Four people have been arrested in Los Angeles and charged with smuggling vital defense secrets to China. The information believed to have been transferred includes details on the Aegis battle-management system, a vital component of U.S. cruisers and destroyers, and on the new Virginia-class attack submarines. Officials said that based on a preliminary assessment, China now will be able to track U.S. submarines. It is also believed that information was provided which would facilitate the development of electromagnetic pulse weapons, which could disrupt electronics over a wide area, as well as information on unmanned aerial vehicles.
U.S. intelligence officials said the case remains under investigation but that it could prove to be among the most damaging spy cases since the 1985 case of John A. Walker Jr., who passed Navy communication codes to Moscow for 22 years.
Here is the (rather brief) New York Times article on this matter. Read it for yourself, and see if you think it properly represents the seriousness of what has apparently happened here.
Do you think that this will receive anywhere near the media attention which has been devoted to the Valerie Plame affair?
(also posted at Photon Courier)
Well, no, of course not. Mainstream Media would really have to work hard on this… without the payoff of making the Bush administation look bad.
Ummm… do I really have to post sarcasm tags on this? I am not really good at html stuff…
The Chineese should know by now, that it’s cheaper in the long run, to just buy your secrets straight from the democrats. That way you’re immune from prosecution.