Report: AIPAC sacks two senior employees over spy scandal

[Scurrilous]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/567970.html

<snip>

"The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has fired two of its senior officials involved in an investigation over possible spying for Israel in the United States, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The pro-Israel lobby dismissed its policy director Steve Rosen and its senior Iran analyst Keith Weissman, who had both been previously suspended for the duration of the investigation."

<snip>

"AIPAC, whose ties with the U.S. administration were badly hurt, is apparently trying to distance itself from the on-going FBI investigation. In December, FBI agents raided the AIPAC offices and issued subpoenas to four top executives who were later questioned at length.

Sources close to the investigation suggested in the past that it would end in a plea bargain. Franklin would plead to a lesser crime of unauthorized transfer of information, Rosen and Weissman would be charged with receiving classified information unlawfully, and AIPAC would remain unstained."

[bemildred]

1. Time to sacrifice a few goats ... nt

[Moderator]

2. Kick to combine

[lovuian]

3. AIPAC dumps officials suspected of passing classified U.S. data to Israel

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568233.html

AIPAC dumps officials suspected of passing classified U.S. data to Israel

By Nathan Guttman, Haaretz Correspondent

WASHINGTON - AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Thursday dismissed its two senior officials who are suspected of being involved in receiving and passing on classified information from the Pentagon to representatives of the State of Israel. The two are Steve Rosen, the organization's policy director and the most prominent AIPAC official, and Keith Weissman, who dealt with Iran.

The two have been accused of receiving classified information from Larry Franklin, a Pentagon policy analyst on the Iran desk, and passing it on to official Israeli representatives with whom they met.

Previously, AIPAC had taken pains to give full backing to its officials, saying that nothing illegal was done. Thursday, however, the lobby published a statement intimating that they had overstepped the rules. But Abe Lowell, the attorney representing Rosen and Weissman, released a statement saying: "They have not violated any U.S. law or AIPAC policy."


more...

So like they lose their jobs and like Israel got the papers in the FBI sting but was the papers important and shouldn't Israel get a reprimand or sumthin!!!

Doh!!!

[catastrophicsuccess]

4. Its all for show

Everyone knows AIPAC writes the policy in the first place. Why not pass it along to Israel? AIPAC is nothing more than Likud of the US. These idiots make the NRA look like amateurs.

[hector459]

5. So why don't they go to jail?

Wait, wait, don't tell me.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Al-CIAda]

7. bump

[Binka]

9. Bookmarked Thanks Great Shit

:kick:

[not systems]

8. 2 Senior AIPAC Employees Ousted (amid an FBI investigation)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6059-2005Apr20.html

2 Senior AIPAC Employees Ousted
FBI Investigating if Pair Gave Classified Information to Israel

By Dan Eggen and Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 21, 2005; Page A08

Two senior employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, one of Washington's most influential lobbying organizations, have left their jobs amid an FBI investigation into whether they passed classified U.S. information to the government of Israel, a source close to the organization said yesterday.

The source characterized the departures as firings.

...

The developments also come as federal prosecutors in Alexandria are considering filing criminal charges in the case, according to two law enforcement officials. The probe centers on whether a Defense Department policy analyst, Lawrence A. Franklin, provided a draft presidential directive on Iran and other information to AIPAC, and whether AIPAC then passed the material on to Israel, officials have said.

...

AIPAC and its affiliates also annually take members of Congress and their staffers on tours of Israel, cementing relations between the leaders of both countries and ensuring continued high levels of foreign assistance from the United States to Israel.

...

[SweetLeftFoot]

10. Your tax dollars at work ...

isn't lucky Israel isn't hostile to the US?

[Al-CIAda]

11. Cloak and Swagger

Cloak and Swagger
The Larry Franklin spy probe reveals an escalating fight over control of Iran policy.

By Laura Rozen and Jason Vest
Issue Date: 11.02.04
--
At the time the CBS report aired in late August -- incidentally, on the Friday evening before the opening of the Republican national convention -- custody of the Franklin investigation was being transferred from the head of the FBI counterintelligence unit, David Szady, to U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty, a Bush appointee, in Alexandria, Virginia, as the case moved to the grand-jury phase.

And then, in mid-September, news of the Franklin investigation went dark.

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=8764

---

Disinfopedia-
Larry Franklin
From Disinfopedia


Lawrence (Larry) Franklin is an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency who works in the office of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith. He reports directly to Feith's deputy, William Luti and specializes in Iranian policy issues. <1>

Allegations of Espionage

On August 29th 2004, it was reported that Franklin is under investigation for allegedly spying for the state of Israel <4> (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040828_1405.html) <5> (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1093674510956) <6> (http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040828-020807-9421r.htm). According to an article in Haaretz, Franklin is not Jewish himself <7> (http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/470390.html).

Franklin allegedley offered highly classified draft documents regarding the United States policy towards Iran to two members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The two AIPAC Iran analysts, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, have retained a well known criminal defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, for counsel.<8> (http://daily.nysun.com/Repository/getmailfiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleToMail&Type=text/html&Path=NYS/2004/09/02&ID=Ar01300)

Attorney General John Ashcroft assigned highly partisan Republican U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty to the espionage case. Charges of espionage were expected to be downgraded to charges of mishandling classified information.

Franklin's security clearance was revoked in June 2004.


Secret Meetings with Iran-Contra Arms Dealers

Beginning in 2001, Franklin and Harold Rhode (Feith's top specialist on the Middle East) held secret meetings in Rome with Iran-Contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. These meetings were arranged by longtime Republican operative Michael Ledeen.

The Washington Monthly (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0410.marshallrozen.html) claimed the intent of these meetings was clear: "regime change" in Iran:

"The DoD-Ghorbanifar meetings suggest the possibility that a rogue faction at the Pentagon was trying to work outside normal US foreign policy channels to advance a "regime change" agenda not approved by the president's foreign policy principals or even the president himself."

"According to U.S. government sources, both the State Department and the CIA eventually brought the matter to the attention of the White House -- specifically, to Condoleezza Rice's chief deputy on the National Security Council, Stephen J. Hadley...Hadley sent word to the officials in Feith's office and to Ledeen to cease all such activities.

An anonymous senior administration official quoted by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service (http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=94701) said that the immediate objective of the Pentagon hawks appeared to be to "antagonise Iran so that they get frustrated and then by their reactions harden U.S. policy against them."
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Larry_Franklin
---
FBI Probes Pentagon Spy Case
(CBS) CBS News has learned that the FBI has a full-fledged espionage investigation under way and is about to -- in FBI terminology -- "roll up" someone agents believe has been spying not for an enemy, but for Israel from within the office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports the FBI believes it has "solid" evidence that the suspected mole supplied Israel with classified materials that include secret White House policy deliberations on Iran.

At the heart of the investigation are two people who work at The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/27/eveningnews/main639143.shtml

----

Analysis: More Being Learned About Larry Franklin, Suspected Spy For Israel
Morning Edition: September 3, 2004

Chalabi Linked to Pentagon Leak Probe
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Now in this country, we're learning more about a suspected spy for Israel at the Pentagon. Since word leaked out about him, we've learned the man's name, Larry Franklin, and a bit more about his work as a mid-level analyst on the Pentagon's Iran desk. Now there are growing indications that the FBI probe is actually much wider than just Franklin and that it's been going on for at least two years. NPR's Mary Louis Kelly is following all this and has an update on the investigation.

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/transcripts/2004/sep/040903.kelly.html

====

Israel Is Spying In And On The U.S.?
Published: 12/12/01 FOX News.
These items have since been removed from the FOX News web site:
BRIT HUME, HOST: It has been more than 16 years since a civilian working for the Navy was charged with passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but later took responsibility for his work. 

Now Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have known things they didn't tell us before September 11. Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron has details in the first of a four-part series. 

PART 1-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7545.htm
PART 2-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7544.htm
PART 3-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6480.htm
PART 4-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5133.htm

----------------
Carl Cameron Reports
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
What did the Mossad know in advance about September 11 (and not pass on to USA allies?)
Transcript of 4 part series-
http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/01/12/Israelis/spies1.html

----------------
AIPAC Spy Case involves Intelligence on Iranian WMD

Juan Cole

09/06/04 -- James Gordon Meek reports that both FBI investigations of leaks from the Pentagon concern in part secret US intelligence on Iranian weapons of mass destruction programs. The FBI suspects that this intelligence was leaked to AIPAC and the Israelis on the one hand, and to Ahmad Chalabi on the other. Chalabi in turn is suspected of passing the information on to Tehran, playing the role of double agent. Although the FBI seems to be keeping the two inquiries separate, there is strong circumstantial evidence that there was a behind-the-scenes connection between Chalabi and the Israelis. That is, the information circuit may have been ingrown among the Neoconservatives, the Israelis and Chalabi's people.

It should be noted that Chalabi, the Neoconservatives, and Israel's Likud Party were allied in wanting to get up a US war against Iraq. But they were divided on the next stage, which was to get Washington to attack Iran, as well. Chalabi hates Saddam, but as an Iraqi Shiite has strong ties to Tehran, so he was not actually on board with Stage Two, and may have helped derail it, for which he is now hated in some Neoconservative circles.
Con't-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6869.htm
------------

Crazy Like a Fox
Neocons go bananas over AIPAC spy scandal, but there's a method to their madness
by Justin Raimondo

...Anonymous," a currently serving CIA analyst, writes:"One can only react to this stunning reality by giving all praise to Israel's diplomats, politicians, intelligence services, U.S.-citizen spies, and the retired senior U.S. officials and wealthy Jewish-American organizations who lobby an always amenable Congress on Israel's behalf. In an astounding and historically unprecedented manner, the Israelis have succeeded in lacing tight the ropes binding the American Gulliver to the tiny Jewish state and its policies; as Anatol Lieven has written, the Israelis have been so successful that Israeli nationalism 'for many Americans has become deeply entwined with their American nationalism.'"
http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3583
------------
Leak Inquiry Includes Iran Experts in Administration
FBI counterintelligence investigators have in recent weeks questioned current and former U.S. officials about whether a small group of Iran specialists at the Pentagon and in Vice President Cheney's office may have been involved in passing classified information to an Iraqi politician or a U.S. lobbying group allied with Israel, according to sources familiar with or involved in the case.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60497-2004Sep3.html?nav=rss_nation
------------------
If you have watched the 4 part series, the following "art student' cover can be put in context-
The Israeli "art student" mystery
For almost two years, hundreds of young Israelis falsely claiming to be art students haunted federal offices -- in particular, the DEA. No one knows why -- and no one seems to want to find out.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/05/07/students/index_np.html
--------
Israeli Drug Smugglers' Global Monopoly On Ecstasy -2002
http://www.rense.com/general24/israelidrugsmugglers.htm

--------
Fri Sep 17,2004
LOS ANGELES Thirteen people are facing federal drug charges in Los Angeles for allegedly taking part in a cross-continent Ecstasy smuggling ring.
Investigators say about 300-thousand doses of the club drug -- with a street value of nearly seven (m) million dollars -- were seized in raids over a two-year period.

Dubbed Operation Money Man, prosecutors say the investigation of the European ring began when U-S immigration agents learned that a group of mostly Israeli nationals were selling Ecstasy in the L-A area.

Authorities say the ring shipped more than seven (m) million Ecstasy tablets from the Czech republic to the United States, Australia, Poland and Russia over the past year.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=2312570
----

US to sell Israel bunker-buster bombs
The Age Australia -September 22, 2004
The US plans to sell Israel $139 million ($A200 million) worth of air-launched bombs, including 500 "bunker busters" able to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear facilities, Israeli security sources said yesterday.
The newspaper Haaretz quoted a Pentagon report as saying the procurement sought "to maintain Israel's qualitative advantage and advance US strategic and tactical interests". The US embassy in Israel had no comment, referring queries to Washington. Israel's Defence Ministry also declined to comment.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/21/1095651323300.html?oneclick=true
------------

[Zhade]

12. Interesting.

NT!