The ABC's of Spying

ROBERT M. GATES - March 14, 1999 - The New York Times

The current furor in Washington over Chinese espionage at Los Alamos offers fresh evidence that finger-pointing and sound bites are a lousy way to protect and advance American security interests. Too many officials, at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, are trying harder to make political hay or to protect themselves than to explain the larger lessons of China's actions and our own lax security. And too many commentators would rather egg on the antagonists for another good fight than shed light on the real issues at stake.

Is anyone really surprised that China spies on us, trying to steal military, economic, technological and intelligence secrets? Does anyone believe this is new?

Remember the case of Larry Wu-Tai Chin, the C.I.A. employee who was arrested in the mid-1980's for spying for China? He was hardly the only one. Russia also continues to spy on us, though many seemed surprised that a post-cold-war Russian intelligence service continued to run the Soviet spy Aldrich Ames as a mole in the C.I.A. Yet our broader relationship with both countries has continued nonetheless.

And it's not just old adversaries who spy on the United States. How about Israel paying Jonathan Pollard for thousands of pages of sensitive American intelligence documents? Or the French intelligence services stealing American business secrets by planting moles in American companies and bugging the hotel rooms of visiting American businessmen? Or the 20 or so other foreign governments that spy on American businesses?

The point of this is not to excuse China's espionage on the ground that everyone does it, but to highlight a reality that both the Clinton Administration and its critics neglect: despite the bonhomie of countless summit meetings and press statements, the post-cold-war world is a very tough neighborhood in which nations still cynically and ruthlessly pursue their own interests.

Governments modernize and enlarge their military forces, they spy, they sell technology for weapons of mass destruction, they lie and they cheat in order to amass power and wealth. (Nor are our own intelligence services idle in promoting American interests and protecting us from others.)

We should draw three lessons from this reality.

First, in a tough world -- the only world there has ever been, really -- we must recognize the critical and enduring importance of American strength and enhance that strength in all its dimensions: military, intelligence and diplomatic. Nor can we let our vigilance slacken. And that includes protecting secrets that matter, like nuclear weapons technology.

Second, our leaders need to help Americans understand that today we will find most nations to be both our partners and our adversaries -- sometimes simultaneously. Pigeonholing most countries in one or the other category -- as either friend or foe -- is wrongheaded and undermines our national interest.

This is not realpolitik; it is just plain common sense. The challenge, as always, is how to encourage behavior that advances our interests (and values) and to discourage behavior that does not -- and to do both these things in a manner that promotes long-term constructive relations with other world powers.

Third, too many foreign policy experts, especially in the current Administration, have often tried to play down or put the best face on troubling actions by Russia, China, North Korea and others. This does a disservice to the public's understanding of what is going on, and thus to our ability to act in response.

For instance, when officials fail to address candidly the pervasive corruption in the Russian Government (and the theft of billions in Western aid) as well as Moscow's aid to Iran's missile program and Russian obstructionism in the former Yugoslavia, this makes it harder for them to justify attempts to build closer ties with Russia.

Similarly, the failure to acknowledge China's misbehavior -- its role in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, its theft of technology, its aggressive espionage against us, its repression of internal dissent -- undermines our Government's efforts to foster a stable, mutually beneficial relationship with China.

Such relationships are complicated. Washington -- and the media -- should stop underestimating Americans' ability to understand this if given the full story.

The more Americans know about both friendly and unfriendly behavior by powers like Russia and China, the better they will understand a mix of policies that together protect and advance our interests.

That imposes a burden on both the Administration and Congress to be forthright and honest about what they know: the good, the bad and the ugly. It is a burden that neither, so far, has effectively shouldered.

The result is tepid support for protecting our interests abroad -- or, worse, public indifference. When American leaders fail to speak forthrightly about the dangers that confront us, many citizens simply turn their backs on a complicated and confusing world.

Robert M. Gates, a career intelligence officer, served on the National Security Council staff under four Presidents and was Director of Central Intelligence under President George Bush.


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