Pollard was a traitor. He gave our book of spying methodology to another country who then used it against us.
Israel is an ally of the United States. It is not a friend of the United States. If a person is a friend, they do not say or do things that will hurt you. The same is not true for an ally.
Witness the United States' wiretapping of the phone of the Brazilian politicians. Brazil is an ally. They are not a friend.
The United States lied to Polish leaders about the type of activities taking place on their soil in the black sites. Because the United States and Poland are not friends. They are allies.
There are those who will draw comparisons to Pollard and myself. You are wrong.
My statement "Waterboarding is Torture, and Torture is Wrong" was written on an internal Intelligence Community blog. It was classified, and only people with high security clearances could see it. When I went public, it was only to announce that I was fired for criticizing torture. Getting fired is not classified. If I had not been fired, there would have been no story.
Pollard was the means by which Israel could take specific pieces of very valuable information - information that protects people's lives - and trade it to our non-allies in exchange for Israel's advantage. It is unknown how many lives have been lost because of Pollard's actions. Because you can never know that information.
Pollard hurt the United States more than any spy ever has. People may feel they are helping Israel by advocating for his release from prison. Really, except for PR reasons, Israel doesn't really care about Pollard. Israel got what they wanted out of Pollard, and he is no longer of use to them. Because they are a country - not a person, and an ally - not a friend.
Israel is an ally of the United States. It is not a friend of the United States. If a person is a friend, they do not say or do things that will hurt you. The same is not true for an ally.
Witness the United States' wiretapping of the phone of the Brazilian politicians. Brazil is an ally. They are not a friend.
The United States lied to Polish leaders about the type of activities taking place on their soil in the black sites. Because the United States and Poland are not friends. They are allies.
There are those who will draw comparisons to Pollard and myself. You are wrong.
My statement "Waterboarding is Torture, and Torture is Wrong" was written on an internal Intelligence Community blog. It was classified, and only people with high security clearances could see it. When I went public, it was only to announce that I was fired for criticizing torture. Getting fired is not classified. If I had not been fired, there would have been no story.
Pollard was the means by which Israel could take specific pieces of very valuable information - information that protects people's lives - and trade it to our non-allies in exchange for Israel's advantage. It is unknown how many lives have been lost because of Pollard's actions. Because you can never know that information.
Pollard hurt the United States more than any spy ever has. People may feel they are helping Israel by advocating for his release from prison. Really, except for PR reasons, Israel doesn't really care about Pollard. Israel got what they wanted out of Pollard, and he is no longer of use to them. Because they are a country - not a person, and an ally - not a friend.
3 comments:
I am not usually confident that the interest of our espionage agencies are the same as the interests of our country. However, i do believe that historically there have been exchanges of spies with "enemy nations" -- even in the time of declared wars. Certainly that is true during times of undeclared wars. I can imagine circumstances where it is in the interests of the country to make a trade for Mr. Pollard. I'm not yet convinced that THESE are those circumstances. But i'm wondering, for someone with a history in an espionage agency, what are the circumstances where "no" can become "yes i suppose it is worth it" to do this trade?
Good point, and good question. If I were the President, it would require the finalization of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Period. After a year of that going well, I would do the exchange.
Flattered by your comment, BTW. I thought nobody read my blog.
What are your views on Snowden?
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