Posted on 05/17/2006 3:18:52 PM PDT by Esther Ruth
Pentagon denying Israelis security clearances
New York Sun reports State Department citing AIPAC leak case as basis for denying employees with dual Israeli-American citizenship security clearances. In one case, government lawyers argued Israel was 'actively spying on United States' to justify withdrawing clearance from worker
Ynetnews
The Pentagon is citing a leak affair involving Defense Department analyst Lawrence Franklin and two pro-Israel lobbyists Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, as a basis for stripping security clearances from government contractor employees who have dual Israeli-American citizenship or family in Israel, The New York Sun reported Wednesday.
The two former AIPAC officials and the Pentagon analyst were indicted in August 2005 on charges they conspired to pass classified information to persons not entitled to receive it, including Israeli officials and members of the press.
According to the Sun, Defense Department attorneys have used the AIPAC leak indictments in at least three cases, to justify withdrawing or denying security clearances.
The paper quoted Virginian Lawyer Sheldon Cohen who has been tracking these cases, as saying: "The only reason to possibly use it (the dual citizenship issue) is to implicate anybody with a connection to Israel, to imply they cannot be trusted. There is no other conceivable reason to bring it up."
A study conducted by Cohen on the subject of Israel-related security clearance cases, found that "an unusually large number" of cases involving foreign influence concerns seem to relate to Israel.
The Sun reported that in one case, an Israeli-born mechanical engineer who has worked as a major defense contractor and has been living in the United States for over 25 years, faced an attempt by government lawyers to revoke his security clearance because of his dual citizenship, his possession of an Israeli passport and the fact that he has relatives in Israel.
"There was some basis for McCarthyism. Here there's nothing, just this dual loyalty business," David Schoen, the employee's attorney, told the Sun. "It really strikes me as un-American."
"His wife is American. His kids are American," the lawyer said. "He has never had a problem at Lockheed (where he worked)," Schoen added.
According to the attorney, at a hearing on the case a few weeks ago, a government attorney tried to submit the leak indictment as an exhibit, arguing that it showed Israel was actively spying on America.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, a leader of the Jewish community in Washington, told the Sun he was disturbed by the growing number of similar incidents. "People around the country are turning to us and telling us of ongoing cases where people are stripped of their livelihoods just because they're Jewish," he said.
(05.17.06, 21:53)
If youre from the Middle East, naturally warning bells will go off in some people's minds, regardless. Better to be safe than sorry, IMHO.
I can understand the reasoning. Now if only they would do the same to Muslims
Hey, Israel - this is what happens to you when you get caught spying on us and sell our technology to China. Surprise!
we shouldn't have dual-citizenship, period. And we certainly should not be granting security clearances to anyone with dual citizenship from any country. If these people want to be here and get security clearances, let them renounce their other country's citizenship.
"Countries don't have friends, they have allies" and that status is subject to change from time to time.
It should be a matter of policy that anyone with dual citizenship can be denied or stripped of clearance at anytime for that reason alone.
They deny most people with dual citizenships...no matter where they are from. Loyalty issue. Someone I work with was denied because she has both Canadian and American citizenship.
Dual-citizenship should be a presumptive cause to deny a high security clearance.
ADJUDICATIVE GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR ACCESS TO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
GUIDELINE C: FOREIGN PREFERENCE
9. The Concern. When an individual acts in such a way as to indicate a preference for a foreign country over the United States, then he or she may be prone to provide information or make decisions that are harmful to the interests of the United States.10. Conditions that could raise a security concern and may be disqualifying include:
(a) the exercise of dual citizenship;11. Conditions that could mitigate security concerns include:(d) individual has expressed a willingness to renounce dual citizenship.
I went to college with a guy from Canada. We were studying aerospace engineering and most of the work in the field required security clearances and thus American citizenship. He became an American citizen and dropped his Canadian citizenship during senior year. No question. We had a party when his citizenship became final. Drank beer and quizzed him on Americana (how many Twinkies in a package, etc.). At one point he got up on a chair and recited the Pledge. This was 1982 and at the time it was completely unremarkable to us all that a Canadian would and could become an American, completely and permanently, just like that. No big deal at all. Now when some Canadians act like there is a huge moral or philosophical difference between the two countries (with Canada being superior, of course) it makes me a little sad. Pointless.
[insert a yawn] Well, our technology vanity blah aside, Bubba's administration itself transfered a US satellite techology to China in 1996, just for starters, 47 supercomputers were approved for sale and were sold. Surprise yet?
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