US Compromised Security In Deals with China

The Clinton Administration may have compromised national security in its technology dealings with China, but so, it seems, did its predecessors. After a six-month investigation, a House committee has concluded that U.S. technology transfers to China over the past few decades have constituted a serious national security breach. The committee found fault with the Clinton, Reagan and Bush administrations, but didn't say if any one was worse than the others.

The investigation began with a look into President Clinton's approval of a deal by Loral Space & Communications to transfer missile and satellite technology to China, but the committee quickly expanded its investigation to look at the relationships of several Republican and Democratic administrations to the People's Liberation Army. We won't know how serious the problem was for quite some time, if ever; a good portion of the investigation into White House dealings with China over the past few decades will remain classified. However, the committee reportedly found a pattern of Chinese theft of American nuclear military technology. The committee will make 38 recommendations designed to correct the problem and keep it from happening again.