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Have any of you been following the investigation at the pentagon concerning passing of secrets to Israel?
USA Today
September 1, 2004
Pg. 11
Top Pentagon Officials Questioned By FBI In Israeli Spy Investigation
By Barbara slavin, USA Today
WASHINGTON — The FBI has asked at least three Pentagon officials if they authorized sharing a classified draft on U.S. policy toward Iran with pro-Israeli lobbyists, and all have denied they did, a Defense Department official said Tuesday.
The three are in the chain of command above Lawrence Franklin, an Iran analyst suspected of divulging the contents of the document last summer to employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who then allegedly passed information to Israel. Investigators appeared to be trying to rule out the possibility that Franklin was directed to share the material.
Franklin's bosses include William Luti, deputy undersecretary of Defense in charge of Middle East-South Asia affairs, Douglas Feith, undersecretary of Defense for policy, and Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of Defense for international security affairs, the official said. The official has been briefed on the probe but asked not to be named because the investigation is ongoing.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, have also met with FBI investigators, the official said, but he did not know whether they had been asked if they approved the alleged disclosure. The FBI has also briefed Secretary of State Colin Powell, other State Department officials, members of the National Security Council and Congressional intelligence committees.
Franklin has not been charged with a crime. The document he is alleged to have shared was the Pentagon's suggestions for U.S. policy toward Iran. No comprehensive policy has been approved because of divisions within the administration between those who favor talks with Iran and those who want to support actively Iranians trying to overturn their theocratic regime.
Both AIPAC, a powerful foreign affairs lobby in Washington, and Israel have denied any illegal activity.
Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said Tuesday that no one at his embassy has been questioned about the document or Franklin.
"It is not a case of espionage or anything else," Ayalon said. "We will do nothing to impair our close relations with the United States and we will not jeopardize our relations with AIPAC." Ayalon predicted that the case would "fizzle out."
Franklin has not spoken about the investigation. One co-worker said Franklin had been out of the office for more than a month for language training and to deal with a family health emergency. Franklin's wife has been very ill, said the co-worker, who is not authorized to speak to reporters and asked not to be named.
Law enforcement officials have suggested that the case is part of a wider investigation into espionage by Israel, one of the United States' closest allies.
Israel is acutely interested in U.S. policy toward Iran, which is suspected of seeking nuclear weapons. But Israeli officials assert that they have not recruited U.S. spies since the arrest in 1985 of Jonathan Pollard, a U.S. Navy intelligence analyst later sentenced to life in prison for selling classified material to Israel.
Contributing: Toni Locy, Donna Leinwand and wire reports
Fender
"A woman drove me to drink
and I hadn't even the courtesy to thank her".
W.C. Fields
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