Major outlets are reporting that an FBI probe discovered that China has the potential ability to disrupt “critical US Strategic Command communications, giving the Chinese government a potential window into America’s nuclear arsenal.” That can’t be a good thing. Especially with the way Joe Biden has been playing chicken with Xi Jinping over the future of Taiwan.
FBI not saying much
After CNN read what Reuters reported about a FBI probe into Huawei, their editorial staff gave the Commerce Department a jingle and were told to go fly a kite.
“We cannot confirm or deny ongoing investigations, but we are committed to securing our information and communications technology and services supply chain. Protecting US persons safety and security against malign information collection is vital to protecting our economy and national security.” That’s the official story and Uncle Sam is sticking to it. CNN has some sources of their own so they took a few of their rats out for drinks. They quote “two sources familiar with the matter.”
Former officials, they write, “described the probe’s findings as a watershed moment. The investigation was so secret that some senior policymakers in the White House and elsewhere in government weren’t briefed on its existence until 2019.” The FBI can hide investigations when they want to. The feds started getting more suspicious of China than usual back in 2017.
That’s when China graciously offered “to build an ornate Chinese garden at the National Arboretum in Washington DC. Complete with temples, pavilions and a 70-foot white pagoda.” Local officials saw nothing but tourist dollars.
Counterintelligence officials wanted to know why the pagoda “would have been strategically placed on one of the highest points in Washington DC, just two miles from the US Capitol, a perfect spot for signals intelligence collection.” Then the FBI noticed something really suspicious.
“Chinese officials wanted to build the pagoda with materials shipped to the US in diplomatic pouches, which US Customs officials are barred from examining.” The administration quickly killed the deal and hushed it up.
A close eye since 2017
The FBI went into a “frenzy” after that and we’ve been keeping a close watch on sneaky Chinese tactics since at least 2017.
“Federal officials have investigated Chinese land purchases near critical infrastructure, shut down a high-profile regional consulate believed by the US government to be a hotbed of Chinese spies and stonewalled what they saw as clear efforts to plant listening devices near sensitive military and government facilities.” That’s nothing compared to the thing they found which really scares them.
Chinese-made Huawei equipment sits on top of “cell towers near US military bases in the rural Midwest.”
Those “multiple sources familiar with the matter” had their tongues loosened by CNN’s alcohol enough to admit that “the FBI determined the equipment was capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by US Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear weapons.”
That’s not such a secret, you might be thinking. It’s true that “broad concerns about Huawei equipment near US military installations have been well known.” This is scary because even though this investigation started all the way back when Barack Obama had his prayer rug in the Oval Office, “this investigation and its findings have never been reported.”
Alleged director Christopher Wray will have some serious explaining to Congress to do. “This gets into some of the most sensitive things we do,” claims “one former FBI official with knowledge of the investigation.” That, he says, “would impact our ability for essentially command and control with the nuclear triad.” In layman’s terms, “that goes into the ‘BFD‘ category. If it is possible for that to be disrupted, then that is a very bad day.“
