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IP: A CLINTON DIRTY BOOK STORY
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Subject: IP: A CLINTON DIRTY BOOK STORY
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 14:04:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: [email protected] (CharlesSmith)
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In late 1994 the U.S. State Department denied Phil Karn his
request to export a PC disk. Mr. Karn already had sold the
book, APPLIED CRYPTOGRAPHY written by Bruce Schneier, without
restriction. Mr. Karn also included a disk of text source code
(in human readable format) that was also printed in the book.
The book and the disk were freely sold, with no checks, in
retail American bookstores. According to the Clinton
administration, Karn's disk was a threat to national security.
Newly released documents from the State Department, written in
November 1994, shows the White House National Security Council
(NSC) directly approved the decision to deny Karn's request
while allowing the export of military encryption to China.
The document, a letter written by Wendy Sherman, State
Department Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs, to then
Congresswoman Maria Cantwell (D WA) was provided to Bill
Clements of the NSC for White House approval. In addition, the
document includes a fax on Karn's export problem titled "TO:
Pres. Clinton". Ordie Kittrie, the State Department Attorney
for Political-Military Affairs, wrote "Attached is draft
response to Rep. Cantwell ie Karn encryption disk... Please
provide me with any comments by noon Friday, November 18."
"The decision that controls should continue was based on several
consideration," wrote Ms. Sherman. "The administration will
continue to restrict export of sophisticated encryption devices,
both to preserve our own foreign intelligence gathering
capability and because of the concerns of our allies who fear
that strong encryption technology would inhibit their law
enforcement capabilities. One result of the interagency review
of Mr. Karn's disk was a determination that the source code on
it is of such a strategic level as to warrant continued State
Department licensing."
Of course, any criminal or terrorist could simply purchase the
book and key the code in. A slightly richer criminal could even
use an Optical Scanner (OCR) and convert the pages directly into
readable source code in less time. Even a secret Commerce
briefing document from a 1996 meeting with Janet Reno openly
admits the futile nature of trying to restrict PC diskette or
software export. "Lost in the debate," states the secret 1996
Commerce Department document. "But not irrelevant, is the fact
that it is virtually impossible to enforce export control's
against them when they can be exported by phone and modem or/in
someone's pocket."
At first the Clinton encryption policy seems absurd or simply
driven by bureaucratic red tape. Alas, nothing is further from
the truth. The policy was used as a means to extort donations
for the DNC or by Clinton insiders bent on making big bucks.
The Chinese Army was not interested in PC programs or diskettes
their agents could buy openly in a retail bookstore. The PLA
under the Clinton administration has been in the business of
acquiring commercial applications of "Defense" technology. For
example, in November 1994 Motorola employee and former Clinton
White House NSC member Richard Barth began his successful
request to sell encrypted radios and cellular phones to the
Chinese Police.
Motorola's Barth wrote to Theodore McNamara Assistant Secretary
of State on November 23, 1994. "This is to request that your
office initiate action to obtain a waiver from requirement for
individual export license notifications to Congress for wireless
mobile communications systems containing encryption for China.
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."
According to Barth, a high-tech trade war had erupted between
the U.S. and Britain. "European firms," wrote Barth.
"Including Nokia, Ericsson, Alcatel and Siemens, have for a
number of months been able to market and sell GSM cellular
systems with A5-2 encryption in China as a result of a decision
taken by the UK intelligence agency, GCHQ."
By July 1995, the CEO of Motorola, Gary Tooker, wrote a personal
note to Ron Brown, expressing his gratitude for Clinton's
signature approving encryption exports. "I am writing to thank
you," wrote Tooker to Brown. "And some key members of the
Commerce Department for your assistance in obtaining the
Presidential waiver for encryption export sales to China."
The Motorola saga of Barth is not the only example of Bill
Clinton's two-faced policy on high-tech exports. In fact,
President Clinton personally authorized the transfer of an
encrypted air traffic control system to the Chinese Air Force.
It is this particular export which illustrates the difference
between military encryption and civilian, such as Karn's disk of
PC programs.
The Chinese Air Force runs the civilian air control in their
country. The U.S. built air traffic system is not only run by
PLAAF officers but it is also plugged directly into their air
defense. According to the recent GAO testimony on Clinton
waivers "Waivers were also granted to permit the export of
encryption equipment controlled on the Munitions List. One case
involved a $4.3-million communications export to China's Air
Force."
Not only are Chinese fighters and missiles more effective thanks
to Bill Clinton but China has also exported a modified version
of the U.S. system to Iraq. The Chinese version, called "Tiger
Song", includes U.S. and French made parts. The Tiger Song
system allows Iraq to track and target U.S. fighters using a
high speed, secure, fiber optic command network.
All radars in Iraq, civilian and military, are now linked
together into Tiger Song. Iraqi missiles and military radars
are also now playing a giant shell game with U.S. air forces,
using pre-built camouflaged sites wired with hidden fiber optic
cables, scattered all over the country.
Another military example of Clinton crypto export controls is
the sales of Hughes, Motorola, and Loral satellites to the
Chinese military. The satellites were sold complete with
on-board secure telemetry systems hardened to absorb the intense
radiation of space - something that can be directly applied to
nuclear weapons. The satellites exported to China in question
were so classified that whole sections of Federal law, the U.S.
Munitions List, were deleted or waived by Bill Clinton.
The claims made by Bernard Schwartz and Loral that they did not
knowingly export military technology to China contradicts the
official briefing documents given to Ron Brown in 1994. One
Loral document obtained from the files of Ron Brown, labeled
"for Secy. Brown", has a page titled "Commercial Applications Of
DoD Technology". This document lists "Intelsat", "Cellular -
Globalstar" and "Direct Broadcast Satellite" technology along
with a variety of other products developed from "DoD" projects.
Thus, Loral knowingly exported systems they developed for the
U.S. military to China.
Did Mr. Clinton consult with U.S. allies prior to allowing top
DNC donors export rights to military gear? According to
Motorola, the staunchest U.S. ally, Great Britain, was an
economic adversary. Clearly, the strategic concerns of South
Korea, Japan and the Philippines were never considered. Under
Bill Clinton our allies from the Cold War were competitors in a
economic war for money.
Furthermore, in September 1998 FBI Director Freeh testified
before the Senate Committee on Terrorism. As predicted, Freeh
pushed the "Bin Ladden" terrorism button while requesting a ban
on domestic PC encryption programs. The use of encryption by so
called terrorist organizations is balanced by the use of the
same technology by law abiding citizens to protect themselves
from criminals. The fact that Bin Ladden is armed with
encryption comes as no surprise since he was, after all, trained
by the CIA to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. Once a freedom
fighter and now a terrorist.
One similar historic example to Bin Ladden is "VULA". In the
1980s the South African National Congress (ANC) used encryption
in a project called "VULA" to defeat the apartheid government.
Vula included illegal exports from europe, Soviet training and
home built software. Vula was successful and the ANC ultimately
won their long war. Once a terrorist now a freedom fighter.
These facts are not unknown to the Clinton administration. In
November 1993 TOP Secret document prepared for President Clinton
openly admitted the futility of any government-imposed ban.
According to "IMPACTS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND ENCRYPTION
TECHNOLOGY ON LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION:
ASSESSMENT, OPTIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS" a ban would "either
(1) discourage criminals from using encryption because they
realized that most products did not provide protection from
wiretaps, or (2) encourage criminals to acquire strong
encryption technology, whether commercial or home made."
Obviously, the administration will not start banning books so
the "home made" option will always apply. The FBI Director
seems to have forgotten common sense along with the law. He
certainly has remained silent while the Chinese Army purchased
military encryption systems from his boss. Freeh, however, has
also remained adamant that crack-pot export restrictions on
printed text must remain.
Mr. Freeh also overlooked one final historical example of a so
called revolutionary type group using encryption and the FBI
Director can thank his job for it. In April 1775 Paul Revere
read a coded light signal from a Church tower and rode into
history. The King's men did not intercept nor decode that
message. The battle of Concord took place and the first shots
of our own revolution were fired.
================================================================
source documents -
http://www.softwar.net/karn.html
Clinton NSC/State Crypto Book Disk Export
http://www.softwar.net/loral.html
LORAL Commercial Applications of DOD Tech
http://www.softwar.net/inpact.html
TOP SECRET "Impacts of Encryption"
http://www.softwar.net/vula.html
ANC Operation VULA - Freedom Fighers Use Crypto
http://www.softwar.net/moto4.html
1995 MOTOROLA Tooker To Warren Christopher For Crypto To China
http://www.softwar.net/tooker1.html
July 1995 MOTOROLA Thank You For Encryption Export To Ron Brown
http://www.softwar.net/tooker2.html
Feb. 1995 MOTOROLA To Ron Brown - Human Rights and Crypto
http://www.softwar.net/barth95.html
March 1995 MOTOROLA - Encrypted Radios/Iridium For China
http://www.softwar.net/barth94.html
Richard Barth 1994 Secret Letters Email
http://www.softwar.net/barth93.html
Richard Barth 1993 Secret White House Email
http://www.softwar.net/gao176.html
GAO REPORT - ARMS FOR CHINA - CRYPTO FOR CHINA
================================================================
1 if by land, 2 if by sea. Paul Revere - encryption 1775
Charles R. Smith
SOFTWAR http://www.softwar.net [email protected]
Pcyphered SIGNATURE:
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SOFTWAR EMAIL NEWSLETTER 09/07/1998
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Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: [email protected]>
Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'