Cover-Up at the Commerce Department
Agency Hides Records on Arms to Foreign Buyers
By Charles R. Smith
There is something very wrong inside the U.S. Commerce Department and it
involves some of the most deadly weapons ever developed. In May 2002, I
wrote an article on weapons sales taking place through the U.S. Commerce
Department.
The U.S. Commerce Department is not authorized to license military items for
export. Weapons systems such as missiles, warships, and fighter jets are by
law licensed for export only through the State Department and the Defense
Department.
Yet, documents from the U.S. Commerce Department show that the agency in
charge of civilian licenses was indeed heavily involved in foreign arms sales.
For example, documents obtained from the Commerce Department office of John
Huang clearly show that the agency pressed the United Arab Emirates, a very
oil rich nation, to purchase a wide variety of U.S. weapons.
Being a good reporter I presented these documents to the Commerce Department
with a Freedom of Information request seeking more data on the "arms sales"
taking place within the agency. In response, the Commerce Department
decided to revoke my media credentials and deny access to the documents.
"Please provide evidence in writing that you are currently working for a
news media which will be publishing the requested information," wrote
Jeannette Chiari, Bureau of Industry and Security Director of the Office of
Planning, Evaluation and Management, in a May 2002 letter.
According to Commerce officials, the Bureau of Industry and Security,
"formerly known as the Bureau of Export Administration", has authority over
weapon sales. They wanted assurance that I was indeed a reporter.
WEAPONS ARE COMMERICAL ITEMS
"BIS (Bureau of Industry and Security) has the primary responsibility within
the U.S. Government for administering and enforcing U.S. controls on the
export of dual-use items (i.e., items that have commercial and military
applications) for national security and foreign policy reasons," states the
letter from Ms. Chiari.
According to the Commerce Department, these "dual-use items" that could be
used for "commercial and military applications" include U.S. made missile
frigates, F-16 jet fighters and Patriot surface-to-air missiles. .....SAY
WHAT????
MISSILE FRIGATES FOR THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The evidence of this interesting interpretation is overwhelming.
In 1994 Commerce Secretary Ron Brown wrote a letter addressed to Lt. General
Shaykh Mohammed bin Zyed Al-Nahyyan, Chief of Staff of the United Arab
Emirates Arms Forces. In the letter, Brown pressed the Commander of the UAE
Armed Forces to purchase advanced U.S. made missile warships.
"I am confident that Newport News Shipbuilding's frigate FF-21 will be
judged to be superior based on price, performance, and logistical support.
The selection of U.S. manufactured frigates will also ensure the great
interoperability with U.S. naval forces stationed in the Gulf and Arabian
Sea," wrote Brown.
"In this regard, the provision of two leased Oliver Hazard Perry Class
frigates (FFG-7) will provide excellent substitutes while you await the
delivery of your new ships," noted Brown.
For those who are not of Naval extraction, the warships in question here are
not something that a police force or coast guard could use. These warships
are very large, several thousand tons in size, manned by over a hundred
sailors each, armed with cannons and missiles that can reach ranges of over
100 miles.
FIGHTER JETS FOR THE UAE
The Commerce Department documents also show that the agency successfully
pressed the UAE to purchase advanced F-16 Falcon jet fighters. The UAE
Falcon contract is worth up to $6.4 billion and includes 55 single seat and
25 two-seat versions of the Block 60 F-16.
According to Lockheed/Martin officials, the F-16s purchased by the UAE are
superior to those flown by the U.S. Air Force. The super-sonic fighter jets
are also known to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Deliveries of the
advanced strike aircraft to the UAE are scheduled to begin in 2004.
JOHN HUANG HAD UAE DOCUMENTS
Again, being a good reporter, I faxed these documents found in John Huang's
office to the D.C. embassy of the United Arab Emirates. I figured at very
least the UAE should know that John Huang paid a great deal of attention to
arms sales to the Arab kingdom.
I also informed the UAE embassy that the convicted China-Gate figure cited
his Fifth Amendment rights 2,000 times when asked if he was acting as an
agent for the Chinese military.
I am sure that my contact with the UAE in early May had absolutely NOTHING
to do with the decision just days later at Commerce to revoke my media
status. After all, would UAE officials take the time to phone someone high
up in the Bush administration to complain about the leaks of weapon sales
information?
The UAE certainly would not like its people to find out exactly how close
the Arab nation is with the U.S., such as lending an airbase to the CIA to
run unmanned Global Hawk recon aircraft over Afghanistan and Iraq. I am
sure that the UAE also would not want its people to know that most of the
weapons purchased from the U.S. are identical to the American weapons
provided to Israel. SAY WHAT???? WHO IS FEEDING THESE NATIONS UP FOR WAR????
SELL ARMS THROUGH THE COMMERCE DEPT.?
Why would major U.S. corporations seek out the Commerce Department for such
sales when the law clearly specifies that they must work through the Defense
Department and the State Department?
The answer to that question is easy. Despite the leftist mass media
portrayal of the military as a tool of the industrial complex, the Pentagon
usually opposes such sales because they do not relish the obvious fact that
uniformed soldiers may have to face these weapons in combat. The same
answer applies to the State Department, which generally opposes arms sales
to dictatorships.
The Commerce Department, however, has no such restrictions. The fact is
that U.S. corporations sought out the Commerce Department to over-ride the
military and the diplomats when it came down to a question of bucks versus
right.
The curious point to this whole story is not why did the Commerce Department
revoke my media credentials after ten years as a reporter, but how can
anyone in their right mind classify a missile frigate, an F-16 fighter jet
or a Patriot surface-to-air missile as a "dual use item"?
What is a weapon? The definition is clearly spelled out in the law of the
U.S. government. Seriously, when was the last time you heard of anyone
using a missile Frigate to go water skiing or using a Patriot missile to go
duck hunting?
The Commerce effort to revoke my media status has since failed - badly - and
the Freedom of Information request is now being processed. The fact is that
the Commerce Department was involved heavily in the sales of weapon systems
to foreign governments. The previously released documents prove that point
beyond any question or debate of what "is" a weapon.
The public will soon know to what extent the Commerce Department took it
upon itself to become a merchant of death. They have sown the wind and now
they shall reap the whirlwind.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/6/26/140158.shtml
John Huang office - FOIA documents on weapons sales
http://www.softwar.net/patriot.html
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