-Caveat Lector-
October 16, 2000
Letter shows Gore made Russian deal
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Vice President Al Gore, at the urging of Russian Prime
Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, agreed to keep secret from Congress
details of Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran beginning in
late 1995.
=> In a classified "Dear Al" letter obtained by The Washington
=> Times, Mr. Chernomyrdin told Mr. Gore about Moscow's
=> confidential nuclear deal with Iran and stated that it was
=> "not to be conveyed to third parties, including the
=> U.S. Congress."
But sources on Capitol Hill said Mr. Gore withheld the
information from key senators who normally would be told of such
high-level security matters.
The Gore-Chernomyrdin deal, disclosed in a letter labeled
"secret," appears to violate a provision of the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Act, which requires the Clinton administration
to keep congressional oversight committees fully informed of all
issues related to nuclear weapons proliferation.
The Chernomyrdin letter on nuclear cooperation with Iran follows
a report in the New York Times last week showing that Mr. Gore
reached a secret deal with Russia several months earlier that
appears to circumvent U.S. laws requiring the imposition of
sanctions on Russia for its conventional arms sales to Iran.
That arrangement also was kept secret from Congress, raising
concerns among some lawmakers that the administration may be
hiding other secret deals.
Gore spokesman Jim Kennedy said: "It's obvious that the
motivation for this leak is political."
The letter "simply appears to be part of the overall United
States effort to encourage the Russians to break off or limit
their nuclear relationship with Iran," Mr. Kennedy said in a
statement last night.
The Dec. 9, 1995, letter on Iranian nuclear cooperation
states that the two leaders' discussions as part of a special
commission had resulted in "clarity and mutual understanding" on
the matter.
The letter said there were "no new trends" in Moscow's sale
of nuclear equipment to Iran since a 1992 agreement. It also
states that Russia and the United States would seek to prevent
the "undermining of the nuclear arms non-proliferation program."
Mr. Chernomyrdin said Moscow's program of building a nuclear
reactor in Iran would be limited to training technicians in
Russia, and the delivery of "nuclear fuel for the power plant for
the years 2001 through 2011."
"The information that we are passing on to you is not to be
conveyed to third parties, including the U.S. Congress," Mr.
Chernomyrdin said. "Open information concerning our cooperation
with Iran is obviously a different matter, and we do no[t] object
to the constructive use of such information. I am counting on
your understanding."
A classified analysis acompanying the letter stated that
Russian assistance "if not terminated, can only lead to Iran's
acquisition of a nuclear weapons capability."
"Such a development would be destabilizing not only for the
already volatile Middle East, but would pose a threat to Russian
and Western security interests," the analysis stated.
Russian promises to limit cooperation with Iran's nuclear
program have been undermined by numerous U.S. intelligence
reports showing Moscow is providing nuclear-weapons-related
equipment to Tehran outside the scope of its declared limits,
according to U.S. officials.
A senior State Department official, Robert Einhorn, told a
Senate subcommittee hearing earlier this month that Russian
nuclear assistance is a "persistent problem" and that Russian
companies linked to the government are providing Iran with "laser
isotope separation technology" used to enrich uranium for
weapons.
Asked about the letter, congressional aides close to the
issue said they knew nothing about the details that the Russian
leader gave Mr. Gore. "All this nuclear cooperation is
sanctionable," said a senior congressional aide.
The secret Gore-Chernomyrdin dealings have become an issue
in the presidential election campaign.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush stated during a campaign stop in
Michigan last week that the reported deal on Russian arms
transfers to Iran was "a troubling piece of information." He
demanded an explanation from the vice president.
An earlier Gore-Chernomyrdin agreement, also obtained by The
Washington Times, reveals that the United States would not impose
sanctions on Russia required under U.S. law in exchange for
Moscow's promise to end arms sales to Iran.
That agreement, called an "aide memoire" and signed by Mr.
Gore and Mr. Chernomyrdin on June 30, 1995, required Russia to
halt all arms sales to Iran by Dec. 31, 1999.
In exchange, the United States promised "to take appropriate
steps to avoid any penalties to Russia that might otherwise arise
under domestic law . . .," says the agreement, labeled "secret."
The aide memoire also states that the United States would
"pursue steps that would lead to the removal of Russia from the
proscribed list of International Traffic in Arms Regulations of
the United States" � which limits U.S. arms and defense-related
technology sales.
A third classified letter, from Secretary of State Madeleine
K. Albright, indicates that Russia is not living up to its
promise to halt conventional arms deliveries to the Iranians.
Mrs. Albright stated in a Jan. 13 letter to Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov, also labeled "secret," that "Russia's
unilateral decision to continue delivering arms to Iran beyond
the Dec. 31 deadline will unnecessarily complicate our
relationship."
"I urge that Russia refrain from any further deliveries of
those arms covered by the aide memoire; provide specific
information on what has been delivered, what remains to be
shipped and anticipated timing; and refrain from concluding any
additional arms contracts with Iran," Mrs. Albright stated.
She added that the United States had lived up to its
commitment in the 1995 Gore-Chernomyrdin aide memoire, including
removing Russia from the list of nations limited by
munitions-export controls.
In the "Dear Igor" letter, Mrs. Albright stated that
"without the aide memoire, Russia's conventional arms sales to
Iran would have been subject to sanctions based on various
provisions of our laws."
The 1992 Iran-Iraq Nonproliferation Act requires the
imposition of sanctions for "destabilizing" arms sales to either
country. A 1996 amendment to the 1962 Foreign Assistance Act also
requires sanctions on nations that provide lethal military
assistance to a nation designated as a state sponsor of
terrorism. Iran is on the State Department's terrorism sponsor
list.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican,
and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms,
North Carolina Republican, wrote to President Clinton on Friday
asking about the 1995 aide memoire.
"Please assure us . . . the vice president did not, in
effect, sign a pledge with Victor Chernomyrdin in 1995 that
committed your administration to break U.S. law by dodging
sanctions requirements," they stated.
Senate aides said the administration failed to notify the
Senate about the specific arrangements to cover up for Russian
arms sales.
National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger said on Sunday,
contrary to Mrs. Albright's classified letter, that U.S.
sanctions did not apply to Russia.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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