A Convenient Spy: Wen Ho Lee and the Politics of Nuclear Espionage
Type
E-Book
Authors
ISBN 10
0743223780
Category
International Relations
[ Browse Items ]
Publication Year
2001
Publisher
Pages
384
Subject
Lee, Wen Ho; Los Alamos National Laboratory -- Security measures; Espionage, Chinese -- New Mexico -- Los Alamos -- History -- 20th century; Espionage, Chinese -- New Mexico -- Los Alamos -- History -- 21st century; Nuclear weapons -- United States; Inte
Abstract
No espionage case in recent decades has been anything like the Wen Ho Lee affair. As Dan Stober and Ian Hoffman describe in A Convenient Spy, an astonishingly inept investigation of a crime that may never have occurred ended in a national disgrace. A weapons-code scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lee was hunted as a spy for China, indicted on fifty-nine counts, and held in detention for nine months as a threat to the entire nation. But after pleading guilty to just one count, he went home -- with an unusual and emotional apology from a federal judge. Prosecutors' claims that Lee had stolen America's "crown jewels" of nuclear security simply evaporated. Yet Lee's motives have never been satisfactorily explained, and his often-repeated excuse that he was just backing up his work files does not stand up to scrutiny.
As Stober and Hoffman report, Lee's lies and his unexplained connections to foreign scientists spanned eighteen years. He was a security nightmare. Tapping at his keyboard, he assembled a private collection of the computer programs used to design America's nuclear weapons, then left them vulnerable to hackers and foreign intelligence services for years. The FBI's belated discovery that he had also put the codes on portable cassette tapes launched a frenzied worldwide search that eventually carried agents to the Los Alamos landfill. And yet today, the tapes have never been found.
In 1995, Lee was just another American, a Taiwanese immigrant striving to support a family he cherished and to make a name for himself in scientific circles. Unknown to him, however, scientists working in the secret world of nuclear-weapons intelligence examined purloined Chinese documents, studied spy reports, and wondered: Had China stolen the secrets of the W88, America's most advanced nuclear weapon? Scientific hunches rapidly evolved into a criminal investigation aimed at Lee. He had been overheard by the FBI while telephoning a spy suspect, and he was warmly embraced by a high-ranking Chinese nuclear-weapons official whom he wasn't supposed to know. The FBI noted that he was "ethnic Chinese." And in this uncertain period after the Cold War, many politicians played up China as a threatening new enemy. Energy Secretary and vice presidential hopeful Bill Richardson was eager to fire Lee and appear decisive in protecting national security.
In this stormy confluence of intelligence and politics, Lee became a convenient spy. But was he guilty?
Dan Stober and Ian Hoffman tell the story of the Wen Ho Lee fiasco dramatically and authoritatively, providing an objective account that no partisan version of the story can match.
As Stober and Hoffman report, Lee's lies and his unexplained connections to foreign scientists spanned eighteen years. He was a security nightmare. Tapping at his keyboard, he assembled a private collection of the computer programs used to design America's nuclear weapons, then left them vulnerable to hackers and foreign intelligence services for years. The FBI's belated discovery that he had also put the codes on portable cassette tapes launched a frenzied worldwide search that eventually carried agents to the Los Alamos landfill. And yet today, the tapes have never been found.
In 1995, Lee was just another American, a Taiwanese immigrant striving to support a family he cherished and to make a name for himself in scientific circles. Unknown to him, however, scientists working in the secret world of nuclear-weapons intelligence examined purloined Chinese documents, studied spy reports, and wondered: Had China stolen the secrets of the W88, America's most advanced nuclear weapon? Scientific hunches rapidly evolved into a criminal investigation aimed at Lee. He had been overheard by the FBI while telephoning a spy suspect, and he was warmly embraced by a high-ranking Chinese nuclear-weapons official whom he wasn't supposed to know. The FBI noted that he was "ethnic Chinese." And in this uncertain period after the Cold War, many politicians played up China as a threatening new enemy. Energy Secretary and vice presidential hopeful Bill Richardson was eager to fire Lee and appear decisive in protecting national security.
In this stormy confluence of intelligence and politics, Lee became a convenient spy. But was he guilty?
Dan Stober and Ian Hoffman tell the story of the Wen Ho Lee fiasco dramatically and authoritatively, providing an objective account that no partisan version of the story can match.
Description
Journeys behind the scenes to provide a close-up look at the untold story behind the bungled nuclear espionage case, offering a vivid portrait of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, the secret intelligence competition between the U.S. and Chinese, and the implications of the case for the development of modern nuclear weaponry and Sino-U.S. relations. 50,000 first printing. - from Amzon
Biblio Notes
CONTENTS
Prologue: "They Electrocuted Them, Wen Ho" ............................................... 11
1. Nantou to Los Alamos ........................................................................... 17
2. The Hill ................................................................................................ 27
3. A Neat and Delicate Package .................................................................. 36
4. The China Connection ............................................................................ 45
5. Tiger Trap .... ....................................................................................62
6. The Narrow Neck of the Hourglass ........................................................... 67
7. Alarm Bells . .. .. ........................................................................ 79
8. ASKINT Meets Guanxi ............................................................................. 86
9. The Collector ......................................................................................... 96
10. Kindred Spirits .. ........................................................................... ... 103
11. A Shallow Pool .................................................................................... 120
12. Mass-Market Espionage ....................................................................... 128
13. The Out-of-Towner ............................................................................. 140
14. The FISA ..... .. ...............................................................................150
15. Flying the False Flag .......................................................................... 157
16. Trulock and the True Believers............................................................... 163
17. Exile from X Division ............................................................................ 171
18. Panic ................................................................................................ 179
19. "As Bad as the Rosenbergs" .................................................................. 191
20. Becoming the Enemy ........................................................................... 204
21. Shock Waves....................................................................................... 220
22. Intent to Injure ................................................................................. 237
23. The Crown Jewels ................................................................................ 248
24. "It's Conceivable That This Is Possible" ................................................... 268
25. Swords of Armageddon ........................................................................ 285
26. The Momentum Shifts .......................................................................... 303
27. Freedom ............................................................................................ 314
Epilogue ................................................................................................. 332
Notes....................................................................................................... 351
Index.. .. .............................................................................................. 361
Prologue: "They Electrocuted Them, Wen Ho" ............................................... 11
1. Nantou to Los Alamos ........................................................................... 17
2. The Hill ................................................................................................ 27
3. A Neat and Delicate Package .................................................................. 36
4. The China Connection ............................................................................ 45
5. Tiger Trap .... ....................................................................................62
6. The Narrow Neck of the Hourglass ........................................................... 67
7. Alarm Bells . .. .. ........................................................................ 79
8. ASKINT Meets Guanxi ............................................................................. 86
9. The Collector ......................................................................................... 96
10. Kindred Spirits .. ........................................................................... ... 103
11. A Shallow Pool .................................................................................... 120
12. Mass-Market Espionage ....................................................................... 128
13. The Out-of-Towner ............................................................................. 140
14. The FISA ..... .. ...............................................................................150
15. Flying the False Flag .......................................................................... 157
16. Trulock and the True Believers............................................................... 163
17. Exile from X Division ............................................................................ 171
18. Panic ................................................................................................ 179
19. "As Bad as the Rosenbergs" .................................................................. 191
20. Becoming the Enemy ........................................................................... 204
21. Shock Waves....................................................................................... 220
22. Intent to Injure ................................................................................. 237
23. The Crown Jewels ................................................................................ 248
24. "It's Conceivable That This Is Possible" ................................................... 268
25. Swords of Armageddon ........................................................................ 285
26. The Momentum Shifts .......................................................................... 303
27. Freedom ............................................................................................ 314
Epilogue ................................................................................................. 332
Notes....................................................................................................... 351
Index.. .. .............................................................................................. 361
Number of Copies
2
