On June 4, 1986, Jonathan Pollard, a spy for the State of Israel, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to deliver national defense information to a foreign government, which carried a maximum prison term of life – “in the time he spied for Israel, Pollard read and copied and transmitted every worthwhile secret we had.” – crucial details about how Promis software—developed by the specialist Inslaw computer company in Washington and later stolen by Mossad—had been adapted to fit into the artificial intelligence on board U.S. nuclear submarines.
Israel granted Pollard citizenship in 1995, but denied until 1998 that it had bought classified information from him. Israeli activist groups, as well as high-profile Israeli politicians, have lobbied for his release. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced particularly strong support for Pollard, visiting the convicted spy in prison in 2002.
“With respect to Mr. Pollard, he was convicted of spying in 1987,” Clinton said. “He was sentenced to life in prison, he is serving that sentence, and I do not have any expectations that that is going to change.”
Is Pollard entitled to be released? By American criterion, definitely yes. The Americans have released spies more dangerous than Pollard, and it would seem to be self-evident to release a junior spy like him. But Pollard had chutzpah [insolence]: he spied for a friendly country, a country that has never arrested and incarcerated a spy for the United States.
Pollard activists to use McCain to pressure Romney By GIL HOFFMAN
07/26/2012 20:49
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=279071
Activists for Pollard’s freedom will hoist posters of McCain – who opposed clemency until recently – wherever Romney goes in Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Linked to Nuclear Technology Smuggling Ring – FBI Files
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is being released by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy — The FBI partially declassified and released files linking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a nuclear technology smuggling ring that targeted the United States. The declassified files are now publicly available online at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157571 – Israeli National News
Released on the Internet on July 4, 2012, the files have been the subject of reporting in the Israeli press, including Ma’ariv and The Marker. Some U.S. alternative media also explored the implications of the formerly secret files including Antiwar.com, Tikkun Olam, Mondoweiss and CounterPunch. WBAI radio and the Scott Horton Show have hosted interviews.
Although the FBI report has now been sent to the New York Times, Washington Post, all members of Congress and United Nations members, no top-tier establishment news coverage, Congressional or UN investigations have been made public.
US Sees Israel, Tight Mideast Ally, As Spy Threat by The Associated Press
WASHINGTON July 28, 2012, 03:48 pm ET
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=157529101
US sees Israel, tight Mideast ally, as spy threat
July 30, 2012 3:12 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501706_162-57482390/us-sees-israel-tight-mideast-ally-as-spy-threat/
In the wake of Pollard, the Israelis promised not to operate intelligence agents on U.S. soil.
A former Army mechanical engineer, Ben-Ami Kadish, pleaded guilty in 2008 to passing classified secrets to the Israelis during the 1980s. His case officer was the same one who handled Pollard. Kadish let the Israelis photograph documents about nuclear weapons, a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet and the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system. Kadish, who was 85 years old when he was arrested, avoided prison and was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. He told the judge that, “I thought I was helping the state of Israel
without harming the United States.”
In 2006, a former Defense Department analyst was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for giving classified information to an Israeli diplomat and two pro-Israel lobbyists.
The espionage incidents have done little to slow the billions of dollars in money and weapons from the United States to Israel. Since Pollard’s arrest, Israel has received more than $60 billion in U.S. aid, mostly in the form of military assistance, according to the Congressional Research Service. The U.S. has supplied Israel with Patriot missiles, helped pay for an anti-missile defense program and provided sensitive radar equipment to track Iranian missile threats.
Just on Friday, Obama said he was releasing an additional $70 million in military aid, a previously announced move that appeared timed to upstage Romney’s trip, and he spoke of America’s “unshakable commitment to Israel.” The money will go to help Israel expand production of a short-range rocket defense system.
Michael Ruark 