Charles R. Smith
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001

The Clinton administration did not consider Russia, China or Osama bin Laden to be a threat against the United States. Instead, Bill Clinton considered the economic threat of losing global contracts to our allies in Europe to be the greatest evil.

The Clinton emphasis on commercial espionage became public in 1994 when then CIA Director John Deutch announced that electronic intercepts of a Saudi prince gave Boeing a major contract.

According to Deutch, the National Security Agency had recorded phone calls between a Saudi prince and European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The NSA intercepts suggested the Saudi prince was being bribed by Airbus over a multibillion-dollar airliner contract.

Deutch revealed to NBC news that the NSA recordings were provided to the Saudi government, which then promptly arrested the prince and awarded the billion-dollar contract to Boeing.

Boeing was not the only U.S. firm to take advantage of commercial espionage data provided by the Clinton administration. Another heavily documented case involves U.S. electronics maker Motorola and exports to China. This case, however, points directly at Bill Clinton.

USA v. UK -- The Battle of Bucks

In 1993, Motorola hired Clinton national security advisor Dr. Richard Barth to be a lobbyist inside Washington. Barth, who then worked alongside now CIA Director George Tenet, was a key member of the Clinton NSC White House staff. Barth was so important that Tenet wrote to him personally, trying to convince Barth to stay inside the White House.

"Barthman. Why are you leaving me?" asked Tenet in a 1993 White House e-mail. "Do you want my job? My wife? My 1974 Camaro? This place will suck eggs without you to keep me sane."

Despite the emotional appeal by George Tenet, Barth left the White House to take a six-figure job with Motorola. In 1994, Barth returned to the White House, this time as a Motorola employee. Interestingly, Barth now sought to export sophisticated electronic scrambling devices to China.

"European firms have for a number of months been able to market and sell encryption in China as a result of a decision taken by the UK intelligence agency, GCHQ," wrote Barth in a 1994 letter directed to the White House.

"I understand that our National Security Agency is aware of this change in GCHQ's position and would support our request for a change in US requirements for export licenses for China. The NSA has agreed that there should be a 'level playing field' in regard to China."

The Barth letter clearly illustrates that the Clinton administration was involved in an intelligence food fight with our allies in Europe. The UK intelligence agency GCHQ was now pitted against its U.S. counterpart, the NSA, in an export battle for bucks. Instead of cooperation in tracking known terrorists and global threats, the two agencies were now fighting each other at the behest of corporate profiteers.

NSA v. GCHQ

Most Americans do not even know of the National Security Agency, much less the super-secret British GCHQ. I find it interesting indeed that the National Security Agency, well known for keeping its mouth shut, would spill its guts to an ex-NSC member employed in the commercial sector.

How did Barth know British GCHQ had changed its position? Who in the NSA told him there should be a "level playing field" for Motorola exports to China? How did Barth obtain this data for his company? No one in the NSA, GCHQ or Motorola will say, and Barth has so far declined to be interviewed.

The battle between Atlantic allies continued through 1994 and well into 1995. The documents from Barth clearly show that Motorola sought to export more than just scrambled radios to communist China. Barth's request included radiation-hardened electronics that are quite useful in nuclear combat.

Barth's correspondence also shows that President Clinton was directly involved.

"This is to request that your office initiate action to obtain a waiver from requirements for individual export license notifications to Congress for wireless mobile communications systems containing encryption for China," wrote Barth in a letter addressed to the State Department, dated Nov. 23, 1994.

"Such a waiver was issued by the President in September of this year for civilian satellite systems and encrypted products for use by American firms operating in China. Finally, while we now are not yet applying for licenses for encrypted systems for satellite positioning, we may within months be applying for such licenses for our IRIDIUM systems," noted Barth in his letter.

Barth's letter noteed that Motorola sought to export sophisticated scrambled satellite control systems to Beijing, the same kind of hardened electronics that are now installed inside Chinese nuclear bombs aimed at America.

Yet, Motorola had far more than Barth and the NSA inside the Clinton White House.

Motorola's CEO flew with Ron Brown on a Far East trade mission in 1994. Motorola's Hong Kong VP had coffee in the White House in 1996 with President Clinton.

In fact, Motorola's CEO had dinner with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and President Clinton inside the White House.

No small company could match the high-paying lobby jobs, the Commerce trips to China, the inside information from U.S. and British intelligence, the White House coffees or the state dinners.

Motorola played a game of musical chairs, with the players occasionally changing titles on six-figure jobs as they rotated from industry to bureaucracy to political staff and back again.

Presidential Waiver

Yet, there is final proof that corporate profits overrode global national security inside the previous administration. The Motorola story ends on a classic Clinton note, with a single letter written to Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.

"Dear Ron," wrote Motorola CEO Gary Tooker in July 1995. "I am writing to thank you and some key members of the Commerce Department for your assistance in obtaining the Presidential waiver for encryption export sales to China."

The 1995 Motorola letter is proof positive that Bill Clinton is directly responsible for the present-day U.S. intelligence disaster. Bill Clinton turned America's spy network into a personal cash cow, aimed at pleasing big-dollar contributors instead of protecting the free world.

If any single person is responsible for the sad state of our NSA and CIA today, it is Bill Clinton.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Clinton Scandals
War on Terrorism

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