-Caveat Lector-
Posted at 7:02 p.m. PST Sunday, Dec. 17, 2000
Ex-official at lab raised concerns of racial bias
Lee's ethnicity was `major factor,' he said
BY DAN STOBER
San Jose Mercury News
Bob Vrooman spent his entire career away from the public
spotlight, first in the CIA and then as the chief
counterintelligence officer at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
His obscurity ended Aug. 12, 1999.
On that day, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced that he
was recommending disciplinary action against three unnamed
employees of the laboratory for mistakes allegedly made during
the investigation of Wen Ho Lee.
``Richardson asked in writing for the lab to discipline three
people. That evening he leaked our names to the New York Times,''
said Vrooman, 63. ``That made me furious. That's dirty pool.''
Vrooman, who said he previously had never spoken to a reporter,
countered with a press release of his own. It would have a
dramatic effect on public opinion and the outcome of the case.
There was ``not one shred of evidence,'' he said, that nuclear
weapons secrets had been given away by Lee or anyone else at the
lab. If there had been a leak, it could have come from the
military or a defense contractor. Official documents about the
W-88, the nuclear warhead in question, were distributed to many
agencies, ``including the National Guard.''
And finally, Vrooman also was the first -- and so far only --
official to raise concerns about possible ``racial profiling''
regarding Lee's prosecution.
``The details of this investigation are still classified, but it
can be said at this time that Mr. Lee's ethnicity was a major
factor,'' he said.
After the first article appeared, the phone started ringing in
his retirement home in Montana. ``My answering machine filled up
two tapes with calls from the media,'' he said. He made no
pretense: He had gone public to protect his own professional
reputation.
But he became somewhat of a hero to Lee's supporters, who viewed
Vrooman's comments as vindication of their belief that Lee, a
Taiwanese-American, had been the victim of racial bias.
Vrooman accepted invitations for speaking engagements. He
noticed that sometimes the audience picked up on the ethnicity
comment but seemed to skip over his observations that Lee's
behavior deserved investigation -- as long as it wasn't because
of his ethnicity.
After one talk in Schenectady, N.Y., Vrooman was approached by an
audience member who owned the home that Vrooman's ancestors had
lived in during the French and Indian wars. Vrooman went by the
home for breakfast the next morning. His pleasant host was David
Kaczynski, brother of Ted Kaczynski, otherwise known as the
Unabomber.
Vrooman testified at a number of congressional hearings. He was
impressed by some senators and representatives, dismayed by
others who seemed more interested in bashing the Clinton
administration than discussing security issues. A lifelong
Republican, he switched his registration to independent.
He's grown used to the limelight, a far cry from his day in the
CIA. Before the CIA, he had been in the Air Force, stationed at
one time in Albuquerque. Afterward he earned a political-science
degree from the University of New Mexico.
Years later, in the CIA, when the opportunity came to return to
New Mexico as the agency's liaison to the nuclear weapons lab, he
jumped at the chance. He did that for five years, before taking
the counterintelligence job at the lab in 1984. Although his
time at Los Alamos overlapped with that of Notra Trulock, he said
they did not know each other.
Vrooman enjoyed his years at the lab. ``It's an exciting place.
A lot of smart people, good conversation everyday,'' he said.
``It has some history. I was proud to work there.''
Now he rides his horses in Yellowstone National Park and is
enjoying a new job at Montana State University, as a business
manager, once again working with a group of research scientists.
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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