From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: Dan Goldin's Revealing Quotes
Date: 24 Dec 1997 22:34:04 GMT

My criticism of the NASA approach to the Russians is they were enthusiastically
delusional in rejecting the consensus of outside advice as far back as 1994.
They refused to deal with anyone who already knew the Russian space program,
and decided to 'train their own experts', who predictably gave the higher-ups
the advice that was known to be desired from the first place. Now they react
with wide-eyed amazement at having been blind-sided yet again. Yet they chose a
deliberate posture to invite that blind-siding, IMHO.

From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: Dan Goldin's Revealing Quotes
Date: 27 Dec 1997 22:50:08 GMT

Were NASA experts excluded?

<<Did this exclusion
extend to others who knew the Russians?>>

Indeed, yes. A long list of NASA officials who knew how to deal with Russians
(like, the NASA guy who, on loan, was in charge of the acquisition of the TOPAZ
reactor for Sandia Labs in Albuquerque), and all were excluded, because,
according to an Energiya official, "anybody who knows Russian language or is
familiar with Russian space technology is probably ex-CIA and this will offend
us and poison the atmosphere." I didn't make this up!