What is China Planning for the U.S.?

By in large Americans remain blind to the Chinese threat. While the CHICOM military ratchets up rhetoric about how to beat the U.S., paints U.S. Satellites with lasers, and launches and armed sub to stalk the U.S. Fleet, American remains on a honeymoon cloud, sipping on the sweet wine of economic benefit. Blinded by financial gain, we appear to be so financially intoxicated that the CHICOMS growing threat to our National Security has become an after thought. What is China planning for the U.S.?

Asia Times














Photo Credit

A noted Chinese theorist on modern warfare, Chang Mengxiong, compared China's form of fighting to "a Chinese boxer with a keen knowledge of vital body points who can bring an opponent to his knees with a minimum of movements". It is like key acupuncture points in ancient Chinese medicine. Puncture one vital point and the whole anatomy is affected. If America ever goes to war with China, say, over Taiwan, then America should be prepared for the following "acupuncture points" in its anatomy to be "punctured". Each of the vital points can bring America to its knees with a minimum of effort.

I Electro-magnetic Pulse (EMP) attack
An EMP attack will damage all electrical grids on the US mainland. It will disable computers and other similar electronic devices with microchips. Most businesses and industries will shut down. The entire US economy will practically grind to a halt. Satellites within line of sight of the EMP burst will also be damaged, adversely affecting military command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR).

2 Cyber attack
China's new concept of a "people's war" includes IT warriors coming, not only from its military more than 2-million strong, but from the general citizenry of some 1.3 billion people. If we add the hackers and information warriors from Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, Syria and other countries sympathetic to China, the cyber attack on the US would be formidable indeed. So, if a major conflict erupts between China and America, more than a few dozen laptops will be engaged to hack America's military establishment; banking system; stock exchange; defense industries; telecommunication system; power grids; water system; oil and gas pipeline system; air traffic and train traffic control systems; C4ISR system, ballistic missile system, and other systems that prop up the American way of life.

3 Interdiction of US foreign oil supply
A single blow from Iran or China or Russia, or a combination of the three at the Strait of Hormuz can paralyze America. In addition, Chinese and Russian submarines can stop the flow of oil to the US and Japan by interdicting oil tanker traffic coming from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. On the other hand, US naval supremacy will have minimal effect on China's oil supply because it is already connected to Kazakhstan with a pipeline and will soon be connected to Russia and Iran as well. One wonders: what will be the price of oil if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz. It will surely drive oil prices sky high. Prolonged high oil prices can, in turn, trigger inflation in the US and a sharp decline of the dollar, possibly even a dollar free-fall. The collapse of the dollar will have a serious impact on the entire US economy.

4 Attack on the US dollar
China is now the biggest holder of foreign exchange reserves in the world, accumulating $941 billion as of June 30 and expected to exceed a trillion dollars by the end of 2006 - a first in world history. A decision by China to shift a major portion of its reserve to the euro or the yen or gold could trigger other central banks to follow suit. Nobody would want to be left behind holding a bag full of dollars rapidly turning worthless. The herd psychology would be very difficult to control in this case because national economic survival would be at stake.

5 Diplomatic isolation
The US-led war in Iraq was a tactical victory for the US initially, but has resulted in strategic defeat overall. The Iraq war caused the US to lose its principal allies in Europe and be isolated, despised and hated in many parts of the world. Without too many friends and allies, the US is likened to an "emperor with no clothes". So in a major conflict between America and China, isolated America cannot possibly win against a global united front led by China and Russia.

Killing Puts Focus on Corruption in Chinese News Media

As 2008 approaches China is fighting to maintain it's public image. Daily news reports outline a country that is troubled by years of human rights, free speech, and anti-democracy issues. It will be interesting to see which image of China the world will accept: the pseudo normal China that state controlled media pushes out, or the China that is not yet ready to be open and free.

Killing Puts Focus on Corruption in Chinese News Media

SHANGHAI, Jan. 30 — Lan Chengzhang sat in a car outside the office of a mining company while a colleague ventured inside to make inquiries.

It was his first month of work with the newspaper, and he had decided to take on what anyone in the area knew could be a most dangerous subject, the illegal coal mines that proliferate in the sooty hill country of Shanxi Province.

Within minutes, a band of men armed with lengths of pipe and other crude weapons set upon him, beating him so badly that within a few hours he succumbed to his injuries. Though severely beaten, his colleague from the China Trade News survived to tell the tale.

Fan Youfeng, 38, a reporter with the Hebei Youth Daily, was chased out of Henan Province after uncovering a scandal involving the handling of a coal mining disaster there.
“I’ve already paid a high price for this job,” he said, recounting how he had been forced to flee his previous newspaper. Asked what he would do if his investigative work made him a target again, he said: “It doesn’t matter. China is big, and there’s got to be a place for someone with a conscience.”

U.N. Spy Debate. Reds 'Bugged' American... 1960/05/27 (1960)

An amazing demonstration of the technology used in the 1960's. What types of techniques / technology are used today?

Bobby Fletcher: "I am not a spy".

Bobby Fletcher began posting on this blog a few days ago. His views and claims were not well received by me or other readers. Several people accused him of being a spy, with no proof.

In fairness, I posed several questions to Fletcher so that he could set the record straight and clear himeself. I offended him when I did this, and for that I am sorry. This said, it's only fair that I Fletcher's respondes.

Fletcher:
1. No, I am not a spy.
2. No I do not report any officials of the Chinese or Taiwanese government.
3. No I have not provided information to these governments.
4. No these government have not asked me to do anything for them.

If someone out there has proof to refute Fletcher's claim, they should come forward. Otherwise, I would like to get on with debate and dialogue: away from the personal attacks.

In closing, I thought a lot about why Flether's post rub people the wrong way. I've come to the conclusion that it's mostly because he is not fair in his challenges to the "themes" that are posted. This does not make him a spy, but it does give the appearance that he is one sided.

Here's what I mean... Fletcher sometimes quotes out of context. He takes a small passage from an article and uses it to suit his argument, even if the article in it's entirety, does not support his view.

Secondly, if Fletcher can exploit the smallest of information in an article he will, and then he uses that small exploitation to claim the entire theme to be invalid. For example, I sighted several articles on Chinese Front companies. In one particular article he took exception to the claim there are 3000 front companies operating in the U.S. He refuted the truthfulness of several MAJOR news outlets by providing a link to a SINGLE blog which casts doubt on the report. When he challenged the truthfulness of the article he attempted to disprove the entire theme (Front Companies in the U.S.).

The problem with this, and I think the problem people have with Fletcher is he never addresses the other articles. In order words, by assuming one article is questionable, he purports all other information with respect to the theme must be untruthful too. This sort of challenge draws attention away from the theme, the other sources of information, and attempts to discredit the entire claim. Not sure if Fletcher realizes this or not, but this is: propaganda 101.

Anyway, I think this is the reason why Fletcher rubs everyone the wrong way... well that, and the notion that every time he refutes a claim, it typically leans in the favor of the Chinese Communist Party.

He's also very critical of the U.S. ..does this mean he's a spy? No. But, being critical of the U.S. is easier to swallow when you can back your claim up with multiple sources, fact, and/or evidence. And, if you challenge a theme... at least challenge all of the sources rather than a sentence of ONE source.

The methods Flecher uses to post about the CHICOMS and the U.S., by in large, make people suspicious. Why? Because the motivation behind his post comes into question. It's hard to understand why you would defend China's Human rights record by challenging a single report, when the entire Human Rights world and popular press clearly outlines their deplorable record.

Ok, now let's get back to the news!

DOD: China on the mind?

A very interesting exchange took place during the confirmation hearing of Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Seems that despite the low level of attention the China Threat gets in popular press, it's still front and center on some congressional minds. A small blip of the hearing is provided below:

Reported by the WASHINGTON POST:

INHOFE: But I am concerned about China, and I'd like to hear what your thoughts are. Just in the last month the Chinese hackers, as you, I'm sure, have read, have shut down the e-mail and official computer work at the Naval War College. This is referred to by this commission as the Titan Rain.

In September, the Department of Commerce experienced a massive shutdown of its computer system.

This goes on and on. In July, the State Department acknowledged that Chinese attacks had broken into systems overseas and in Washington. Recently, China has used lasers to blind our satellites.

On October 26th, a Song-class Chinese submarine surfaced near the USS Kitty Hawk. They'd be following them undetected for a long period of time.

I've had occasion to spend quite a bit of time in Africa, and I noticed that China's presence in Africa, particularly in those states around the Sea of Guinea and where they have great oil reserves, is there, and they are way ahead of us. It happens that China and the United States are the two countries that depend on foreign sources of oil more than any of the other countries.
GATES: Yes, sir. I have not read the reports.

INHOFE: And I would also say that we watched this as we were drawing down in the 1990s. They increased their military procurement by over 1,000 percent.

INHOFE: So this is a great concern.
Go ahead.

GATES: Yes, sir. I have not read the reports. I would be more than willing to do so. I've been aware, just from reading in the newspapers, it's been a number of years since I received any classified intelligence on what the Chinese were up to.

But it's been my impression that they've had a very aggressive intelligence-gathering effort against the United States.

China coal mine blast kills 11 in Guizhou -Xinhua

Mines are quickly becoming a hot topic in China. From corruption, to safety and murder. This news is sure to draw fire from human rights organizations who wish to highlight China's lack of free press (see second CBS article).

REUTERS

BEIJING, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A gas explosion in southwest China killed 11 coal miners on Sunday and five others were missing, Xinhua news agency reported.

The accident occurred in the Yile Coal Mine at Panxian County, Xinhua reported, citing a spokesman for the Guizhou Provincial Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

Twenty-five miners were working underground when the blast occurred, and only nine managed to escape, the spokesman said.

Deaths in Chinese coal mines, the world's deadliest, fell by 20 percent in 2006 while output grew by about 200 million tonnes.

An average 13 miners a day, or a total of 4,746 people, died in thousands of blasts, floods and other mine accidents last year.

Intrestingly, just a few days ago much of Asia media reported on the beating death of a reporter who's been writing on Mine Safety.

CBS

On Wednesday afternoon last week, in this remote farming village tucked into the snow-dusted hills of Shanxi Province, Lan Chengzhang was beaten to death in the frozen mud of a walled courtyard.

At first glance, he died a martyr to press freedom, courageously investigating conditions in the notoriously dangerous illegal coal mines that dot the region.

he was seen with a colleague in a violent altercation with the owner of an illegal coal mine outside the mine office in this tiny village of mud and straw houses.

"I saw four men beating them up with big sticks really hard," says Xiao Zhou, who says he watched the killing from his village shop next to the mine office, not daring to intervene. "They just hit them really hard and kept shouting 'beat them, beat them.' Their faces were covered with blood."

Chinese Front Companies In The U.S.? A second try!

Seems my last post was damaged/hacked. Over half of the articles I posted disappeared after they were posted. We'll try this again, but so you that you now, the articles I post/refer to here are not my words, but simply excerpts from the original documents. I do appreciate when a reader identifies updates or changes to stories that I've posted. Similarly, if you have an issue as to the truthfulness of the article, please address it with the media outlet that published it. As a general rule, Cover For Action, assumes most popular media outlets are acceptable and accurate providers of news.

WASHINGTON TIMES:
U.S. government investigators say the number of cases involving China and its middlemen who have illegally obtained sensitive or classified U.S. weapons technology is growing. In the past few years, Chinese agents illegally purchased or were caught trying to steal night-vision technology, restricted electronic components, embargoed components for precision-guided missiles, radar and electronic warfare, and communications systems, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

China also sought to purchase encryption devices that are embargoed for export and computer software used in missile development, ICE officials said. In one recent case, China tried to purchase parts for F-4 and F-5 jets and Hawk missiles from U.S. suppliers that were intended for reshipment to Iran. Officials said one of the most damaging illegal technology exports to China took place in the late 1990s. In that case, China secretly obtained technology related to the Aegis battle management system, used in the most modern U.S. warships. A Chinese front company won a contract from the system manufacturer and then stole details about Aegis, according to FBI counterintelligence officials.

QUESTIA

In one case sketched out by Waultney's boss, John Hensley, before a Senate hearing in July 1997, a Chinese front company managed to purchase 37 guidance kits for F-117A stealth fighters from a Defense Department depot and ship them to China as "scrap."

In another case, brokers working for the Communist Chinese government snatched up an astonishing 26,000 fully operational encryption devices, including computer disk drives loaded up with top-secret technical documents all considered U.S.-government scrap.

A high concentration of Chinese-government front companies continues to operate out of El Monte, a modest working-class suburb located some 10 miles due east of downtown Los Angeles.

Primary among them is the China National Aero Technology Import Export Co., or CATIC. Back in China, CATIC owns factories that develop fighter aircraft and remotely piloted vehicles and contributes to cruise-missile development. In El Monte, CATIC buys paper pulp to be shipped to China for recycling and imports bicycles, electrical parts and hardware for sale in the United States. But it also purchases aerospace systems, which it ships back to China clandestinely for use in military projects.

CATIC is not the only mainland-Chinese company operating in the El Monte area. In one six-floor office building just around the corner at 9300 Flair Dr., no fewer than 150 Chinese trading companies have set up shop, although most of them appear to be little more than mailbox entities. Down in the lobby, which houses a bank and a California state health center, only a half-dozen companies are listed as having offices on the sixth floor of the handsome, black-glass office complex overlooking the freeway. But a quick trip up the elevator to the sixth floor reveals that more than 40 companies actually have hung name plates on the doors -- all of them Chinese.

According to David Su, an attorney who has incorporated dozens of these companies, "there are a few thousand Chinese companies in the Los Angeles area. Most of them were set up by individuals with management positions back in China and are controlled by Chinese state-owned companies." Su acknowledged that many of the companies listing his office suite as their address had no visible operations. Su said that in many cases he had not seen the owners since they filed the initial incorporation papers and returned to China. Although Su wouldn't comment on why they had established the companies in the first place, mailbox companies frequently are used as fronts for illicit business by money-launderers, high-tech bandits and arms dealers -- or more mundanely, by individuals keen on disguising the origins of their wealth.

Communist Chinese Procurement Activities in the United StatesTestimony by Kenneth R. Timmermanbefore the U.S. -China Commission

I have been investigating Chinese high-technology procurement efforts in the United States since I was a Congressional staffer for Rep. Tom Lantos (D, CA) in 1993. Shortly after leaving the Hill, in July 1994, I reported that U.S. Customs officials were investigating Chinese government companies that were attempting to purchase defense production equipment being sold at auction from U.S.

During one of my investigations in California, I personally visited around 150 Chinese front companies, many of them no more than placards on closet offices that came alive to support a particular clandestine deal. I have appended to my written testimony a print-out of just one such network, which includes freight forwarders, bankers, import-export agencies and insurance brokers used to support Chinese military procurement activities in this country.Because the Chinese mastered the whole process, using companies and agents they controlled and communicating almost exclusively in Mandarin, neither the FBI, Customs, or OEE had much success in penetrating these networks. One of these companies operated undetected for more than two years directly above a CIA liaison office in the Los Angeles area. Clearly, we need more Mandarin-speaking agents, and a much active Customs operation to infiltrate and disrupt these procurement networks.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

"China is the biggest (espionage) threat to the U.S. today," says Mr. Szady, now 61 years old and the FBI's top counterintelligence official.

Counterespionage experts say the trouble often starts when they are contacted by Chinese government officials or one of the more than 3,000 Chinese "front companies" the FBI alleges have been set up in the U.S. specifically to acquire military or industrial technologies illegally.

The U.S. government is prosecuting about a dozen cases against individuals alleged to have sent technology to China illegally. FBI officials say at least three more will likely go ahead in the coming months. Over the past five years, the total number of such charges has grown by around 15 percent annually, according to some FBI agents.

NBC

intensified campaign by the People's Republic of China to steal military and civilian technology.

U.S. officials say there are now 400 active investigations here involving illegal exports to China — more than any other country.

Undercover video — obtained exclusively by NBC News — shows Bill Moo, an employee of a U.S. defense contractor, inspecting a military jet engine that he planned to secretly buy for China.

Unbeknownst to him, Moo had made the deal with undercover U.S. agents and was later arrested. He pleaded guilty to being an unregistered foreign agent for China.

"The Chinese are very good at using multiple redundant collection platforms," says former FBI Assistant Director Szady, "and by that I refer to students, delegations, visitors, researchers, development, partnerships, business deals and false front companies."

OAKLAND TRIBUNE

One day last June, FBI agents swooped into two affluent Silicon Valley homes and arrested two engineers. Lan Lee and Yuefei Ge stand accused of stealing proprietary chip designs and software

Lee and Ge allegedly set up a front company backed by a Beijing venture-capital firm with links to China's military, and planned to go into business with the Chinese government.

"Silicon Valley is a hotbed" of economic espionage, said Don Przybyla, who heads an FBI counterintelligence unit in San Jose. The valley is home to many of the estimated 3,000 Chinese front companies nationwide set up to steal secrets and acquire technology, according to the FBI.

March 17, 2006
Statement by
John J. Tkacik, Jr.
Senior Research Fellow in Asian Studies
The Heritage Foundation
Before the
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
Hearing on Chinese Military Modernization and Export Control Regimes

It was and is my impression that Chinese security officials inform all Chinese science and technology workers visiting the U.S. that they could be given specific collection tasks while in the U.S. The case of two Chinese academics at American University, Ms.Gao Zhan and her husband, Xue Donghua, is instructive. Apparently, Ms. Gao and Mr. Xue had received such a tasking and reportedly managed to export as much as $1 million in radiation-hardened microchips to a military laboratory in Nanjing before being arrested in 2001.

Gao and Xue were emblematic of vast Chinese government effort to collect industrial and technical secrets. A year ago, in March 2005, FBI Assistant Director Dan Szady, commented on the existence of an estimated 3,000 Chinese front companies operating in the United States in order to facilitate illegal technology transfers to the Chinese government.

In September, Michelle Van Cleave, the national counterintelligence executive, told the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, border security and claims that Chinese "state-directed espionage remains the central threat to our most sensitive national security technology secrets." She said Chinese intelligence agents are "very aggressive" in business and "are adept at exploiting front companies."

Chinese Front Companies in the U.S.? You decide!

There seems to be some question, or concern about Chinese front companies operating within the U.S. There has been some doubt to the veracity of the report, which was first mentioned in the Cox document. But, what is the official and most legitimate position on the Front Companies? Seems to me that the U.S. intelligence community would have the best understanding of this, since they work on the issue daily.

Of course, some random journalist or reporter can post whatever they want, but their not really close to the issue. Below are just a few reports since Cox. You decide, are there front companies operating in the U.S.? Before you respond, and I know someone will jabber about the 3000 front companies. The info is coming from the Director of the FBI. If you have an issue with it's truthfulness, take it up with the him, I'm simply using it to support the other reports. Oh ya, and his statement was given under oath during testimony to the U.S. Congress. Use that as weight when you judge its veracity!

CNN
State Metal Industries, a Camden, New Jersey, company convicted in June of violating export laws over a shipment of AIM-7 Sparrow missile guidance parts it bought from Pentagon surplus in 2003 and sold to an entity partly owned by the Chinese government. The company pleaded guilty to an export violation,

THE WASHINGTON TIMES
U.S. government investigators say the number of cases involving China and its middlemen who have illegally obtained sensitive or classified U.S. weapons technology

Google takes one in the NADS, using China's boot.

I imagine the romantic notion of making a mound of money clouded Google's vision like bad beer goggles and a regretful one nighter with someone who's name escapes you. Google woke up next to a gnarly girl with bad breath and big hair. Having regret is ok, we all make mistakes. Time will tell if Google has learned from their late night adventure, sipping on the CHICOM juice.

China censorship damaged us, Google founders admit

Google's decision to censor its search engine in China was bad for the company, its founders admitted yesterday.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page, was accused of selling out and reneging on its "Don't be evil" motto when it launched in China in 2005. The company modified the version of its search engine in China to exclude controversial topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre or the Falun Gong movement, provoking a backlash in its core western markets.

Last year in a speech in Washington Mr Brin admitted the company had been forced to compromise its principles to operate in China.

Spy visits Cover For Action?

I'm amazed at the interest generated by a very small snippet I posted last week. The interest is over an Organ Harvesting report by David Kilgour and David Matas. After an initial challenge of the post by Anon, several others posted highlighting Anon as being the spy "Bobby Fletcher", alias of course.

What an honor! If Bobby Flether is truly a spy, we welcome him back. We have to ask, what kind of spy would be concerned with a little bit on the Falun Gong? An agent of propaganda... of misinformation?

As I said before, I appreciate comments and debate, and encourage everyone to continue posting on these issues.

As you can imagine, with an alleged spy visiting the blog, I did a little research of the so called Spy: Bobby Fletcher. Here's what I've come up with:

- Fletcher has posted on numerous other blogs and sites about the Kilgour report, the links and language appear to be identical to those which Anon posted here. From this analysis, I will assume Anon is Bobby Fletcher.

Fletcher has also posted on other issues. In Febuary of last year, he posted a rather shallow bit about Chi Mak on the Jawa Report. In the post Fletcher says:

- "It seems the prosecution have lied on so many things, it's beginning to smell like another Wen Ho Lee."
- the "prosecution have trumped up a "fake marriage" charge, insinuating she whored herself out."

Just as he did here, Fletcher provided a link to an article which did not support his claims. In this instance, it was the San Mateo Daily Journal. The article does it say the prosecution lied or "trumped up" fake marriage charges. Perhaps Fletcher is hoping you'll just take his word for it, (a type of propaganda ). Interestingly, what the article does say is the following:

- prosecutors said they found a detailed hand-drawn map of the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, used for testing prototype nuclear reactors, at Chi Mak’s house.
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Marc Goldman set Chi Mak’s bond at $300,000 and placed him in home detention with a global positioning system to monitor his movements.
- Mak, 65, stole computer disks from Anaheim defense contractor Power Paragon, where he was lead engineer on a sensitive research project involving propulsion systems for Navy warships. Power Paragon has more than 200 contracts with the U.S. Navy, according to court documents.
- Prosecutors have previously said authorities recovered from the CD restricted documents on the DDX Destroyer, considered the destroyer of the future, that were marked “for official use only.” Authorities also allege they found two lists in Chinese asking Chi Mak to get documents about submarine torpedo technology, electromagnetic artillery systems, weapon standardization, early warning technology to detect incoming missiles and defenses against nuclear attack.

Nothing in the news article speaks to trumped up charges or wrong doing by prosecutors. When a judge sets $300,000 bail and forces you to wear a GPS monitor... that's a pretty good indication your up a creek. Stealing computer discs that have sensitive Naval research on involving propulsion, that's not so good either. Then when prosecutors find a list asking you to acquire EM system technology, sub torpedo technology and early warning system technology, you've got problems.

So the question from Cover For Action (CFA) is: what was the motivation of Fletcher's post? Why the Anti-U.S. rhetoric with no supporting documentation?

We've outlined at least two of Fletcher's post with anti-US sentiment which has little or no legitimate documentation to support it, however, we've not seen Fletcher post any concerns about China's anti U.S. machine. For example, no criticism on the other Chinese Spy cases in the U.S., China's stalking U.S. subs, China's laser attack on U.S. Sats, Chinese persecution of dissidents, etc. etc. This leaves one wondering what Fletcher is doing out there is cyber space. Could he be a spy, and Agent of influence? If so, we welcome him back.

Fletcher also listed an article from the LA Times. I could not access the article, but did find a later (June 7, 2006) official press release. Here are the highlights.

- Two Southern California family members originally from the People’s Republic of China were indicted today by a grand jury on charges of lying to the government and acting as agents of the People’s Republic of China. Fuk Heung Li, 48, and her son, Billy Yui Mak, 26, were charged with failing to register as agents of a foreign government and making false statements to federal authorities.

- Chi Mak, an engineer with a U.S. Navy defense contractor, allegedly collected technical information about the U.S. Navy’s current and future warship technologies. This information was sensitive and subject to restriction regarding its distribution, storage and handling. According to court documents, Chi Mak and his wife allegedly copied the information intended for the PRC onto CD-ROM disks, which were then given to Tai Mak. Billy Mak then allegedly encrypted the defense data onto a CD-ROM disk in preparation for surreptitious delivery to the PRC.

CFA asks: Since Fletcher's anti-U.S. posting on Chi Mak, several other news reports and indictments have come to pass and shine negative light on Chi Mak and his intelligence cell, yet Fletcher has not retracted his allegations that the U.S. lied about the Mak's. Why?

In addition, in October of 2006, new indictments were again handed down and Fletcher was silent. Military.com reported the news which included the following:

- The new indictment includes three counts of actual and attempted unlawful export of defense articles for Chi Mak; one count of possession of property in aid of a foreign government for Tai Mak

- Five members of a family accused of scheming to send sensitive information about Navy warships to China were indicted Wednesday on new conspiracy charges, prosecutors said.

More Fletcher analysis coming soon!

Will China Attack the U.S. Political System?

With elections peaking over the hill, will China again worm their way into a position to influence or direct the U.S. political system /elections? What have they learned from 1996 and how will they adjust? Will they use the some 3000 front companies in the U.S. to meet their goal or do they have another assassins mace?

Brief History:

The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy was an alleged effort by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to influence domestic American politics prior to and during the Clinton administration and also involved the fund-raising practices of the administration itself.

Agents of the PRC sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) before the 1996 presidential campaign.

Intelligence information had shown the PRC Embassy in Washington, D.C. was used for coordinating contributions to the DNC[2] in violation of United States law forbidding non-American citizens from giving monetary donations to United States politicians and political parties.

Twenty-two people were eventually convicted for fraud or for funneling Asian funds into the United States elections.

The most significant one-time illegal foreign contribution was a $460,000 donation by Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie to President Bill Clinton's legal defense fund. The donation was made by delivery of an envelope containing $460,000 in $1,000 contributions, some on sequentially numbered money orders made out in different names but with the same handwriting.

In February 1996, Trie brought Wang Jun, chairman of CITIC, the chief investment arm of the PRC, and Poly Technologies (a "front company for the PRC military"that was later charged with smuggling 2,000 AK-47s into the U.S., to a White House) "coffee"with the President Clinton.

Four days prior to Wang Jun's White House visit, the Clinton Administration granted Poly Technologies import permits that would allow the shipment of over 100,000 semi-automatic weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition to a Detroit company (China Jiang An) that had ties to the Chinese military (recall this is a front company).


A number of FBI agents suggested the investigations into the fund-raising controversies (which some dubbed Chinagate) were willfully impeded.

FBI agent Ivian Smith wrote a letter to FBI Director Freeh that expressed "a lack of confidence" in the Justice Department's attorneys regarding the fund-raising investigation.

He wrote: "I am convinced the team at DOJ leading this investigation is, at best, simply not up to the task... The impression left is the emphasis on how not to prosecute matters, not how to aggressively conduct investigations leading to prosecutions." Smith and three other FBI agents later testified before Congress in late 1999 that Justice Department prosecutors impeded their inquiry.

FBI agent Daniel Wehr told Congress that the first head U.S. attorney in the investigation, Laura Ingersoll, told the agents they should "not pursue any matter related to solicitation of funds for access to the president. The reason given was, 'That's the way the American political process works.' I was scandalized by that," Wehr said.

The four FBI agents also said that Ingersoll prevented them from executing search warrants to stop destruction of evidence and micromanaged the case beyond all reason.

FBI agents were also denied the opportunity to ask President Clinton and Vice President Gore questions during Justice Department interviews in 1997 and 1998 and were only allowed to take notes. During the interviews, neither Clinton nor Gore were asked a single question about fundraisers John Huang, James Riady, nor the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple fundraising event led by Maria Hsia and attended by John Huang and Ted Sioeng.

China's Stealth War on the U.S.

There is never a shortage of concern that China is secretly operating a war against the U.S.

In an interesting article from the Council On Foreign Relations, Max Boot outlines a "big picture" of Chinese operations against the U.S. This is good look at the multiple angles which China is covertly attacking the U.S.

China's Stealth War on the U.S.

Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu of the Chinese People's Liberation Army...threatened to nuke "hundreds" of American cities if the U.S. dared to interfere with a Chinese attempt to conquer Taiwan.

In 1998, an official People's Liberation Army publishing house brought out a treatise called "Unrestricted Warfare," written by two senior army colonels, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui. This book, which is available in English translation, is well known to the U.S. national security establishment but remains practically unheard of among the general public.

Their different approaches include financial warfare (subverting banking systems and stock markets), drug warfare (attacking the fabric of society by flooding it with illicit drugs), psychological and media warfare (manipulating perceptions to break down enemy will), international law warfare (blocking enemy actions using multinational organizations), resource warfare (seizing control of vital natural resources), even ecological warfare (creating man-made earthquakes or other natural disasters).

The bid by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Co., to acquire Unocal? Resource warfare. Attempts by China's spy apparatus to infiltrate U.S. high-tech firms and defense contractors? Technological warfare. China siding against the U.S. in the U.N. Security Council over the invasion of Iraq? International law warfare. Gen. Zhu's threat to nuke the U.S.? Media warfare.

Funny how the Falun Gong always show up.

China Cops to Sat Kill; Mysteries Remain

So Beijing has finally owned up to blasting one of their satellites out of orbit .

So, the Chinese decide to really hit a satellite and create a huge cloud of debris. The U.S. detects the intercept and releases the [debris information], provid[ing] the general public with hard evidence that the test really occurred. This raised the credibility of the U.S. And the Chinese are happy because the message they wanted to send to the world has gotten out - loud and clear.

This sort of subterfuge is one of several reasons why Joe Buff thinks that the anti-satellite (ASAT) test wasn't just some rogue operation -- it was authorized from the top. President Hu Jintao "is head of state, commander in chief, and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party all rolled into one," Buff reminds us. "The People's Liberation Army makes sure that the CCP stays in total control of the nation.

This isn't China's only space controversy, long-time satellite-watcher Peter Brown notes in a fascinating piece for the Washington Times. "The loss of another Chinese satellite in early November is causing headaches as well, something that China would prefer to keep quiet."

This involved a spanking new Chinese communications satellite, the largest ever built to date by China. Known as Sinosat-2, it was launched on October 29 and weighed more than 5 tons. In a matter of days, however, any celebrating ended rather abruptly. Sinosat-2 suffered a complete failure and soon was hurtling back into the earth's atmosphere...

Why was China reluctant to admit that Sinosat-2 was in serious trouble? First, this satellite represented China's first flight of its new Dongfanghong or DFH-4 spacecraft bus. Second, Sinosat-2 was the first of a new generation of jamming-resistant satellites created by China after satellite broadcasts were jammed in 2002. These incidents were characterized by the Chinese government as deliberate acts of sabotage carried out by the outlawed Falun Gong involving a satellite known as Sinosat-1.

IDEA MAN: when someone gets their fancy satellite jammed, they would feel real good about cutting the organs out of those responsible.

Boo WU

Anon posts again on organ harvesting, and I appreciate the comments.

I understand everything he/she said, and some points toe the line of making sense. But, the issue at hand transcends organ harvesting. So the State report said they offer nothing new... but we are not just talking about the report.

-Will you agree that China's human rights standards are less than acceptable?

-Will you agree that China harvests organs from prisoners? (they admitted it)

-Will you agree that China has aggressive intelligence operations within the U.S. (numerous cases go to trial every year)?

-Will you agree that the Chinese Army snipers recently killed dissidents trying to cross a mountain pass (unprovoked)?

-Will you agree a Chinese sub stalked a U.S. Battle group?

-Will you agree Chinese defectors in Australia have said China has operatives within the west (including the U.S.) who are seeking to ID and harm the Falun gong.

-Will you agree Chinese intelligence cells have been caught stealing U.S. sensitive technology.

-Will you agree Chinese hackers slam sensitive U.S. facilities on a regular basis?

Now the matter of the Kilgour report. We are basically saying we know China harvests organs... and Kilgour says they are doing if from the Falun Gong. Wu says no they are not. He said, she said. But let's not forget Wu said China has a terrible record on FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING.

When I look at China collectively (above highlights), I gotta tell ya... I believe it, as does every legit human rights organization.

But again, this is besides the point. The point is... is China good for the U.S. given all of their actions? Are they a friend or a foe?

I enjoy it when people post on these issues, but I challenge everyone to respond in a collective/global manner, rather than a single sided pot shot. Look at the big picture!

Wu Quotes:

"The Chinese military is using our money to buy weapons – submarines, ICBMs and fighter jets. Imagine what the PLA will have ten years from now. Chinese spies are all around America, especially Washington, D.C. The PLA has stolen all kinds of equipment from America, including night-vision scopes. The FBI and CIA know this. It is an open secret."

"China is the financier of most of America's enemies, including North Korea, Iraq, Libya and Iran. China is also building a new naval base in Burma and has expanded her reach into South Africa, the Panama Canal, close to the Suez Canal in Sudan and also into the Bahamas."

"Muslims in western China are looking out for their own future. The U.N. Human Rights Declaration and the basic human rights of the so-called 'separatists' must be considered. China's government calls them 'splitists.' The communist dictatorship in Beijing is using their military force – applying killing, torture – against them. If the Muslims in western China want to pick up weapons to fight against the Chinese dictatorship, well, this is not terrorism."

Wu explained that he testified before Congress about China's horrendous record of forced organ harvesting and about China's "one-child" policy.

"There is one sure way to combat China's organ harvesting. Stop the Chinese doctors who want to tend to the organ recipients from coming to America. Stop issuing them visas. Put them in jail. They are like Nazi doctors," Wu said.

Chin's threat to the U.S. is not going away.

As usual Bill Gertz provides a unique and "insider" perspective to the Chinese threat.

Perhaps an overlooked element to the recent ASAT news is that China attempted to kill a satellite on three other occasions. It also appears that on those unsuccessful attempts they again did not notify the U.S. Not until SEVERAL DAYS after the explosion was reported in the popular media did China acknowledge the ASAT kill.

Officials fear war in space by China
By Bill Gertz

U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports said yesterday that three previous tests were unsuccessful

China's anti-satellite-interceptor test Jan. 11 is part of a covert space-weapons program designed to cripple the U.S. military in a conflict

"The ASAT test showed they are not following us [militarily] but trying to leap ahead," one defense official said.

China also illuminated a U.S. satellite with a ground-based laser in another anti-satellite test, according to a report by the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

The report, produced by defense analyst Michael Pillsbury, revealed that China has plans for secret space weapons that include ground-based lasers, air-to-space missile interceptors and an exotic plasma bomb that would destroy orbiting satellites by enveloping them in an electronic cloud. The report also stated that three books written by Chinese colonels in 2001, 2002 and 2005 contain "proposals for covert deployment of antisatellite weapons directed at U.S. assets."
One author, Col. Jia Junming, stated in his 2002 book that Chinese space-weapons development should be covert and "intense internally but relaxed in external appearance to maintain our good international image and position."

The 2005 book, "Joint Space War Campaigns," by Col. Yuan Zelu, calls for deploying an orbiting network of strike weapons that "will be concealed and launched only in a crisis or emergency" to "bring the opponent to his knees."

For the Record: The Honorable David Kilgour

You decide... Mr. Kilgour, Human Rights Organizations, or one Mr. Wu

David Matas and David Kilgour

A reader responded to a post regarding David Kilgour and David Matas. The crux of my post had to do with the Chinese activities against the U.S. The reader did not respond to the theme but rather only took issue with a well covered report by Kilgour and Matas regarding organ harvesting.

In his/her rebuttal the writer notes the report has been rebuked by undercover investigations by the US State Department and Harry Wu and provided links which, in essence, illustrated a lack of understanding.... both to the post and to the report. Although I appreciate the response, I'm afraid the argument was and is groundless.

The U.S. State Department did not conduct an undercover investigation. They asked to see a hospital and, I suspect, gave ample announcement to their visit. Likewise the Chinese Communist Government does not allow the U.S. to run around the country doing unannounced spot checks of their facilities. In additions, it's not in the the U.S. State Department charter to go around the world conducting undercover investigations. To further add insult to injury, the States Departments statement on organ harvesting was published before the Kilgour Matas report... meaning State did not have the data or info before they made their statement. All of these points make the argument groundless.

As for Harry Wu... not sure I call him credible. Now Wu's conducting his own undercover investigation. Most people are wondering who Wu is anyway. Harry Wu's been all tied up with an investigations on organ harvesting since the late 1990's. He clearly understand the Chinese are engage in organ harvesting, as noted from this article when he HELPED the FBI identify illegal sales of organs from prisoners:

Harry Wu In The News
Harry contacted the FBI immediately afterwards. They arranged for Wu's original contact, Harry, and an FBI undercover agent to meet with Wang again on February 20.
Wang offered even pancreases and skin this time. He was accompanied by a Chinese citizen, Xingqui Fu, who lives in Flushing, New York. They were ready to deal. The exact details will come out in the men's trial, as the FBI arrested the two on charges of conspiring to violate the federal law against selling human organs for profit.

So now WU has changed his story... first they are harvesting organs, then not... it's
a wash, and his credibility is blown as fast as a quarter in Las Vegas.

Now compare the reputation WU to Kilgour and Matas. Or compare Wu to the 20 or so human rights watch organizations who ALSO say that China is harvesting organs from prisoners.

Just for the record Mr Kilgrou's credentials:

David Kilgour was one of the two longest-serving MPs in the House of Commons for the 38th Parliament. First elected in 1979 in the riding of Edmonton Strathcona, he has been re-elected seven times, most recently in 2004 to represent the constituents of Edmonton - Mill Woods - Beaumont. Since Confederation, only two Alberta MPs have served longer terms.
In the 38th Parliament, David was Chair of the Canada-ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast; co-chair of the All-Party and Multi-Faith Committee on Religious-Cultural Harmony and the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet; and Canadian Chair of Parliamentarians for Global Action.

Now if only the reader would post on the Chinese Military threat to the U.S. Maybe he/she thinks the ASAT and Laser attacks were disproved by one of Wu's undercover investigations.

U.S. Friend or Enemy?

Every time I read something about a cyber security risk, hack, or intrusion I can count on it originating from one place: China. Seems like every report out there details ties to Chinese security forces who are either attacking critical U.S. infrastructure or worse, stealing critical U.S. technology.

US, China behind two-thirds of computer security threats( AFP)Updated: 2007-01-23 08:48
WASHINGTON - The United States and China host nearly two-thirds of spam, viruses and other computer security threats delivered around the world in 2006.

Computer security firm Sophos said 31 percent of the so-called malware last year originated from China.

washingtonpost.com

Hackers Attack Via Chinese Web Sites: U.S. Agencies' Networks Are Among Targets

Web sites in China are being used heavily to target computer networks in the Defense Department and other U.S. agencies, successfully breaching hundreds of unclassified networks, according to several U.S. officials.

"The scope of this thing is surprisingly big," said one of four government officials who spoke separately about the incidents.

It's not just the Defense Department but a wide variety of networks that have been hit," including the departments of State, Energy and Homeland Security as well as defense contractors, the official said. "This is an ongoing, organized attempt to siphon off information..."

Network attack disables Naval War College

Computer and e-mail systems are off-line at the Naval War College following a network intrusion Nov. 15. After the attack, the Defense Department raised its information warfare awareness level to Information Condition (Infocon) 4.

According to a news report, Chinese hackers are responsible for the attack. One professor told his class Nov. 27 that they took down the entire college network, the report states.

Chinese attacks on DOD systems are far more widespread than is publicly known, Paller said, but almost all attacks remain classified. “The problem is thousands of times bigger than what you hear,” he said.

Chinese Threat to the U.S. 2006 Round Up

Military:
* Theft of U.S. Military Technology: On U.S. Soil
* Kwonhwan Park, a Chinese operative smuggled Black Hawk engines to China.
* Ting-Ih Hsu and Hai Lin Nee illegially shipped Low-noise amplification chips are used with the Hellfire air-to-ground missiles that arm Apache helicopters (top). The chips also have nonmilitary applications. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORBIS (APACHE)
* Chi Mak, Mak Tai-wing and Li Fuk-heung intelligence cell operating in Los Angeles stole material included research into silent propulsion systems for US warships -- technology that is banned from export to China.
* Lan Lee and Yuefei Ge, both Chinese operatives set up a front company backed by a Beijing venture-capital firm with links to China's military. The operatives are accused of stealing chip designs and software from NetLogic Microsystems.
* The FBI's Palo Alto office is investigated approximately a dozen espionage cases with suspected ties to China. Nationwide, the number of cases involving China has spiked more than 50 percent in the past few years.
* Chinese computer hackers penetrated the Naval War College network the computer attack was detected Nov. 15 and two days later the U.S. Strategic Command raised the security alert level for the Pentagon's 12,000 computer networks and 5 million computers.
* China operatives obtained secret stealth technology used on B-2 bomber engines from a Hawaii-based spy ring in a compromise U.S. officials say will allow Beijing to copy or counter a key weapon in the Pentagon's new strategy.
* A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected.
* A former Pentagon analyst who passed highly classified intelligence to two Chinese military officers.

Human Rights
* David Matas and David Kilgour note the government of China have put to death a large number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs, including hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas, were virtually simultaneously seized for sale at high prices.

* In an amazing October report Congressional Quarterly noted the following in their SPYTALK section:
- The white van gunned into a busy Fairfax County, Va., intersection last January, turned right and sped at the line of cars across the yellow line, seeming to aim at the Hyundai Elantra waiting for the light to change.

In the car was Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent political refugee from China who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and her assistant. The truck careened off her door, then backed up. Its engine revved and then the van rammed hard into the Hyundai again, throwing the women back in their seats, shaking them like rag dolls.

Previously her daughter had confronted “Chinese-looking men” videotaping her ground-floor Fairfax apartment from the parking lot, she said. Before they sped off, she wrote down a license number, which was traced to a local car rental agency, and from there to China’s embassy, according to aides to Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Va., who discussed her case with the FBI. (An FBI source confirmed the incident on the basis of anonymity.)

Alim Seytoff, general secretary of the Uyghar American Association, says he and other rights advocates get constant telephone calls from China threatening them and smearing Kadeer.
Uyghars traveling to the United States are offered inducements such as houses and cars to spy on activists in the U.S., he and others say.

- The long arms of China’s secret police have reached into the United States, according to witnesses at the hearing, who recounted physical intimidation, beatings and even death threats against Falun Gong practitioners in Atlanta, New York and Chicago, where assault charges were filed against a Chinese consulate official.

In upstate New York, according to a congressional staffer, Chinese agents took pictures of license plates at a Falun Gong event, and then apparently traced them through their owners back to relatives in China, who started getting threats.

In Providence, R.I., activists took pictures of a Chinese man who regularly emptied newspaper boxes selling periodicals critical of the regime.

Anywhere in the U.S. that Falun Gong activists apply for protest permits or sponsor human rights-oriented events, Chinese diplomats or their agents can be counted on to pressure local officials, according to news reports and independent sources.

In a heretofore unreported incident in Austin, Texas, last year, a senior manager at a major Internet technology company with extensive business in China was pressured into resigning after getting involved in a pro-human rights art exhibit, according to two sources. With legal action pending, the persons involved were reluctant to discuss the issue further.

- Atlanta, USA - Peter Yuan Li was beaten, tied up, blindfolded with duct tape and robbed of two laptop computers last week by three Asian men who burst into his suburban Atlanta home with a gun and knife. He and other Chinese-Americans suspect it was no ordinary robbery. Li, who works for a newspaper and Web site critical of the Chinese Communist Party, is one of several people tied to China's banned Falun Gong spiritual movement who say they have been harassed and hit with break-ins in the United States by Chinese agents.

- The other cases of harassment in the United States mostly involve threatening phone calls. However, Alex Ma, a vice president for the San Francisco branch of The Epoch Times and a Falun Gong member, said his home was broken into twice last year, and in the first incident, two laptops were taken.

After the first break-in, Ma said, he got a call from an older sister in China, who rarely calls. She asked him to stop doing things the government doesn't like, he said. Haiying He, a Falun Gong member who lives outside Boston, said he has gotten threatening calls.

He also said that his father back in China once passed along a message from officials there that they were keeping an eye on him.

In another instance, Ma said, he got a message on his home phone that was a recording of a cell phone call he had had with another Epoch Times employee. Ma said he is convinced the incidents are part of an effort by Chinese government authorities to intimidate those who criticize them. ``You cannot say this is all coincidence,'' he said.

Chinese Sub Stalks U.S. Navy

China continues to challenge the U.S. military. In late 2006, a Chinese sub went unnoticed while it stalked U.S. Navy vessel. China: A threat?

Chinese sub stalks U.S. Navy.

China continues to challenge the U.S. military. In late 2006, a Chinese sub went unnoticed while it stalked U.S. Navy vessel. China: A threat?

Why blow up a satellite?

Folks... really now, what is the reason to blow up your own satellite? No longer working? No longer have use for it? A developing country like China would obviously have to ask: what happens when we blow the thing up? What purpose does blowing it up have? Here's what I'm getting at, in case you missed it back in December Space Daily posted a good article about China's ability recover satellites... so, if your aim is peace, why test the ability to blow up a satellite... why not just recover it?

China Enhances Spacecraft Monitoring Network
China is beefing up its space-monitoring network, and will locate its central command system powered by sophisticated homegrown technology in north China's Xi'an city, according to an industry source.

Scientists at the center successfully recovered China's first satellite re-entry module on Nov. 29, 1975 -- three days after its launch -- making China the third country in the world to master the technology, following the former Soviet Union and the United States.

China has launched 22 recoverable satellites and got back 21 of them after 30 years of space technological development.

U.S. has no defense for Chinese Anti-Satellite?

Check out the buzz out Defense Tech.org. The first paragraph lays out what many have been fearing, the U.S. may be unable to do anything against a Chinese satellite. Hey, that's what friends are for right?

China Space Attack: Unstoppable
China has shown it can destroy a satellite in orbit. What could the U.S. do to stop Beijing, if it decided to attack an American orbiter next? Short answer: nothing.

It takes about 20 minutes to fire a ballistic missile into space, and have its "kill vehicle" strike a satellite at hypersonic speed -- over 15,000 miles per hour -- in low-earth orbit. That's far too quick for anything in the American arsenal to respond, in time. There's "no possibility of shielding" a relatively-fragile satellite against such a strike. "And it is impractical [for a satellite] to carry enough fuel to maneuver away even if you had specific and timely warning of an attack," Center for Defense Information analyst Theresea Hitchens notes.

Hot analysis on Chinese Satellite Threat.

The good people over at China Confidential have put together an excellent analysis of the Chinese Anti-Satellite threat, Chinese Propaganda, and deeper issues behind the latest satellite test. I've attached a few excerpts from their blog for you.

China's Slap-in-the-Face Satellite Strike

For the United States, China's destruction of one of its own obsolete weather satellites is at a minimum a serious slap in the face by an increasingly nationalistic regime bent on replacing the US as the global Hegemon.

The satellite intercept by a medium-range KT-1 ballistic missile belies Beijing's peacefully rising propaganda and the wishful thinking--or outright disinformation--on the part of the fawning US State Department that China is becoming a so-called responsible stakeholder in the international community.

The brazen blast also mocks the absurd argument of US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that China's economic, political--and even military--rise is somehow in the US national interest. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The satellite strike could be the tip of the iceberg, or missile, if you will. Worse news is yet to come. The destroyed orbiter occupied a region of space only around 500 miles high--known as low-Earth orbit--which is the lowest of the available satellite orbits. Low-Earth orbit is favored for spy satellites because it gives the military the best possible images of the ground.

"China's action makes the whole world suspect that China's self-claimed 'peaceful emergence' is deception and propaganda," Taiwan government spokesman Cheng Wen-tsan said. "Deep in its bones, China want to become a military superpower and dominate the region by force."

Ironically, in written testimony submitted to the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the same day China conducted its anti-satellite test, the country was named alongside Russia as "the primary states of concern regarding military space and counter-space programs" by US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Said Maples: "Several countries continue to develop capabilities that have the potential to threaten US space assets, and some have already deployed systems with inherent anti-satellite capabilities, such as satellite-tracking laser range-finding devices and nuclear-armed ballistic missiles."

China Attempted To Blind U.S. Satellites With a Laser

In late 2006, China painted U.S. Satellites with a high power laser.... odd behavior for a "close friend".

China has fired high-power lasers at U.S. spy satellites flying over its territory in what experts see as a test of Chinese ability to blind the spacecraft, according to sources.

According to top officials, however, China not only has the capability, but has exercised it. It is not clear when China first used lasers to attack American satellites. Sources would only say that there have been several tests over the past several years.

Photo from: Defense Tech.org

Pentagon officials, however, have kept quiet regarding China’s efforts as part of a Bush administration policy to keep from angering Beijing, which is a leading U.S. trading partner and seen as key to dealing with onerous states like North Korea and Iran.

"China has fired high-power lasers at U.S. spy satellites flying over its territory in... a test of Chinese ability to blind the spacecraft," Defense News is reporting. And, at least in theory, those lasers might be able temporarily take offline America's most powerful orbiting spies, like the giant electro-optical Keyhole spacecraft or radar-based satellites like the Lacrosse.


Defense Tech.org

China Blinds American Military Satellite System?

China's success in destroying a weather satellite out in space should be a warning to the world Will HuttonSunday January 21, 2007 The Observer

Last week China launched a missile from a base in remote western China and destroyed one of its ageing weather satellites 537 miles into space. It was an eloquent statement of its developing capacity to blind the entire American military system which is dependent on up to 200 satellites - and has sent a cold shiver down the spine of the Japanese, American and Taiwanese military establishments. If ever there is a war in Asia, this will be seen a critical moment.

THE BIG QUESTION

If your a country who is "peaceful" and you decide to to bring down an old satellite via ballistic missile, do you think it would be LOGICAL to give the world community a "heads up"?

If you decide to blow up your satellite, does your military and political system ponder what might happen to the debris left behind, or...the impact the explosion might have?

If you do blow up a satellite with a military ballistic missile and somehow forget to tell the world about it, forget to consider the implications of the explosion, don't you think, if you are peaceful, you would explain your actions to the world?

So the BIG QUESTION IS: did China know exactly what it was doing when it secretly launched an anti-satellite missile in space, of which, much of the debris has consequences on U.S. Satellites. YOU DECIDE!!!

Concern grows over China's satellite-killing missile test

The United States says China used a ground-based ballistic missile to shoot apart an aging weather satellite on January 11, scattering debris that could damage other satellites and raising risks of escalating military rivalry in outer space.

There's a lot of questions that are out there," said a U.S. official who asked not to be named, saying China had yet to provide answers.