The decision by the Obama Administration to release Jonathan Pollard, arrested back in 1985 for spying for Israel and sentenced to life in prison, is fueling a backlash from a number of US intelligence officials, who believe the decision to release the spy is a mistake.
This was not unexpected. The intelligence community has forced the Clinton Administration to back off plans to release Pollard in 1998, aimed at securing concessions from Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Releasing spies has historically been done in exchange for other spies, and the US spies don’t like the idea of giving up a bargaining chip.
That’s doubly true because the US isn’t getting anything out of this release, according to retired Col. Pat Lang, a former top military intelligence officer, who added “I suppose you could argue that the administration did it as a favor to Israel, but what exactly have the Israelis done for us lately?”
They also aren’t buying Israeli arguments that Pollard was acting out of a sense of duty to Israel, noting he is American-born and a US citizen. He is an Israeli citizen now, but was only made so after he’d already been convicted of spying for them.
Many see Pollard’s primary motivation as money, noting that while he was giving Israel “anything and everything they wanted” he was also offering to sell US secrets to Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan.
And since when do nations do favors for other nations?
As always when it comes to israel, the US isn't acting out of a positions of strength, but out of a position of weakness, they're not "deciding" to send this jerk to israel, they have to.
How about some of these people file a lawsuit instead of just feeling irked?
Rick, how could Israel force the USA to release their worst enemy and traitor? How could that be possible?
Pollard is the "best", most successful spy in America´s vast prison network, a guy the Intel community wants to keep locked up for life because of the harm he´s done to the country. All America shares this view of a despicable traitor.
According to everybody in the US government, indeed the country, Pollard has been considered an extremely dangerous enemy and traitor of the country. Now there is a change of heart, the US government wants to release Pollard, so that he can live the rest of his life, happily ever after, in Israel.
Israel recruited Pollard to become an Israeli citizen and converted him to Judaism while serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison. This brings tears to my eyes – here are two belligerent world powers, now humbling themselves to make this humane decision to release America´s worst enemy and traitor. Perhaps the good hearted Israelis would like us to apologize for arresting and imprisoning him in the first place? How about a full pardon? What else can we do for Israel? Oh, I´m sure they´ll let us know and place their order with their usual obedient staff in the White House and Congress.
OK Rick, you were correct. Now that I´ve reviewed things, it is obvious that the US is being forced to release Pollard. But where does Israel get that kind power? What is the difference in what Pollard did and what our elected officials are doing by taking orders from a foreign power? Years ago I remember a book, titled: “None dare call it treason”?
The memorandum that Sec. of Defense Casper Weinberger provided to the court prior to sentencing should be provided to the pubic before any final decision is made about releasing the traitor Pollard. Transparency should be given to the American people about the damage assessment contained in it. It has been 30 years so there is no need for material redactions.
The people have a right to know how many people died because of Pollard's crimes and Israel's perfidious use of the stolen documents. Democracy cannot function in darkness.
In any case in the event of a release from prison Pollard should not be allowed to leave the United States nor should he be allowed to receive any gifts or payments for speaking or writing which should be considered delayed payments for stolen goods and thus subject to confiscation. He should be forced to explore the exciting world of minimum wage jobs and public housing. Grind the s.o.b. into the dirt.
Perhaps some of these "US intelligence officials" have friends or colleagues who can "arrange" that POS come down with a terminal case of food poisoning or something equally painful – and terminal – while still in prison. He should have been executed in 1985.
"The memorandum that Sec. of Defense Casper Weinberger provided to the court prior to sentencing should be provided to the pubic before any final decision is made about releasing the traitor Pollard."
The final decision has already been made. And it wasn't made by a court.
The rules under which Pollard was sentenced mandate that at 30 years, parole is mandatory UNLESS the government comes to the parole board with a credible claim on a limited number of exceptions (likelihood to offend again, clear and present danger, etc.).
The government remained silent.
Therefore, the parole board did exactly what the law required it to do and paroled Pollard.
Why did the government remain silent? Because doing so allowed it to give Israel something Israel wanted (Pollard's release) with plausible deniability ("hey, it was the mandatory procedure").
This comment is correct, but there is something that needs to be said even more clearly.
Parole is not mandatory. A hearing is mandatory. The defendant is not required to apply, confess, and the rest, he just gets a hearing. But the terms of the hearing are the same.
Pollard did not qualify.
It is an important distinction which is deliberately falsified by those favoring release. It is important to be clear on this.
Nope.
Under the rules at the time of Pollard's sentencing, at 30 years parole — not a hearing, actual parole, period, full stop — was mandatory. Unless the government objected, the board had zero discretion.
No, Mark is right. The parole hearing is mandatory at 30 years even if the convict does not request it, and Pollard did not request it. The parole itself is certainly not mandatory.
There aren't a lot of ways to say this, but I'll try again.
Under the law at the time of Pollard's sentencing, parole was mandatory after 30 years for those sentenced to life, unless the government objected on specific grounds, e.g. the person was likely to commit the same crime again.
Not a mandatory hearing.
Not mandatory consideration.
Mandatory PAROLE.
Since the Obama administration did not object to Pollard's parole on the statutorily allowable ground, the parole board had zero, zip, zilch, nada, no discretion. They had to parole him. Period.
So what are the intelligence professionals going to do about it?
In the past they stood up to Bush and Clinton. What about now?
The dirty traitor Johnathan Pollard should have been subject to the same punishment that the other traitors Julius and Ethel Rosenberg got: death in the electric chair!