APRIL 26, 13:39 EST

Spy Crew Unable To Destroy Material

By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON AP) — The U.S. crew on board the Navy EP-3E surveillance plane that made an emergency landing in China was not able to destroy all sensitive material onboard the aircraft, government and military officials said Thursday.

China has refused to release the damaged aircraft, which landed on Hainan Island on April 1, after colliding with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet over the South China Sea. The 24 American crew members on board the reconnaissance plane were released 11 days later. U.S. officials debriefed them for two days to glean information about the incident.

The National Security Agency, the government office responsible for collecting electronic intelligence, is conducting a review of the potential damage done by the loss of the top-secret aircraft, said two government officials familiar with the study.

``The damage assessment is still ongoing, but it's clear some stuff was lost,'' said one of the officials. All spoke on condition of anonymity.

``They weren't able to get everything,'' the official added, speaking of the crew.

The crew worked quickly to destroy their computerized gear and its contents in the minutes between the collision and the time they were taken off the plane by Chinese soldiers, said one Defense Department official.

``They did get a lot of stuff. ... They started through their checklist, which had five or six steps. They had everything electronically zeroed out,'' said the official.

Another military official, who also spoke privately, said the crew was able to change ``key codes'' for computerized information and smash hardware with hammers.

Even so, there wasn't enough time to destroy everything, the official said. ``It was physically impossible to smash it all up,'' he said.

A better assessment of the damage will only be able to be made after the plane is returned to U.S. hands, the official said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking after the crew was released, said they had gone through their checklist and did as much as possible.

The United States has demanded that the plane be returned, but talks with the Chinese over the incident have not resolved the situation.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

Answers

I wonder if this is a precursor to letting the Chinese have the plane, letting them think they have something far more valuable than they really do? Little Pig, what do you think?

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

What do you mean, letting them have the plane? We *can't* get it back. I'm really steamed about it too. The Chinese military leaders think they pulled a fast one on us. I'd like to see that plane, and all the "secrets" they squeeze out of it, cost them big time down the road. Trade sanctions, support for Taiwan, stop their Olympic bid, etc.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

Yeah, I know, Gordon. What I meant was acting huffy but letting it blow over, leaving the plane there and letting the Chinese think they pulled one over, when in fact they didn't.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

I think you are going to see a LOT of these "background", "not for attribution" "don't quote ME on this" articles bemoaning how much was lost (besides the fact that the Chicoms are going to be piecing the cross-cut shredder remains together for YEARS).

Remember the WWII "Man Who Never Was"??? D-Day was NOT to be at Normandy, according to the intel HE was carrying......and HE had letters from his girlfriend, rent receipts etc etc etc. (look up the book titled "Man WHo Never Was")

Milo

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001

Milo, that's been my exact thoughts throughout this whole mess...

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001

"The Man Who Never Was" was also made into a great British movie, which I remember fairly clearly from my younger days--the fifties, I think. The plot was ingenious, the detail remarkable, and the execution faultless--and the Germans were fooled completely.

Let us also not forget the Falklands War. You remember it being so far from any Royal Air Force base or warship, there was quite a lag before any measures could be taken to help the Falklanders held hostage by their invaders. However, word was leaked that a British submarine was in the area and that was enough to keep the lid on the Argentinian Navy until British forces could reach the area. There was no submarine, of course.

There are many such incidents and I hope the plane incident is another.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001

OK, I think I follow what is being said here. If it does turn out that "certain" data was intentionally left intact (while the more important stuff was deleted) in order to mislead those who had the technology to decode the systems, well, that would indeed be a smart move. Sometimes I forget how ingenious some of our folks can be at setting up disinformation. Geez, this has the makings of a super story someday. I have to admit that I have been puzzled by the sort of low-tone reaction from within our security branches over the fact that the Chinese have kept the plane and are busy "decoding" it all.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001