[12638] in Cypherpunks
Re: AT&T, Clipper, & Saudi Arabia
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (smb@research.att.com)
Thu Apr 28 11:02:22 1994
From: smb@research.att.com
To: perobich@ingr.com
Cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
Date: Thu, 28 Apr 94 10:55:54 EDT
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Dear AT&T:
If you'll roll over for us on Clipper, we will suitably incentivize yo
u.
/s/ The Clinton Administration
I suppose most of us would consider a $4B contract a "suitable
incentive." While there's probably no direct evidence of a quid pro
quo, it strikes me as a bit odd that the President is personally
intervening in a purely commercial deal.
OTOH this is the second time Clinton has intervened in a deal with the
Saudis. On the gripping hand, I don't recall anyone intervening to get
business for Boeing (Peace Shield, the Saudi C3I network), McDonnell
(F-15s), and so on.
Can we please confine paranoia to reasonable areas -- like AT&T's sales
of secure phones to the government? The U.S. government has a very long
record of pushing American products against foreign competitors, such as
Boeing versus Airbus.
Of course, there is a quid pro quo here -- but it's Clinton reminding the
Saudis about Desert Storm.
--Steve Bellovin
P.S. It goes without saying that I'm speaking for myself, not AT&T.
