The Power of Political Influence

Friends,
After learning this morning China has the ability to launch a long range missile I thought back how this came about
and present the time line which got us to where we are today. Its a bit lengthen, but an easy read....


Beginning in 1995, as the re-election campaign of former President Clinton was getting started, so were the efforts of Loral Industries to do business with China, which had been prevented from acquiring sensitive technology. Both efforts worked to bring us to where we are today....

Here is a time line of events..

April 24, 1995: Loral chairman Schwartz gives $25,000 to the Democratic National Committee.

June 30, 1995: Schwartz gives $20,000 to Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which provide support for Democratic Senate candidates.

Aug. 30, 1995: Schwartz gives $75,000 to DNC.

Sept. 30, 1995: Schwartz gives $20,500 to DSCC.

Nov. 29, 1995: Schwartz gives $100,000 to DNC.

Nov. 29, 1995: A Chinese government agency writes Loral, asking for help in getting an upgrade for its dual-use imaging technology, exports of which are prohibited under U.S. sanctions.

Jan. 26, 1996: Loral is sold to Lockheed for $9 billion.

CLINTON APPROVES LAUNCH

Feb. 6, 1996: Clinton approves the launch of four communications satellites on Chinese rockets.

Feb. 6, 1996: Wang Jun of CITIC, owners of percentages in Chinese satellite companies, visits the White House for coffee and dines with Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.

Feb. 8, 1996: The White House and Commerce Department begin to talk about the satellite export issue again.

Feb. 14, 1996: A Chinese rocket carrying Loral Intelsat satellite explodes, destroying a Chinese village.

Feb. 15, 1996: Schwartz gives $15,000 to DSCC.

Feb. 15, 1996: The State Department gets an urgent request from the White House to speed up the process of switching the satellite licensing to the Commerce Department.

Feb. 29, 1996: Schwartz gives $50,000 to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which bankrolls Democratic House candidates.


March 8, 1996: China launches missiles.

March 14, 1996: Clinton decides to move the satellite licensing function to the Commerce Department.

March 15, 1996: Loral President J.A. Lindfelt writes Commerce to say the export of a dual-use technology, known as synthetic aperture radar, is being held up by the Defense, State and Commerce departments.

April 1996: Schwartz announces the formation of Loral Space and Communications.

April 24, 1996: Schwartz gives $50,000 to DSCC.

June 10, 1996: Schwartz gives $100,000 to DNC.

July 22, 1996: Liu Chao-Ying of China Aerospace meets Clinton with Johnny Chung.

July 31, 1996: Schwartz gives $5,000 to DSCC.

INFLUX OF CHINESE MONEY

August 1996: Chung accounts show an influx of $300,000 from Liu Chao-Ying.

Aug. 18, 1996: Chung gives $20,000 to DNC to attend Clinton's birthday party

Aug. 28, 1996: Chung gives $15,000 to DNC at Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Sept. 16, 1996: Schwartz gives $30,000 to DSCC.

Sept. 20, 1996: Schwartz gives $20,000 to DSCC.

Oct. 16, 1996: Schwartz gives $10,000 to DSCC.

Oct. 18, 1996: Schwartz gives $70,000 to DNC.

Oct. 24, 1996: Schwartz gives $5,000 to DSCC.

Nov. 5, 1996: New guidelines on Commerce licensing of satellites are published.

Nov. 5, 1996: Clinton is elected to his second term as president.

Oct., 1997: A federal investigation of Loral begins.

Feb. 12, 1998: As Clinton ponders whether to sign another waiver allowing launch of a Loral satellite aboard a Chinese missile, National Security Adviser Sandy Berger sends him a memo saying the Justice Department `has cautioned that a national interest waiver in this case could have a significant adverse impact on any prosecution [of Loral] that might take place based on a pending investigation of export violation.'

But Berger adds that `the advantages of this project outweigh the risk,' and `it is inappropriate to penalize [Loral] before they have even been charged with any crime.'  (NOTE: If you recall Berger was  sentenced Thursday to community service and probation and fined $50,000 for illegally removing highly classified documents from the National Archives and intentionally destroying some of them.)

Feb. 18, 1998: Clinton signs a waiver allowing Loral satellite to be lifted into orbit by the Chinese.

All told, Schwartz was the largest single contributor to Democrats during the 1996 election cycle. He and his wife contributed over  $1.1 million to federal campaigns, almost all of which went to Democratic candidates and party committees.


This brings us to present day.....
August 4, 2010 Chinese missile could shift Pacific power balance
U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with what analysts say is a game-changing weapon being developed by China — an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng 21D that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles).


To close, what occurred beginning in 1995 paved the way for China to reach this point. But, is much worse  than a single threat from China.
During the same  period North Korea (time line below) accelerated their ability to threaten its neighbors, which could not have been achieved without access to China's (or more accurately the US) technology.
With North Korea having this technology it is not a stretch to see the "trickle down" of many Muslim states which threaten US interests, notable Syria and Iran.

Don't know what we can do, our technological "horse" is out of the barn.  It would be horrific if one of our nuclear powered carrier was destroyed, with a lose of lives near twice as many as we lost on 9/11.
Tony