Posted on 07/31/2006 10:23:43 AM PDT by Paul Ross
Spy Case May Offer Clues How Chinese Missile Ended Up in Hezbollah's Arsenal
by Ed Timperlake
Posted Jul 26, 2006
In February 1999, Dr. Ronald N. Montaperto was identified by PBS’ News Hour during a segment on “human rights in China” as “a senior fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense University.” He was also said to be “advising the Pentagon on Chinese military issues.” At the same time he was preening for PBS, however, he was an espionage agent for the People’s Republic of China.
A joint Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and FBI investigation nailed Montaperto’s spying for the PRC beyond any reasonable doubt, and Montaperto recently confessed to violating the “Espionage Act” in U.S. District Court.
Montaperto is currently awaiting sentencing, and one hopes he is telling everything he knows, perhaps in the hope of a lesser sentence. But make no mistake, he passed top-secret information to a PRC military officer. Our nation is at greater risk because of his treachery.
As example of his perfidy is stated in the criminal case: “One disclosure dealt with the sale of military equipment to a Middle Eastern country.” That simple declarative sentence could have had direct life-and-death consequences.
If in selling out his country Montaperto revealed the sources and methods of how the U.S. could identify PRC military sales, those individuals who trusted the U.S. could have been killed and/or extremely capable and expensive technology to gather information compromised.
Taken even further, if the country was Iran and the military technology was the Chinese C-802 anti-ship missile (Ying-Ji-802), Montaperto’s release of top-secret information could have shut down our knowledge of where the missiles were ultimately going. The C-802 in the hands of Hezbollah recently surprised the world by slamming into an Israeli warship and killing Israeli sailors.
What is truly amazing with the Montaperto spy case is how the media have ignored it. Bill Gertz of the Washington Times, as always, did an exemplary job in both breaking the story and staying ahead of it. But throughout the mainstream media the silence has been deafening.
For example, two very capable Washington Post reporters, Robert Kaiser (now associate editor) and Steven Mufson, in a Page 1 story on Feb. 22, 2000, “Blue Team Draw A Hard Line on Beijing,” describe the Washington battle between those of us who think the PRC is a military threat to America and our allies -- the Blue Team -- and those who disagree with that view -- the Red Team. As an aside, this blue-red battle continues to rage today.
In the Post’s fair and well-written, front-page story, Montaperto, a very influential member of the “Red Team,” is directly quoted:
“Scholars who have been targets of Blue Team scorn say there is an increasingly politicized atmosphere among Sinologists “It’s not as much fun as it used to be,” said Ronald N. Montaperto, a professor at the National Defense University whom the Blue Team considers soft on China. “Debate has become very personal and very political and frequently generates more heat than light.”
So Montaperto was quoted in the Washington Post as a thoughtful scholar who, poor dear, had to suffer the scorn of the Blue Team. Well, the putz is a spy, and I did not read of his treason in the Post.
Panda Hugger caught Red-Handed. National Defense University penetrated by Chinese moles.
IMHO, it was a travesty that the IDF parked its most capable warship off the coast of Lebannon to protect its gunships who were shelling Lebaneze and Hezbullah targets from air attack, and then did not turn on their most powerful and capable anti-air defensive systems.
The IDF claims that their intelligence indicated that Hezbullah had no anit-shipping missiles of this caliber in Lebannon, but that is precisely what this ship is most capable of defending against. The fact that they were shelling targets in conjunction with attacks on Hezbullah, whom we know, and they knew, derived their principle technological weapons from Iran, whom we all know has the C-802 in their inventory, borders on dereliction in my estimation.
Just my opinion on the matter.
Agreed. Very disconcerting. If there wasn't an air threat, then why not use an older obsolete gunboat to do any necessary shelling? The switching off of the air defense is just insane..."to protect their own pilots"? IFF is supposed to work...not just theoretically. And if it doesn't...its better to find out sooner rather than later.
This kind of timidity smacks of the worst of U.S. politically-constrained operations and the shackles of rules of engagement that cost us lives.
You're welcome!
What about the help the Chicoms got from the US on missile guidance systems? Do they have anything to do with making these missiles "marketable"? Wasn't it under Ron Brown's stewardship that the technology was given to the Chicoms by a leading US firm?
Yes...but that guidance, which came from Loral, was more geared towards intercontinental ballistic missiles (and therefore an even worse threat to the US). The guidance for these missiles is a different animal and an order of magnitude less complicated, albeit it is very complicated in its own right.
The IDF put the ship there, their most sophisticated vessel, and most capable at defending against air attack...and a vessel with no bomardment gun fire capability itself...to protect the ships doing the shore bombarment from enemy air attack.
Then they do not turn on their most capable air defense systems?
Either it was an unbelievable gross failure of intelligence, or so "PC" as to be sickening...and fatal. Somewhere in that chain of command there was a breakdown of the most fundamental nature IMHO.
Thanks for the info. I couldn't recall the company involved. I guess it isn't directly responsible but it certainly should make us leery of allowing our technology to get into the wrong hands, or those hands less committed to freedom.
Amen and spot on!
Sadly, ultimately tragically, we have many of our own citizens and several supposed allies who think nothing of abetting actual and potential enemies with such technology for their own financial gain.
I point out exactly where such miscalculations can lead in my:
Just an FYI ping
"Either it was an unbelievable gross failure of intelligence, or so "PC" as to be sickening...and fatal. Somewhere in that chain of command there was a breakdown of the most fundamental nature IMHO."
Perhaps it was just incompetence?
Bump. It kind of looks like the IDF had its own "China Blind-spot", Doesn't it?
This bears some emphasis. To what degree are these China operatives undermining not just intel, but operations? As we saw here, misleading and false intel either at input or more likely...internal handling...directly undermined IDF operations. How much more are our operations at risk?
E.g., The Chi-Comms are currently now stepping up their overt activity, as their covert manipulations of American opinion and decision-making apparatus (such as Montparto and his gang, etc.) are detected by the Good Guys and glacial-slow action action taken to dismantle their influence operations. Here was a relevant story that needs watching:
July 14, 2006
Damage assessment
Congress has been asked to conduct a damage assessment of the intelligence compromise caused by former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) analyst Ronald N. Montaperto, who pleaded guilty last month to illegally retaining classified information and who told investigators he passed secrets to China."I am deeply concerned about the damage that has been done by Ronald N. Montaperto to our country's formulation and implementation of foreign policy related to the People's Republic of China [PRC]," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican and chairman of the House International Relations oversight and investigations subcommittee.
Mr. Rohrabacher stated in a letter to David M. Walker, the chief of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that the agency should check policy documents that were "prepared and influenced" by Montaperto and that affected U.S. policy toward China.
The July 6 letter also asked GAO to investigate propaganda themes Montaperto supported throughout his career in speeches, scholarly work and conference roles.
Montaperto was a senior China analyst at DIA who came under suspicion of being a Chinese spy in 1991 but who continued to hold a security clearance at the National Defense University and U.S. Pacific Command until his dismissal in 2004.
"In addition, I need to know whether he was in a position of authority that enabled him to hire and/or fire employees whose views concerning the PRC differed from his," Mr. Rohrabacher stated, noting that the review should include Montaperto's role in analysis of Chinese intentions.
The report was requested "as soon as possible" in both classified and unclassified forms.
According to court papers, Montaperto admitted during a ruse by FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents that he passed top-secret information to Chinese military intelligence officer Yu Zenghe.
Friends of Montaperto in the U.S. intelligence and policy communities have sought to defend the former analyst and have criticized the FBI. One of the supporters, Lonnie Henley, deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia, recently defended Montaperto in an e-mail and as a result has come under scrutiny by the office of Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte.
Thanks for the ping!
(sarcasm)Hey, last time I was cruising around town in the Pearl Delta, the women smiled and the neon in the shops shone. I saw the Golden Arches. Thomas Friedman says, and I believe him, that no two countries with the Golden Arches have ever gone to war. Plus, I just could never stomach the idea of nuking all those nice people I met. We need engAAAAAAAAAgement. We need to let the mAAAAAAAAArket work its wonders. Trust us. The PRC are "core" (credit to Barnett on that little ditty) and so are we! (/sarcasm)
Well, I guess I doubt his historicity. Serbia (first McDonalds' in March 24, 1988) was bombed by the U.S. in the so-called Kosovo War by NATO under Xlinton in 1999.
And that is but one of many examples.
Youre welcome! Note the posting on #14 on Montaperto. You wouldn't happen to have the Xlinton tie-ins for him?
Thanks for the heads up! But sorry, I don't have him on my radar.
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