Center For Security Policy Applauds State Department

The director of the Center for Security Policy, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., today applauded the decision of the State Department to back away from a proposal by a group of American businessmen to purchase the KGB-bugged, partially-completed U.S. embassy in Moscow. "We are delighted that concerns raised by the Center for Security Policy last month seem to have helped to pour cold water on this highly dubious transaction," says Gaffney.

The Center’s paper, "Why Would Anyone Want to Buy a Building bugged by the KGB: New Reasons for Greater Transparency in East-West Trade" was released on January 28.

According to the Center’s paper, the proposal made by the American Trade Consortium (ATC)* and advanced with the assistance of the State Department to purchase the facility involved most questionable judgments. As the Center’s analysis put it: "The selective indifference of some American businessmen to the penetration or exploitation of their services by Soviet intelligence has rarely been more palpable than in the willingness of ATC to buy a building custom-made by the KGB for espionage," the report states.

Gaffney added: "We could not figure out, given the complete penetration of the building by Soviet intelligence, what use would be made of such a facility by American companies interested in expanding trade ties with the Soviet government? For example, would discussions take place there concerning future sales of technology for which export licenses had not yet been improved — risking serious breaches in technology security?"

"What is more, the proposed purchase of the U.S. embassy by the ATC not only raises serious national security concerns; had it been approved, it could also enable the Soviet Union to claim occupancy of its chancery on Mount Alto — which it is currently unable to do pending U.S. occupation of the site in Moscow," Gaffney said.

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* Members of the ATC include Archer Daniels Midland, RJR Nabisco, Eastman Kodak, Johnson & Johnson, Chevron, Ford Motor Company and the Mercator Corporation. Dwayne O. Andreas, chairman of Archer Daniels Midland and co-chairman of the U.S.-USSR Trade and Economic Council led the effort to purchase the bugged embassy.