October 13, 2007
Steven Collins
Corporate mergers are routine events nowadays, but they are not routine when such mergers could transfer critical U.S. defense-related technologies to rival or enemy nations. However, just such a risky corporate merger is now being considered, and the Washington Times has reported that unnamed (but obviously high-ranking) officials in the U.S. Government decided to conceal this critical information from the highest US military officials.
In a front-page article in the October 8, 2007 issue of the Washington Times National Weekly Edition , Bill Gertz revealed that Huawei Technology, a Chinese company, was attempting to merge with US Defense Contractor 3Com. According to the article (see link below), 3Com’s subsidiary “provides the Pentagon and the Army with intrusion-detection equipment and the merger potentially will provide Huawei access to strategic computer-network vulnerabilities.” According to many media accounts, Chinese hackers are making numerous and regular hacking attacks against strategic U.S. computers in the US Defense Department, other US agencies and key departments in other Western nations. Bill Gertz’s “Inside the Ring” column (also in the October 8, 2007 issue of the Washington Times) noted that “a 2005 Rand Corporation report on China’s defense industry identified Huawei as having ‘deep ties with the Chinese military.'” Now Huawei wants to “merge” with a US company which provides the intrusion-detection equipment to counter Chinese hacking attacks? Can anyone see a possible motivation here that might work to the benefit of China and to the detriment of American security interests?
Apparently, no one in the US Intelligence Community could see any problems! In the same “Inside the Ring” column cited above, Bill Gertz wrote:
“US defense and intelligence officials said both the chairman and vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not
informed by intelligence officials about the impending merger deal involving 3Com and the Chinese company Huawei
Technology …
‘There was an effort made to exclude the chairman and vice-chairman by saying this is not a military matter,’ said
one official. ‘They were not told about this deal.'” [Emphasis added.]
Let’s see if we understand what happened here. The Pentagon’s sensitive computers have been frequently targeted by many hacking attacks which have been widely reported to be traceable to China. A Chinese company with close ties to the Chinese military then tries to merge with a US company which provides the Pentagon with intrusion-detection equipment, and the US “Intelligence” community not only sees no need to tell the military about it, but also decides to hide this information from the top US military? Excuse me for saying so, but how can these unnamed US “Intelligence” officials be so blind to the obvious threat posed to US security by China’s attempt to have one of its firms get inside access to the US company which helps the Pentagon detect hacking attacks from Chinese operatives?
Previous media stories have abundantly revealed that China has had various spy rings which penetrated US security in key defense contractors and the information they stole deeply harmed US defense capabilities. Don’t these “Intelligence” officials read the newspapers? It is so obvious that the attempt by Huawei to merge with 3Com is an effort to seize US military secrets that one must ask the question: “Are the US Intelligence officials who tried to conceal this information from the top military officials acting as Chinese moles who are betraying the United States of America? At first blush, what other conclusion leaps out at us? This refusal to share vital information with the military was not accidental. According to the article cited above, an unnamed Intelligence official openly admitted a decision was made to hide this critically-important information from the highest US military officials.
A well-known secular adage says “Actions speak louder than words.” The Bible agrees with this adage when it says “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). The actions of the unnamed US Intelligence officials who tried to conceal from the military a merger which obviously represented a security risk to the US Defense Department indicate that they are acting in the strategic interests of Communist China, not in the strategic interests of the USA or the American people. The US intelligence officials who made the decision to conceal vital information from the US military should be investigated thoroughly to see if they have been “turned” by Chinese agents. This is a “no brainer.”
The Washington Times also reported in its October 8, 2007 issue that several Republican Congressmen are now calling for more rigorous examination of this merger deal before it is approved. This surprising matter ought to make all Americans wonder: “Which US officials are working for America’s interests and which ones are working for China’s interests?”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071003/NATION/110030088
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071005/NATION04/110050072
