Hmmmmmmm.....................let's see America is irked by Israel's arm sales to China, China is irked at U.S. interference in Phalcon, Israel is irked at the affect on China-Israel relations;
Chinese Minister of Information Zhao Qizheng told Haaretz last week: "We are angry about the U.S. interference. This is another example of American hegemony. Clearly, this is a breach of international trade laws. We are also sorry about Israel's decision, and of course it cannot be said that this incident is a positive one in establishing the relationship between the two countries."
and me? I am irked at the free pass that Bill Clinton and his toadies got for Chinagate. President Clinton’s compromise of U.S. security for Chinese cash is a far graver issue - Atlas;
Lost amid the superficial tumult that characterizes the "politics of personal destruction" that the impeachment of Mr. Clinton on Lewinsky-related charges
deferred a much-needed inquiry into the graver charges that were pending against Bill Clinton — specifically, treason and bribery, which are specifically cited in the Constitution as grounds for impeachment. Evidence abounds that Mr. Clinton, in acts of official perfidy that may be unparalleled in our nation’s history, accepted bribes from Red China in the form of illegal political contributions, and in exchange made policy decisions that undermined our national security to the benefit of that hostile foreign power.
more;
• Named Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown treated his post as just another place to wheel and deal. He was irrepressible, on one occasion okaying the sale of new American engines for China to put in its cruise missiles. The engines had been built as military equipment but Brown reclassified them as civilian.
• Former London Sunday Times correspondent James Adams wrote a book in which he described the Chinese success with the Clinton crowd as "an espionage coup of epic proportions."
• According to the New York Times, Clinton removed $2 billion in trade with China from national security scrutiny. Among the results: 77 supercomputers – capable of 13 billion calculations per second – that could scramble and unscramble secret data and design nuclear weapons. These were purchased by the Chinese without a peep stateside. At least some of them would be used by the Chinese military.
Where was the retribution and punishment at the the discovery by Energy Department officials poring over Chinese nuclear weapons data that had the chill of a classic Cold War scandal: It appeared that Beijing, possibly working through a sympathetic scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, had stolen the technology needed to miniaturize nuclear warheads, making it easier, in turn, to deploy missiles that could threaten the United States. Where was the Clinton administration then?
So while I may not like Israel selling arms to China (and lord knows they are buying them from everyone), it seems the height of hypocrisy to punish Israel and laud the real culprit.
UPDATE:
and let's not forget Loral;
In 2002, Loral Space reached a settlement with the State Department over charges of passing advanced military technology to the Chinese Army. Loral agreed to pay $20 million in fines, but did not admit nor deny wrongdoing.
In 2003, Loral declared bankruptcy. The aerospace giant that sold for $72 a share in 1996 watched as its shares tumbled to less than 20 cents a share.
Yet, despite hard times for its investors, Loral's CEO Bernard Schwartz has managed to cough up over $4 million in political donations for the Democrats and non-profit 527 organizations opposed to President Bush.
During the first years of the Clinton administration, Bernard Schwartz was mentioned as a candidate for Secretary of Defense.
