Brazil Computer Sale Splits U.S. Officials : Technology: Processor can be used to make ballistic and nuclear weapons.

A split has developed within the Bush Administration over whether to allow IBM to sell Brazil supercomputer equipment that some experts contend could help Iraq improve its missile technology and develop nuclear weapons, according to government officials.

The debate over the pending export is expected to go to the National Security Council at the White House next week. And Congress is about to jump into the fray with the introduction of Senate legislation to block the sale.

The equipment involved is called a vector processor, which would upgrade an existing IBM computer to supercomputer status at Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. Supercomputers are among the most powerful tools available for designing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

An application to export a second supercomputer to the University of Sao Paulo was recently returned to IBM by the Commerce Department for additional information, an IBM spokesman said.

Concerns have been raised about both sales because Brazil has been helping Iraq improve its missile capabilities and because of its past arms sales to Baghdad. A congressional background paper said there is “strong evidence” that information has been exchanged between Embraer personnel and Brazilian weapons experts in Iraq.

A team of 23 Brazilian arms experts remains in Iraq, along with other foreign engineers working on missile projects, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. The Brazilian government has disclaimed any knowledge of the activities of the engineers.

The proposed shipment of the supercomputer equipment to Brazil is part of a growing debate over the transfer of technology with both commercial and military uses to countries aiding Iraq.

“At this time, when the threat of a military confrontation with Iraq is a real possibility, sales of this nature to Brazil are contrary to the national interest in the short and long run,” said Rep. Lawrence J. Smith (D-Fla.) in a letter he and 24 others in the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent to Bush Administration officials Friday.

Sen. Bob Kasten (R-Wis.) plans to introduce an amendment that would bar the sale of supercomputers and related technology to any country involved in aiding Iraq in development of chemical weapons, ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons.

In July the Administration blocked a U.S. firm’s sale of industrial furnaces to Iraq because of worries that they could be used on nuclear weapons projects. The Commerce Department had approved the sale a year earlier.

Last week, however, the State Department approved the export of rocket components to Brazil despite the concerns of some experts that they could be used to aid Iraq.

In the case of the IBM supercomputer equipment, the Commerce and State departments support the sale to Brazil, while the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and Department of Energy are said to oppose the deal.

“Something is amiss at the Commerce Department,” Kasten said. “We need to tighten domestic control on the sale of American supercomputers and other high technology to countries such as Brazil, who turn around and transfer it to madmen like (Iraqi President Saddam) Hussein.”