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posted by n1 on Thursday April 03 2014, @08:35AM   Printer-friendly
from the back-to-spy-school dept.

Michele Chabin reports that the possible US decision to free spy Jonathan Pollard, an American Jew convicted in 1987 of spying for Israel, has politicians, settlers and activists on all sides in an uproar over whether the price is too high. Israel's news media reported that the Obama administration is weighing the release of Pollard in return for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians on settlement building and freeing of Palestinian prisoners. Pollard was arrested on November 21, 1985 after the conclusion of an investigation into suspicion he was spying for Israel. He was convicted in 1987 to a life sentence for one count of espionage.

Pollard is the only person in US history to receive a life sentence for spying for an ally and the only American citizen convicted of such a crime to be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Pollard is considered by many in Israel and the American Jewish community to be a national hero. Supporters of his release argue that his sentencing was disproportionately harsh and that he was acting out of loyalty to Israel, not mal-intent against the U.S., and that the documents he handed over to Israel were about Arab countries and the Soviet Union, not US intelligence methods. US officials claim the damage done by Pollard's spying is far worse than people realize. In an interview with Foreign Policy, retired Adm. Thomas Brooks, the former director of naval intelligence, said Pollard's actions have been "exceeded only by Edward Snowden," the NSA whistleblower. The last time US officials considered releasing Pollard during the Clinton administration, CIA Director George Tenet told Clinton he would resign if Pollard were released.

 
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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by gishzida on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:41AM

    by gishzida (2870) on Thursday April 03 2014, @11:41AM (#25462) Journal

    You are correct a clarification is warranted.

    No when I mention the "torture specialists" [aka "waterboarding", sleep deprivation, etc, etc] I was speaking of what was already known as morally and legally questionable actions prior to Snowden's leaks. The intent of stating that was to assert the government has been on shaky legal and moral ground since the Bush administration-- It is disturbing that we have employed people who did horrible things supposedly in the name of protecting the United States but did not actually prevent any terrorist operation nor did it help find Osama Bin Laden. So the government and its spooks have already broken the law in the name of "liberty"... I'm not sure how doing hateful things in the name of something makes them any less hateful especially when they did not accomplish anything at all!

    Snowden revealed the real facts of what the Bush administration and later the Obama administration have been hiding. Facts we which we were unaware of and had been suppressed during the Bush administration [remember no-warrant wire tapping?] [wikipedia.org] or at least down played to lull us back to sleep with assurances only bad people are being watched. Only now we discover the extent to which the "surveillance government" had breached the fourth amendment. This was all prior to Snowden even being hired. Or Obama taking office... I am unconvinced that Obama actually knew the particulars of what the "spooks have been doing" until Snowden wiped his nose in it.

    Keep in mind that just because one has paranoia does not mean that that there is no real reason to be paranoid. The more I hear the less happy I am about what this nation is becoming. We are becoming the thing we wished to destroy.

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