Secrets Aren’t Secure on Clinton’s Watch

by Oliver "Buck" Revell

Mr. Revell, a former associate deputy director of the FBI, is the author of "A G-Man’s Journal: A Legendary Career Inside the FBI" (Pocket Books, 1998).

The State Department has experienced yet another major security lapse-the loss of a laptop computer belonging to its Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The computer apparently contained "code word" material that is more sensitive than even "secret" documents. Yet officials did not promptly report the loss. Last week, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright took some belated disciplinary action, but sources and methods used in the analysis of weapons proliferation intelligence could be at great risk.

This is part of a disturbing trend of security lapses in the Clinton administration. In December, an intelligence officer assigned to the Russian Embassy in Washington was expelled from the U.S. after he was discovered operating a listening device in a seventh-floor conference room at the State Department. No one has yet explained how the "bug" was planted in such a sensitive location or who planted it.

The problem extends far beyond the State Department. The Central Intelligence Agency was severely embarrassed when it found out that its former director, John Deutch, had placed highly classified information on his personal computer and then used this computer to send and receive unsecured e-mail. This made all of the date contained in the computer subject to compromise. Once again, this breach of security was not promptly reported.

It gets much worse. The apparent loss to the People’s Republic of China of highly classified data on American nuclear weapons from one or more of our national laboratories is one of the most egregious security breaches in our history. We still don’t know much about these security lapses. Are those responsible for espionage within the Energy Department still these? What damage has already been done? What we do know is disturbing. An initial assessment by the U.S. Intelligence community determined the following:

• China obtained by espionage classified U.S. nuclear information that probably accelerated its program to develop more advanced nuclear weapons.

• China obtained at last basic design information on several modern U.S. nuclear re-entry vehicles, including the Trident II.

• China obtained information on a variety of U.S. weapon designs, including the neutron bomb.

The administration has been lax in correcting these lapses. Senior officials at the Justice Department denied the FBI’s request to search the laptop computer belonging to Wen Ho Lee, a Los Alamos nuclear scientist-even though Mr. Lee had signed a waiver allowing a search any time. Even in the unlikely event that evidence obtained in the search was held to be inadmissible in court, it is vitally important to prevent sensitive information from being transmitted or compromised.

Then we have the sorry spectacle of Chinese influence-peddlers and, in at lease one instance, a Chinese military official being paraded into the White House to meet President Clinton in return for significant campaign contributions. I cannot recall a single instance in my 35 years of government service when senior National Security Council staffers would have hesitated to inform their superiors of intelligence about a foreign government’s attempt to influence our political process. But that is exactly what happened with information developed by the FBI concerning illegal campaign contributions by intermediaries of the Chinese government.

The Cold War may be over, but there can be no doubt that our adversaries are many, and they have increasingly effective methods to penetrate even our most closely held secrets. We need a vigorous program at all levels of government to protect classified information. Unfortunately the Clinton administration has failed at this task. The president and his aides have not upheld their oaths to "preserve and protect" our country against "all enemies, foreign and domestic." I can only hope the next president, whether Al Gore or George W. Bush, sets a higher standard.

END

Oliver "Buck" Revell
WSJ - May 1, 2000

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