The pending sale of a U.S. defense contractor to a company directly linked to the Chinese army would normally be canceled at once.
However, the links between a dark Chinese company and many of the most powerful politicians in America appears to have put the buyout of 3Com on the fast-track toward approval.
Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs — two leading financial firms — are currently seeking the buyout of 3Com, a computer communications firm with U.S. defense contracts. 3Com makes equipment used by the Pentagon to block computer hackers.
Bain is financing the buyout of 3Com with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Huawei is associated with the Chinese, Iraqi, and Taliban militaries.
Bain Capital is a major financial firm with a great deal of success in the past. Bain Capital was founded in 1984 by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. According to Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign Web site, Bain is "one of the nation's most successful venture capital and investment companies."
However, it is Huawei that will benefit from the buyout. Huawei installed air defense networks for Saddam Hussein and the Taliban. The CIA, U.S. Defense Department, the Rand Corporation and even Indian intelligence agencies have openly documented Huawei's links to Saddam and the Taliban.
According to the CIA, Huawei was responsible for the installation of an advanced fiber-optic air defense network in Iraq during Saddam's brutal rule. The Huawei network, NATO code-named "Tiger Song," was used to shoot down allied aircraft flying patrol over the Iraqi skies.
The network was installed in violation of an U.N. embargo. Worse still, the air defense network was paid for by the corrupt oil-for-food program which send cash to Huawei that was intended to feed starving Iraqi children.
Despite its history of killing American soldiers — it is Huawei's teaming with Bain and Goldman Sachs that has enabled the Chinese company to arrange the buyout of 3Com. The Bain/Goldman/Huawei team has influence inside the highest political circles.
For example, current Republican candidate Mitt Romney has links to Bain. Gov. Romney enjoyed a successful career at Bain, helping to amass over a quarter of a billion dollars in his own personal fortune. Romney may have left the company in 2001, but he and his family still own a significant stake in the firm through his blind trust, which according to the Washington Post earned him $7 million to $15 million during the last year.
Bain associates, employees and friends have also been very generous to Gov. Romney's campaign for the White House. Bain employees have donated over $190,000 to Romney, making the firm one of his largest sources of political cash. This amount does not include the efforts of former and current Bain partners and executives of companies Romney bought who are also raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.
All these financial ties to Bain bring into question the possible conflict of interest that Romney faces. So far, Gov. Romney has refused to comment on the Bain deal. Repeated calls to the Romney campaign were not returned.
Another link in the chain for Huawei is Goldman Sachs — a financial company that is also sponsoring the 3Com buyout. Goldman is the former employer of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The Treasury Department is charged with reviewing the take-over of 3Com by Huawei. Paulson had to recuse himself from the process because of the possible conflict of interest.
The Bush administration is having trouble dealing with the take-over bid. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates revealed that he was completely in the dark about the deal. The admission by the Gates echoed similar admissions by the Pentagon top brass that they also were unaware of the buyout.
The Defense Department and the U.S. intelligence agencies were surprised by the proposed deal and had to scramble in order to get it reviewed for national security reasons.
The failure at the Defense Department is attributed to the Defense Technology Security Agency or DTSA. The Pentagon has not appointed a director to run DTSA and the length of time the position has been vacant suggests little sense of urgency to do so. Leaderless, DTSA was caught unaware of the deal and was unable to provide warning to senior Defense Department officials.
During the Clinton years, DTSA was a strong advocate of checking all export deals with China. In fact, aggressive DTSA efforts were documented by the Loral Corporation for holding up the sale of advanced radars to the Chinese military. Today, DTSA is a headless giant unable to do its job.
© 2007 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
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