Though Ronald Reagan has long since muted his language about the "evil empire," the White House has never stopped sounding alarms about the Soviets' drive to buy -- or steal -- Western defense technology. Soviet espionage, U.S. officials warn, is eroding the West's lead in high-tech weapons and saving the Kremlin millions of dollars in military research. To keep computers and other products with possible military uses from finding their way into the East bloc, the U.S. and its Western allies have imposed elaborate trade restrictions.
But some American scientists and business executives point out that the drive to acquire technology,...