FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN

Giving China help with cyber warfare

Plan may make it easier to hand over militarily critical exports

Posted: August 28, 2009
12:35 am Eastern
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.

The Obama administration is considering easing U.S. export controls to China even though the director for national intelligence is warning about Chinese cyber warfare threats to U.S. military information systems. In addition, there are increasing reports of Chinese military buildup to match U.S. capabilities, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The one group jubilant over the White House decision to undertake yet another comprehensive review of U.S. export control laws toward China is the U.S. business community.

"The U.S. has one of the most robust export control systems in the world," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said last week. "But it is rooted in the Cold War era of over 50 years ago and must be updated to address the threats we face today and the changing economic and technological landscape."

Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council and a former U.S. Commerce under secretary who was in charge of export controls, applauded the White House initiative. Through the NFTC, the Coalition for Security and Competitiveness, or CSC, similarly supported the initiative.

"The coalition strongly supports practical measures aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the export control regime. The need for new policies and processes to advance our national security, foreign policy and economic interests has never been more compelling than it is right now."

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CSC members include the Aerospace Industries Association, the Association of American Exporters and Importers, the AMT – Association for Manufacturing Technology, Business Roundtable, the Coalition for Employment Through Exports, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Industrial Fastener Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Defense Industrial Association, the National Foreign Trade Council, the Satellite Industry Association, The Space Foundation, TechAmerica and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The question of loosening controls, however, centers on whether rewarding Chinese behavior is appropriate or whether it is oriented more toward aiding business at a time of global economic recession.

Contrary to Gibbs' comments that export controls are "rooted in the Cold War era of over 50 years ago," they have undergone continuous review and liberalization despite increasing targeting of U.S. technology by such countries as China, Russia, Iran and even some western nations for their military.

Throughout the 1990s during President Bill Clinton's two administrations and President George Bush's two terms, export controls especially toward China have been loosened considerably.

The views of those concerned about protecting the militarily critical technology belonging to the United States through this period have taken a back seat to economic interests, especially in the face of mounting trade deficits toward China.

Indeed, Beijing in recent months has been pressing Washington to lift some export controls, suggesting that they would help ease the U.S. trade deficit with China, which reached $268 billion last year.

While China plays the economic card, the national security risk to certain technology exports is going virtually unmentioned.

And now, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said China also is aggressively waging information warfare and computer attacks on U.S. military information systems, and that action represents a "growing threat."

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