'Porous' security at U.S. nuclear weapons labs

MESSAGE BOARD: China's future/nuclear secrets RELATED VIDEO CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre examines the technology China allegedly obtained Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K The U.S. is widening its investigation to other facilities, CNN's Bill Dorman reports Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon has China's reaction Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

Leaks of sensitive information traced back to 1970s

March 10, 1999
Web posted at: 12:13 p.m. EST (1713 GMT)

In this story: U.S. official: Labs value 'science, not security' RELATED STORIES, SITES

Nuclear secrets, the source said, are wrongfully shared with scientists from "a lot of other countries."

The disclosure comes amid a growing national security controversy that erupted after the Energy Department on Monday fired a Chinese-American computer scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory who had been under FBI investigation since 1996.

The scientist, Wen Ho Lee, quickly went into hiding.

According to the senior administration official, the Energy Department first became aware of allegations against Lee in 1995.

Although investigators determined that he may have helped China acquire U.S. nuclear know-how, it is unlikely that Lee, a Taiwan native in his 50s, will be charged with any criminal offense, since there is not enough hard evidence against him, CNN has been told.

The administration says various government investigations have determined that transfers of sensitive nuclear information to China took place from the late 1970s and through the 1980s.

The nuclear warhead technology allowed China to develop miniaturized nuclear warheads so that more than one warhead could be delivered on a single missile.

Allegations of leaked information at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have led to increased security measures

Republican critics question whether U.S. efforts to improve relations with China delayed action on the espionage findings, a charge rejected by Clinton administration officials who deny foot-dragging and say they inherited spy concerns.

Left unanswered is why the FBI investigation of Lee continued for nearly three years before action was taken this week.

Source: Labs value 'science, not security'

According to the senior administration official, a security review conducted by the CIA and FBI after the Lee allegations surfaced found that U.S. nuclear laboratories "had a scientific mindset, not a national security mindset," under which scientists shared nuclear information with scientists visiting from other countries.

Declining to be specific, the official said the Clinton administration found it "troublesome" that "a lot of other countries," not just China, had obtained sensitive nuclear information through "enormously porous" U.S. weapons labs.

The official, however, did not believe that any of these other lapses reached the magnitude of the data sharing that allowed the Chinese to develop smaller nuclear warheads.

The source, a senior U.S. official currently traveling with President Clinton in Central America, said the administration was confident new precautions put in place since 1997 had greatly enhanced security at the labs.

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