[extropy-chat] CHINA: Threat proponents not chicken littles...

[Mike Lorrey]

"we helped them"? Could you provide details. Last I checked they
weren't flying F-16s....

--- Samantha Atkins <sjatkins at mac.com> wrote:

> IIRC we helped them build more than a little of that military  
> capacity so I seriously doubt these claims of surprise.  IMHO, the  
> only "surprise" is that they may be a bit harder to keep under our  
> thumb than anticipated.
> 
> - s
> 
> On Jun 9, 2005, at 9:07 AM, Mike Lorrey wrote:
> 
> > http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050609-120336-4092r.htm
> >
> > Analysts missed Chinese buildup
> >
> >
> > By Bill Gertz
> > THE WASHINGTON TIMES
> >
> >
> > A highly classified intelligence report produced for the new
> director
> > of national intelligence concludes that U.S. spy agencies failed to
> > recognize several key military developments in China in the past
> > decade, The Washington Times has learned.
> >     The report was created by several current and former
> intelligence
> > officials and concludes that U.S. agencies missed more than a dozen
> > Chinese military developments, according to officials familiar with
>  
> > the
> > report.
> >     The report blames excessive secrecy on China's part for the
> > failures, but critics say intelligence specialists are to blame for
> > playing down or dismissing evidence of growing Chinese military
> > capabilities.
> >     The report comes as the Bush administration appears to have
> become
> > more critical of China's military buildup.
> >     Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in Singapore over the
> > weekend that China has hidden its defense spending and is expanding
>  
> > its
> > missile forces despite facing no threats. Secretary of State
> > Condoleezza Rice also expressed worries this week about China's
> > expanding military capabilities.
> >     Among the failures highlighted in the study are:
> >     •China's development of a new long-range cruise missile.
> >     •The deployment of a new warship equipped with a stolen Chinese
> > version of the U.S. Aegis battle management technology.
> >     •Deployment of a new attack submarine known as the Yuan class
> that
> > was missed by U.S. intelligence until photos of the submarine
> appeared
> > on the Internet.
> >     •Development of precision-guided munitions, including new
> > air-to-ground missiles and new, more accurate warheads.
> >     •China's development of surface-to-surface missiles for
> targeting
> > U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups.
> >     •The importation of advanced weaponry, including Russian
> > submarines, warships and fighter-bombers.
> >     According to officials familiar with the intelligence report,
> the
> > word "surprise" is used more than a dozen times to describe U.S.
> > failures to anticipate or discover Chinese arms development.
> >     Many of the missed military developments will be contained in
> the
> > Pentagon's annual report to Congress on the Chinese military, which
>  
> > was
> > due out March 1 but delayed by interagency disputes over its
> contents.
> >     Critics of the study say the report unfairly blames
> intelligence
> > collectors for not gathering solid information on the Chinese
> military
> > and for failing to plant agents in the communist government.
> >     Instead, these officials said, the report looks like a bid to
> > exonerate analysts within the close-knit fraternity of government  
> > China
> > specialists, who for the past 10 years dismissed or played down
> > intelligence showing that Beijing was engaged in a major military
> > buildup.
> >     "This report conceals the efforts of dissenting analysts [in
> the
> > intelligence community] who argued that China was a threat," one
> > official said, adding that covering up the failure of intelligence
> > analysts on China would prevent a major reorganization of the
> system.
> >     A former U.S. official said the report should help expose a
> > "self-selected group" of specialists who fooled the U.S. government
> on
> > China for 10 years.
> >     "This group's desire to have good relations with China has
> > prevented them from highlighting how little they know and
> suppressing
> > occasional evidence that China views the United States as its main
> > enemy."
> >     The report has been sent to Thomas Fingar, a longtime
> intelligence
> > analyst on China who was recently appointed by John D. Negroponte,
> the
> > new director of national intelligence, as his office's top  
> > intelligence
> > analyst.
> >     Mr. Negroponte has ordered a series of top-to-bottom reviews of
> > U.S. intelligence capabilities in the aftermath of the critical
> report
> > by the presidential commission headed by Judge Laurence Silberman
> and
> > former Sen. Charles Robb, Virginia Democrat.
> >     According to the officials, the study was produced by a team of
> > analysts for the intelligence contractor Centra Technologies.
> >     Spokesmen for the CIA and Mr. Negroponte declined to comment.
> >     Its main author is Robert Suettinger, a National Security
> Council
> > staff member for China during the Clinton administration and the
> U.S.
> > intelligence community's top China analyst until 1998. Mr.
> Suettinger
> > is traveling outside the country and could not be reached for
> comment,
> > a spokesman said.
> >     John Culver, a longtime CIA analyst on Asia, was the co-author.
> >     Among those who took part in the study were former Defense
> > Intelligence Agency analyst Lonnie Henley, who critics say was
> among
> > those who in the past had dismissed concerns about China's military
> in
> > the past 10 years.
> >     Also participating in the study was John F. Corbett, a former
> Army
> > intelligence analyst and attache who was a China policy-maker at
> the
> > Pentagon during the Clinton administration.
> >
> >
> > Mike Lorrey
> > Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
> > "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
> > It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
> >                                       -William Pitt (1759-1806)
> > Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com
> >
> >
> >
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Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com


		
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