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| Reagan Approved Plan to Sabotage Soviets |
| 2004-02-27 |
| (Somewhat EFL) In January 1982, President Ronald Reagan approved a CIA plan to sabotage the economy of the Soviet Union through covert transfers of technology that contained hidden malfunctions, including software that later triggered a huge explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline, according to a new memoir by a Reagan White House official. (snip) At the time, the United States was attempting to block Western Europe from importing Soviet natural gas. There were also signs that the Soviets were trying to steal a wide variety of Western technology. Then, a KGB insider revealed the specific shopping list and the CIA slipped the flawed software to the Soviets in a way they would not detect it. "In order to disrupt the Soviet gas supply, its hard currency earnings from the West, and the internal Russian economy, the pipeline software that was to run the pumps, turbines, and valves was programmed to go haywire, after a decent interval, to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds," Reed writes. "The result was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space," (cool boom)he recalls, adding that U.S. satellites picked up the explosion. Reed said in an interview that the blast occurred in the summer of 1982. "While there were no physical casualties from the pipeline explosion, there was significant damage to the Soviet economy," he writes. "Its ultimate bankruptcy, not a bloody battle or nuclear exchange, is what brought the Cold War to an end. In time the Soviets came to understand that they had been stealing bogus technology, but now what were they to do? By implication, every cell of the Soviet leviathan might be infected. They had no way of knowing which equipment was sound, which was bogus. All was suspect, which was the intended endgame for the entire operation."(Bwahahahaha) Reed said he obtained CIA approval to publish details about the operation. The CIA learned of the full extent of the KGB’s pursuit of Western technology in an intelligence operation known as the Farewell Dossier. Portions of the operation have been disclosed earlier, including in a 1996 paper in Studies in Intelligence, a CIA journal. (snip) According to the Weiss article and Reed’s book, the Soviet authorities in 1970 set up a new KGB section, known as Directorate T, to plumb Western research and development for badly needed technology. Directorate T’s operating arm to steal the technology was known as Line X. Its spies were often sprinkled throughout Soviet delegations(Big surprise) to the United States; on one visit to a Boeing plant, "a Soviet guest applied adhesive to his shoes to obtain metal samples,"(The devioush plot was discovered after the tourguide asked the group to follow him and the "guest"failed to complie)Weiss recalled in his article. Then, at a July 1981 economic summit in Ottawa, President Francois Mitterrand of France told Reagan that French intelligence had obtained the services of an agent they dubbed "Farewell,"(Now there is a codename that inspires confidence) Col. Vladimir Vetrov, a 53-year-old engineer who was assigned to evaluate the intelligence collected by Directorate T. (SNIP) "Reading the material caused my worst nightmares to come true," Weiss recalled. The documents showed the Soviets had stolen valuable data on radar, computers, machine tools and semiconductors, he wrote. "Our science was supporting their national defense." The Farewell Dossier included a shopping list of future Soviet priorities. In January 1982, Weiss said he proposed to Casey a program to slip the Soviets technology that would work for a while, then fail. Reed said the CIA "would add ’extra ingredients’ to the software and hardware on the KGB’s shopping list." "Reagan received the plan enthusiastically," Reed writes. "Casey was given a go." According to Weiss, "American industry helped in the preparation of items to be ’marketed’ to Line X." When the pipeline exploded, Reed writes, the first reports caused concern in the U.S. military and at the White House. "NORAD feared a missile liftoff from a place where no rockets were known to be based," he said, referring to North American Air Defense Command. "Or perhaps it was the detonation of a small nuclear device." However, satellites did not pick up any telltale signs of a nuclear explosion. "Before these conflicting indicators could turn into an international crisis," he added, "Gus Weiss came down the hall to tell his fellow NSC staffers not to worry." (final snip) However, Vetrov’s espionage was discovered by the KGB, and he was executed in 1983. Link |
| Posted by:Evert Visser |
| #10 I seem to be the only one pointing out that this is not sabotage. There is no warranty, express or implied, when you steal something. The Soviets stole something - having the technology blow up on them is the least they deserved |
| Posted by: Russell 2004-2-27 10:41:49 PM |
| #9 Well, it's a good thing that we're not outsourcing much of our infrastructure software development to mainland China ... oh wait! |
| Posted by: A Jackson 2004-2-27 10:15:20 PM |
| #8 I was thinking more of the Vela incident, when the sleepy US nuke snoopers had their hormones and sensors stand up and salute. Prolly just urban legion. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-27 7:38:59 PM |
| #7 The pipeline explosion reminding people of the Cardinal of the Kremlin is probably because it was stolen directly from the book. If it sounds too good (and cute) to be true, it probably isn't. |
| Posted by: Slumming 2004-2-27 7:20:19 PM |
| #6 we can alway hope that Khan was doing something similar :-) Maybe when they light one off, it will be nothing more than red/white/blue fireworks that makes an American flag. |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-27 4:02:57 PM |
| #5 That thing about the gas pipeline explosion reminds me of Cardinal of the Kremlin somehow. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-2-27 3:01:38 PM |
| #4 Does this mean we have to thank the frogs for something? Or was Mitterrand concerned? |
| Posted by: Anonymous2U 2004-2-27 1:06:41 PM |
| #3 Discovered by the KGB? No, betrayed by Aldritch Ames. |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-2-27 12:03:58 PM |
| #2 Even if it's a repeat, it's still funnier than hell! Makes me grin every time I read it... |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-27 10:44:11 AM |
| #1 My bad, please delete. |
| Posted by: Evert Visser 2004-2-27 10:38:29 AM |