the investigation got into a dispute with the U.S. attorneys in Los Angeles who were in charge of the prosecution.
The FBI fully expected that search warrants would unearth classified data, so prosecutors balked when much of what was found was not officially classified as secret.
"Nothing I passed [to China] was classified," Chi Mak told investigators shortly after his arrest.
He was right. Investigators say the lack of classified documents revealed that the spies had done their homework.
Chinese intelligence-gathering services exploited the fact that [b/Navy officials underclassified some of the most sensitive information about weapons systems to make it easier for private defense contractors to use the data.[/b]
"There is no question that this case has caused serious damage to U.S. national security," one investigator said.
'More subtle'
Espionage laws are so difficult to apply that prosecutors almost need a confession to be able to make their case.
The current statute, enacted in 1917, requires prosecutors to prove "intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation."
This standard often forces the release of intelligence or defense information to prove national security was harmed.
David Szady, head of FBI counterintelligence until this year, said loss of sensitive-yet-unclassified information can do real harm to national security.
The technology passed to China in the Mak case was proprietary corporate trade secrets or export-controlled, but did not carry the "secret" or "top-secret" label. Chi Mak had access to Connecticut-based submarine manufacturer Electric Boat, for example, as if he were one of their own employees, Szady said.
The case "probably murdered the Navy" because of the loss of technology, he said.
Obtaining contract documents not only will allow Beijing to build its own version of one of the Navy's developmental warships, the DD(X) destroyer, but possibly to "sell it in competition to us," Szady said.
The Chinese, he said, are good at positioning agents who can obtain advanced technology in the developmental stage, before it is classified.
"The [spy] business is getting more complex, more subtle," Szady said. "It's smarter business than the old cloak-and-dagger." |
The Washington Times
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
