What Was on Discovered Hard Drives and Who Might Want the Information

CNN WORLDVIEW June 17, 2000; Saturday 6:00 PM Eastern Time
What Was on Discovered Hard Drives and Who Might Want the Information

Brian Nelson, Kelly Wallace

BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI is closely examining two computer hard drives that made a sudden appearance at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. They want to know if these are the same disks that disappeared from the lab last month.

CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace looks at what is on those disks and who might want the information.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The two computer hard drives in question, similar to this one, are about the size of a deck of playing cards. They contain highly classified information, used by the Energy Department's so-called "Nuclear Emergency Search Team."

Technical experts, showcased here in a 1986 government film who would be dispatched to deal with a nuclear accident, or a terrorist attack involving nuclear weapons. The top secret information on the drives includes details about the United States' nuclear weapons, information about how to disarm those weapons, and intelligence about the nuclear programs of other countries, such as Russia.

Who would want that information? Nuclear experts say, suspected terrorists, or so-called rogue states, such as North Korea.

JOHN PIKE, FED. OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS: This would information would disclose how the United States, might hope to detect a covertly in-place nuclear weapons somewhere here in United States, and that might make it a little easier for someone to sneak an atomic bomb into the United States without detection.

WALLACE: But experts caution that the material on the disks would not help a terrorist or a rogue a mission build a nuclear weapon from scratch.

JON WOLFSTHAL, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: I think it's important to keep in context. I don't think we should treat these disks as the Holy Grail of proliferation. They're not think textbooks for weapons design.

WALLACE: In fact, Wolfsthal says the larger concern is that there are still security lapses at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Last year, a Los Alamos nuclear scientist, Wen Ho Lee, was arrested, charged with mishandling classified information, and now this has lawmakers dishing out scathing criticism of the Department of Energy, and its top man, Secretary Bill Richardson. The possible discovery of the hard drives has not silenced those critics.

SEN. JOHN KYL (R), ARIZONA: But the fact of the matter is, we need somebody in charge, Secretary Richardson so far has been the person in charge, and obviously, he hasn't gotten the job done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: The full political fallout may depend on whether vital nuclear secrets were actually lost. That may not be known for any time soon, but that hasn't stopped some members of Congress from renewing their call for the creation of a new post in the administration -- undersecretary for national security -- Brian.

WALLACE: All right, thank you, Kelly. Kelly Wallace at the White House.

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