Al Santoli, historian and author, discussed how Lippogate and the DNC fundraising activities of John Huang tie into U.S. relations with the People's Republic of China. "All roads [in this scandal] lead to China," he said. "When you look into the mainline Chinese firms and banks involved in Lippo, you lead straight into Chinese intelligence." Santoli also discussed news reports in the London Times saying that Chinese intelligence started an intelligence effort through Lippo just days after President Clinton's 1992 election. "[Lippogate] is a much greater intelligence problem than it is a campaign finance reform problem," he said. "We have to get to the bottom of what is the relationship between all of these overseas Chinese officials and Democrats and Republicans." Santoli has been working with Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-NY) and the House Rules Committee to investigate these issues. Contact Al Santoli at 703/255-6437.
Michael Benge, a board member of the National Alliance of Families for POWs and MIAs and a former five-year Vietnam War POW, briefed participants on the contents of recently declassified CIA and DoD secret documents. The documents state that Cuban personnel, under direction from Moscow, carried out a so-called "Cuban Program" in Hanoi during the Vietnam war to use American POWs as guinea pigs to determine the most effective ways of using drugs and torture to get prisoners to cooperate. Benge called on the Senate to withhold approval of the new Ambassador to Vietnam, former Rep. Pete Peterson, until Hanoi gives the United States the names of the four Cubans most directly responsible for running the center. He also urged the public to contact the Senate, particularly Wyoming Republican Senator Craig Thomas (202/224-6441, e-mail Craig@Thomas.Senate.gov) to urge them to delay the Ambassador's confirmation until Hanoi gives the United States this information. Contact Michael Benge at 703/875-4063 (http://www.nationalalliance.org).
Dr. J. Michael Waller of the American Foreign Policy Council announced that the Clinton Administration has clamped down on the amount of information on foreign developments available to U.S. journalists and academics by shutting down public access to the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), a Department of Commerce publication which transcribes foreign broadcast media reports into English and makes them available to U.S. intelligence agencies, to government policymakers, and, at a steep price, to journalists, academics and the public at-large. Waller commended a Boston Globe editorial condemning this decision and speculated that the motive is to reduce criticism of the Clinton Administration's foreign policy by U.S. academics and journalists. Waller urged the U.S. Congress to restore public access to FBIS. Contact Dr. Waller at 202/462-6055 or jmwaller@AOL.com (http://www.afpc.org).
Dr. Neil Livingstone, anti-terrorism expert and author, briefed participants on problems the United States is facing as we attempt to reduce our vulnerability to terrorists. Livingstone described the current letter-bomb campaign and showed participants how easily these bombs are made, discussed security at the U.S. embassy in Kuwait based on his recent visit there, discussed how contributions made to the Democratic National Committee may have influenced anti-terrorism policy, reviewed what he termed Saudi Arabia's "lack of cooperation" with the U.S. in investigating the bombing at a U.S. military installation, and revealed that the Clinton Administration has entered a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of Libya in a court case relating to the Pan Am flight blown up by terrorists over Lockerbie, Scotland. Finally, Livingstone urged the Senate to raise terrorism issues during the confirmation hearings of CIA director-designate Anthony Lake. Contact Dr. Livingstone at 202/342-0309.
Baker Spring of the Heritage Foundation discussed the Clinton Administration's desire to get the Chemical Weapons Treaty ratified and why many analysts believe the treaty is dangerous. He said that it would take "extraordinary measures" (i.e., the Senate bypassing its own traditional procedures) to get the treaty through the Senate, and urged participants to contact the Senate "to say: 'no extraordinary measures.'" Contact Baker Spring at 202/546-4400 or gabrona@heritage.org (put "Attn: Baker Spring" in message) (http://www.heritage.org).
Tom Jipping of the Free Congress Foundation's Center for Law and Democracy provided a preview of a press conference scheduled for January 27 at 10 AM at the National Press Club where his group will announce the formation of the largest (260+ organizations), most diverse grassroots coalition in history to oppose judicial activism. Contact Tom Jipping at 202/546-3000.
Dr. J. Michael Waller of the American Foreign Policy Council revealed and discussed the fact that a U.S. government agency headed by the wife of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has just extended a $200 million loan to Russia to help them modernize their ballistic missiles. Contact Dr. Waller at 202/462-6055 or jmwaller@AOL.com (http://www.afpc.org).
Colonel John DePauw distributed summaries of the Pentagon's Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on Information Warfare's report warning of a possible "electronic Pearl Harbor" if terrorists or other enemies of the U.S. attack government, academic and private U.S. computer networks. Copies of the DSB report are available to the public, he said, by calling the DSB at 202/695-4157. Contact Col. DePauw at 703/532-8939.
Tim Hunter of State Department Watch updated participants on
the effort to get the U.S. government and, failing that, the states
to ban importation of good made abroad by slave labor. The U.S.
government has a law on the books banning the importation of such
goods, but the Customs Services refuses to enforce it. Contact
Tim Hunter at 703/522-7196 or 202/669-5558 or timhunter@juno.com.*
Scoop is published by The National Center for Public Policy
Research to provide information about the activities of the conservative
movement. Coverage of a meeting or statement in Scoop does not
imply endorsement by The National Center for Public Policy Research.
Copyright 1997 The National Center for Public Policy Research.
Reprints of articles in Scoop permitted provided source is credited.
###