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Security Tightened at Los Alamos After "Serious Problems" Reported article appeared in the Spartanburg Herald Journal on March 11, 1999 paraphrased by Melissa Lovin
Top White House national security officials have recently acknowledged that serious security problems had been detected at the Los Alamos laboratory. Although they had been briefed about the possibility of espionage in 1996, it was unknown until almost a year later that major changes at the nuclear weapons labs would be necessary. It was not until early 1998 that the concerns led to a presidential directive to hire more counterintelligence experts and raise security measures at the federal labs which hold America's top nuclear secrets. The possibility that China had received critical nuclear warhead information from Los Alamos was made known to Sandy Berger, the president's national security advisor, in 1996. But these security problems involving China were not brought into focus until a more detailed report was made known to the president's staff in July 1997. "I heard enough in the July '97 briefing to believe we had a serious problem," said Berger, who is now traveling with President Clinton in Latin America.
Criticism of the lab's security has been renewed among lawmakers after the dismissal this week of Wen Ho Lee , a Taiwan-born scientist at Los Alamos under investigation for three years for possible espionage. An FBI investigation is continuing, but no charges have been filed against him.
Some Republican senators and GOP presidential contenders have recently criticized Berger, deputy national security advisor in the mid-1990s, saying that he should have been dealing more quickly with the security problems. One Republican presidential hopeful, Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire, said Berger should be fired if reports about the security lapses and delay in investigation are true. "Berger is the responsible authority here, he ought to explain his actions to the country or resign," stated Pat Buchanan another contender for the GOP presidential nomination. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart dismissed such suggestions calling them "Republican attack politics". Administration officials insisted that the Los Alamos investigation was conducted in a timely manner and changes were made.
Berger defended himself saying, "I reject the notion there was any dragging of feet. He states that after the 197 DOE briefing, he asked Gary Samore, NSC's senior director for nonproliferation issues, to start a CIA evaluation of what the security damage might have occurred and have an interagency task force review ways to improve lab security.
President Clinton imposed new safeguards in February of 1998, including tighter security checks on foreign visitors to the labs and the hiring of more counterintelligence personnel.
Edward J. Curran, a former FBI agent, has been brought in by the Energy Department to head a new counterintelligence office.
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