Israel won't ask U.S. to clarify why official was being tailed

[seemslikeadream]

By Nathan Guttman

WASHINGTON - Larry Franklin, the Pentagon data analyst suspected of funneling classified documents to Israel through the Jewish lobby AIPAC, had been helping with the investigation for several weeks before the story broke in the media, the New York Times reported yesterday citing sources familiar with the case.


So far, the details available point to Naor Gilon, political adviser at the Israeli embassy in Washington, as the FBI surveillance target that led investigators to Franklin.

Israeli sources could not say yesterday why Gilon had been under surveillance, but Israel does not intend to seek clarifications or protest in the matter. "It's neither the first nor the last time diplomats have been tailed in this town," an Israeli official said yesterday.

Another source said there is nothing unusual in the FBI monitoring meetings of diplomats, but said it's unlikely this was mundane surveillance, so it's possible there was suspicion of some kind about information reaching the Israeli embassy. Gilon knew Franklin and kept an ordinary working relationship with him as part of his job

more
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/471370.html

[seemslikeadream]

1. New spy scandal comes as major blow to Israel, AIPAC

New spy scandal comes as major blow to Israel, AIPAC


WASHINGTON: Washington was rocked late last week by allegations that a Pentagon policy analyst on Iran, Laurence A. Franklin, had passed classified information to Israel through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby group in the US. He is also said to have had extensive meetings with Naor Gilon, head of the political department at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and a specialist on Iran's nuclear weapons program.

.........

Journalist Steven Green, a long-time observer of Israeli espionage efforts in the United States, told the Daily Star that he had spoken extensively with individuals involved in the investigation, and that "I know from personal experience that its scope is much wider in terms of the targets than we have been told so far."

He said that more senior officials than Franklin "should be extremely nervous about this." Green speculated that the scandal might involve exchanges of information between "sophisticates in the intelligence communities of Israel and Iran at the expense of the United States. ... There is a possible quid-pro-quo involved in Iran receiving US intelligence codes through the neocon favorite Ahmed Chalabi and the Israelis getting our latest thinking on Iran's nuclear program. ...You can see how that would benefit both parties, but not the US."

USA Today reported Monday that law enforcement officials said "there may be some crossover" between the Franklin and Chalabi investigations.

............

James Bamford, a leading observer of the US intelligence community and author of the recent book "Pretext for War," said, "These allegations don't surprise me at all, since Franklin works for Feith, who is essentially a pro-Israel extremist. It certainly should encourage another look at the influence of Israel in the motivations for the Iraq war. Sharon was pushing the US very hard to go to war in August, 2002." Bamford added: "The neoconservatives surround themselves with people who are fanatically pro-Israel, and maybe they were too over confident, or felt that no one would notice or no one would care, or that they were running things so it wouldn't matter, but luckily the FBI is independent of the Pentagon." Bamford said it is significant that while the FBI had informed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz, it had not told Feith about the investigation.


http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&c...


meetings with Naor Gilon, head of the political department at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and a specialist on Iran's nuclear weapons program.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Israel isn't in a position to protest anything.

Unfortunately, most of America probably STILL hasn't woken up to the idea that Israel is NOT a good ally, nor are they a good, peaceful country.

[Jim Sagle]

5. Wrong on both counts.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. Care to say why?

[emad]

3. Wonder if any connection to that Iran spy bust story, as per:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x789678

[jmcgowanjm]

4. to preserve the harvest, sacrifice is required Karen Kwiatkowski

The pre-Republican National Convention weekend story is
that Larry gave draft Iran policy guidance and other info to
AIPAC representatives, in hopes of communicating a level
of concern for what was going on in Iraq to his higher ups in
the Pentagon, specifically Doug Feith and Paul
Wolfowitz.

Why would Larry need to give draft documents on
policy anywhere in the Middle East to AIPAC, when all the
big decisions are already coordinated between Israel and
the U.S. at far higher levels?

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski91.html

http://counterpunch.com/

What More Could They Possibly Want?

Although both the Bush and Sharon governments' are devoted
to "regime change", they may miles apart on what that
may involve.

Sharon would like to see an end to Iran's nuclear program
and an "Iron-fisted" secular ruler (friendly to Israel) installed
in Tehran.

However, the Bush administration is probably wary of
committing to another full-blown occupation (Iran has
a population of 70 million) after being "mired" in Iraq for a
year and a half.

http://counterpunch.com/whitney08302004.html