Posted on 07/24/2004 10:33:15 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
US Energy Department to shut down labs over leaks
AP , WASHINGTON
Sunday, Jul 25, 2004,Page 1
The US Department of Energy (DOE), responding to a security scandal at the Los Alamos weapons lab, ordered a halt to classified work at as many as two dozen facilities that use removable computer disks like those missing at the New Mexico lab.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said on Friday that the "stand-down" at DOE operations that use the disks, containing classified material involving nuclear weapons research, was needed to get better control over the devices.
The disks, known as "controlled removable electronic media" or CREM, have been at the heart of an uproar over lax security at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where work has been stopped as scientists search for two of the disks reported missing on July 7.
Fifteen workers have been suspended, including 11 who had access to a safe where the disks were stored. Officials believed they had been accounted for in an April inventory, but that also is being questions because of possible irregularities in that audit.
The missing Los Alamos disks raised concern within the Energy Department about the handling of the devices at other facilities involved in nuclear weapons research, department officials said.
Abraham said he wanted to "minimize the risk of human error or malfeasance" that could compromise the classified nuclear-related information held in the devices that are used at DOE facilities nationwide in nuclear-related work.
"While we have no evidence that the problems currently being investigated [at Los Alamos] are present elsewhere, we have a responsibility to take all necessary action to prevent such problems from occurring at all," Abraham said in a statement.
The department declined to identify the sites that will be affected by the work suspensions, beginning tomorrow.
The directive was sent to all 59 DOE facilities nationwide, but the number actually affected is expected to be "less than two dozen ... but more than 15," said a senior DOE official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The stand-down involves classified work across the government's nuclear weapons complex wherever the CREM storage devices are used, the official said.
It will continue until an inventory of the devices is completed and new control measures on their use is put in place, said DOE spokesman Joe Davis. Employees using the disks also must undergo security training.
"There will be disruptions to ongoing projects," Davis said. "But we view this as a necessary step to make sure that we have a complete accounting."
At many of the facilities nonclassified work will continue and "a lot of stuff will continue to go on," Davis said.
Among the sites affected are the DOE's other two major nuclear weapons research laboratories: Lawrence Livermore in California and Sandia in Albuquerque, New Mexico. where a classified disk was missing and then reported found last week.
Livermore spokesman David Schwoegler said 876 of Livermore's more than 9,000 workers have access to the security sensitive CREMs.
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It's a little late .. Clinton already sold our secrets
So do I. But, does the FedGov? IMO, no. One of my guys just returned from Sandia, Albequerque NM. Problems = zero.
Did a classified disk go missing from Livermore or Sandia? I haven't heard this; sounds like from the article it was Sandia.
Los Alamos has some lost they have yet to find!
Lots of unclassified work at these Labs.!!!
It is a big deal.
Again, as usual, they are doing the wrong thing: they treat it, as if the disks were the problem, not the negligent or treasonous people taking them.
They should focus on finding who were the culprits taking the disks.
Sounds like they downloaded KAZA; can we as taxpayers be sued???????? Who T F is in charge over there and if need be can we shoot him/her outright to start and then move down the chain to find out WTF is going on? Better ideas, this is "dust under the rug" from the Clinton administration. As far as leaving a CAL (cal tech, ucla,...)school in charge...AMF dudes. This is a f'n shame, crime, ...! Why does this place keep rearing it's head?
When they closed Los Alamos the other day I wondered if it might relate to any of the highly-classified documents Sandy Berger had, so now I'm wondering that again. Berger was a Chinese lobbyist--did he have any links to Wen Ho Lee or anyone around Lee? Alamo-Girl, I'm pinging you on this because I know you're a lot more familiar with that area than I am and would like to hear any thoughts you may have. I could be way off here, I'm just playing a hunch.
okay, thanks. Bottom line: this is unbelievable and needs to STOP!!!!!!!!! Let's hope the workers were trying to impress somebody who wouldn't listen that this was a potential problem. I doubt it, but optimistically hope.
from a Washington Times editorial in 1999
Clintonitis -- a chronic nerve disease that seeks out and destroys character, ethics and morals neurons.
Washington Times Editorial March 22-28, 1999
Amazing how the chickens come home to roost ...
Thanks, good link.
Here are some key dates from the timelines:
Fowler Memo to Doug Sosnik at WH requesting a meeting for Hotung with either Sandy Berger or Anthony Lake. Mentions twice in space of a single page what a "strong supporter" Hotung is. - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/scandal/inside/cron.html
October 3, 1995
Sandy Berger meets for a photo opportunity with DNC $100,000 donor Eric Hotung, at Fowler's request. Briefing memo for Berger describes Hotung as fabulously rich, but urges him not to spend much time with him. - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/scandal/inside/cron.html
December, 1995
The Senators [Shelby, Kyl, Smith] added [in a 7/98 letter to Sandy Berger]: "Our information is that the Secretary of Energy was made aware of [the improper release during declassification of sensitive data] in December 1995 and again in January 1996. The National Security Council staff was also briefed in January 1996. No remedial action was taken as a result of these meetings. In our opinion, this lack of action may be a very serious infraction of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954." - Gaffney's Web Site 4/99
Late 1995 and Early 1996
“…In late 1995 and early 1996, Trulock and his team took their findings to the FBI….This suspect "stuck out like a sore thumb," said one official…. By April 1996, the Energy Department decided to brief the White House. A group of senior officials including Trulock sat down with Sandy Berger, then Clinton's deputy national security adviser, to tell him that China appeared to have acquired the W-88 and that a spy for China might still be at Los Alamos…By June the FBI formally opened a criminal investigation into the theft of the W-88 design. But the inquiry made little progress over the rest of the year…. The bureau maintained tight control over the case…. “New York Times 3/06/99 Jeff Gerth
April, 1996
“…in April of 1996 -- a Department of Energy official informed President Clinton's deputy national security adviser, Samuel Berger, (1) that China had probably stolen our secrets of making warheads small enough to enable long-range missiles to pack multiple nuclear punches, and (2) that the suspected spy was still at work in the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. Mr. Berger, who sat in on most of the political meetings with Clinton's Asian fund-raisers, did nothing. The internal security division of the Department of Justice apparently did not ask a court for wiretap authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. At Reno Justice, investigating any Chinese penetration is a no-no…” NY Times OpEd 3/8/99 William Safire “
April 13, 1996
Energy Department officials tell Sandy Berger, then deputy director of the National Security Council, of reports that China stole warhead designs and information about the neutron bomb. According to the officials, the April 1996 briefing of Berger included evidence of the theft of the W-88 design, the need to increase security at the weapons laboratories and the report about the loss of neutron bomb data. "It was a pretty specific briefing," one American official who was present said.
July, 1997
Second Briefing of White House by Sandy Berger re: China espionage
September 11, 1997
In testimony before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger states that foreign visitors regularly attended White House meetings with Bill Clinton without background checks into their pasts. He also testified that he saw no evidence of "extraneous influences" on the Clinton Administration's foreign policy, despite visits to the White House by some questionable characters with overseas interests.Under questioning by Thompson, Berger defended his participation in weekly campaign strategy meetings during the Clinton re-election effort last year. Republicans also questioned Berger about a picture that was taken of him and international businessman Eric Hotung whose wife gave substantial contributions to the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She is a U.S. citizen, but he is not. The meeting and photograph were requested by DNC chairman Don Fowler.
It may well be unconnected. If there is a connection I'm thinking it's a deep one--something like, Berger may have helped aid and abet some of the spying at Los Alamos under Clinton, and part of his purpose in retrieving the documents he stole may have been to cover up his role in that (in addition to the terrorism-related stuff), so that now that the Berger investigation has been leaked, any related investigations into Los Alamos may have also been compromised. Again, I realize this may have nothing to do with why Los Alamos has been closed, just a line of thought I'm testing to see if it's plausible.
Thanks much for all that information! The parts about the fundraising and not passing epsionage information on are what intrigue me, and also the memo requesting a meeting with either Berger or Lake--seems interesting that those two were requested. Still, like you say, no direct connection to Lee & Co. there; and also not necessarily related to what's going on today, either. I will check out the DSL like you recommend and try to get a better picture--thanks again!
Take a look at all the "players" named here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a38deec2879b4.htm
Conspiracy To Commit Treason
Posted on 03/26/2000
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