TOP STORY: PRC ENGINEERS HELPED BUILD UNDERGROUND WMD BUNKER FOR IRAQ
SADDAM HUSSEIN�S EX-BODYGUARD REVEALS INFO ON TUNNEL TO ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE
Abu Hamdi Mahmoud, once Saddam Hussein�s senior bodyguard, is now under Israeli protection, and he told the Israelis, according to the Herald Sun (Australian), that �Saddam�s weapons of mass destruction are also concealed in a tunnel complex deep beneath the sewers of Baghdad and in an underground complex in Ouja . . . built five years ago with help from Chinese engineers� (emphasis added).
The bodyguard, also known as the �Gatekeeper�, also said the Ba�athist regime has a Scud missile factory near Ramadi, Iraq, with missiles from Communist China�s five-decade ally, Stalinist North Korea. It should be noted that Iraq also received an air defense system courtesy of the PRC firm Huawei Technologies (see 2/21/01, 2/28/01, 3/7/01, 3/14/01, and 3/21/01 Updates).
The story did not mention the PRC firm from which the engineers came to build the tunnel in Ouja, a town north of Tikrit, Hussein�s hometown and political base. Just two days after the Herald Sun story, Willy Wo-Lap Lam of CNN reported a new �upsurge� of anti-Americanism in Communist Chinese media (see below). Could it be that Communist China has a lot more to hide?
OTHER NEWS ON COMMUNIST CHINA, EAST TURKESTAN, AND THE TERRORIST WAR
PRC FOREIGN MINISTER HEARS POWELL�S EVIDENCE ON IRAQ, BUT WON�T BUDGE
Meanwhile, after hearing Secretary of State Colin Powell�s 90-minute presentation of evidence that Iraq has thwarted United Nations inspections for a dozen years, PRC Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan insisted that the inspections continue, saying the inspectors �are not in a position to draw conclusions� (CNN).
A day earlier, Tang called on the U.S. and Iraq to �strive for a political settlement of the Iraqi question within the U.N. framework� (Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN). Neither piece mentioned Mahmoud�s revelations (see Top Story), so their effects are unknown.
COMMUNIST MEDIA RIPS U.S. �ARROGANCE� REGARDING IRAQ
According to Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN, �there is an upsurge of stories and opinion-editorial pieces in the Chinese media slamming America's �unilateralist� approach to the Iraqi crisis.� Lam cites three possible reasons for the new surge anti-American, none of them good, but all illuminating: growing Communist support of more hostility to the U.S., concern about petroleum supplies, and North Korea.
According to Lam, many generals in the Communist military are upset over American �tentacles to Afghanistan and neighboring states such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which are at China's northwestern doorsteps.� This could lead current Communist Party Chief Hu Jintao to �adopt a tougher line on Washington's Iraqi policy.�
The Communists are also worried about Iraq�s petroleum being dislodged from the control of Saddam Hussein. Communist China sees this as �further (American) control (of) the petroleum resources in the Middle East and Persian Gulf.� The final reason, which Lam calls �even more important� is one not previously mentioned: the Communists� fear that the U.S. �could soon turn to North Korea.�
Lam notes that the PRC �still thinks Beijing and Pyongyang should maintain a �lips and teeth� relationship, and that any attack on North Korea � even a limited offensive to wipe out its nuclear installations � would be a challenge to Chinese power and even sovereignty.� It is the first mention of Communist reaction to a possible U.S. military action against the Stalinists.
Lam also noted that while the so-called People�s Republic would abstain in �any vote in the U.N. Security Council that authorizes the use of force against Iraq,� the Communists are still supporting �the two other permanent Security Council members that are opposed to American �unilateralism� on Iraq: France and Russia.� This reflects a policy that hasn�t changed since last fall (see 10/2/02 Update).
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OTHER AMERICAN-RELATED NEWS
COMMUNIST CHINA�S INACTION ON NORTH KOREA UPSETTING U.S.
It is finally sinking in for American officials that Communist China is hardly lifting a finger to help defuse or resolve the nuclear standoff with its Stalinist ally. According to the Washington Post, all the previous talk of U.S.-PRC cooperation is sounding more hollow, thanks in large part to many Communists insisting the top priority should be �bolstering North Korea.�
CIA RECRUITING CHINESE-AMERICANS TO HELP �AGAINST CHINA�
The Central Intelligence Agency put out the �wanted� sign for American citizens of Chinese origin �as part of an effort to improve its operations against China� (Bill Gertz, Washington Times). The move comes after years of criticism of the CIA for �minimizing the national security problems posed by China's growing military and economic power.� Also reporting: BBC
CUBAN MOLE MAY HAVE ALSO HELPED COMMUNIST CHINA
Ana Belen Montes, an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency who spied for Communist Cuba for years, may have also �helped Russia and China obtain pilfered intelligence secrets� (Bill Gertz, Washington Times). The concern regarding the PRC, according to Gertz, was that Cuba could have traded the information Montes gave it �for other goods and means of support from Russia and China.�
Reports on Hong Kong and Tibet can be found in Friday�s Week�s Links. Taiwan was surprisingly quiet this week.
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