Some of Our Chips Are Missing

Trying to keep U.S. high-tech exports from Moscow

When experts at the Pentagon recently examined a Soviet ocean buoy obtained by American intelligence agencies through unspecified means, they were not surprised at what they found. The printed circuit boards inside the buoy, which was designed to help track U.S. submarines, were pin-for-pin compatible with those produced by Texas Instruments Inc. of Dallas. T.I., needless to say, had not sold them to Moscow or indeed to any Communist bloc enterprises. Similarly, the Soviets feigned innocence a year ago, when they tried to buy sophisticated U.S....

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