Posted on 08/27/2004 7:52:18 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON - The F.B.I. is investigating a Pentagon official on suspicion of passing secrets to Israel, according to government officials.
The espionage investigation has focused on an official who works in the office of Douglas Feith, the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, officials who have been briefed about the investigation said on Friday. The F.B.I. has gathered evidence that the Pentagon official passed classified policy documents to officials at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major pro-Israeli lobbying group, who in turn provided the information to Israeli intelligence, the officials said.
The bureau has evidence that the Pentagon official has provided the Israelis with a sensitive report about American policy toward Iran, along with other materials, according to the officials.
Several government officials identified the Pentagon official who is under investigation, but he could not be immediately reached for comment about the allegations. The F.B.I. has not yet made any arrests in the case, according to government officials.
Neither the Pentagon official under suspicion or has anyone else associated with the case has been arrested, the officials said. Government officials suggested on Friday that investigators are seeking the cooperation of the Pentagon official being investigated.
Justice Department officials declined to comment on the matter Friday.
"We categorically deny these allegations," said a spokesman for the Israeli embassy, David Siegel. "They are completely false and outrageous.
"The United States is Israel's most cherished friend and ally," he said. "We have a strong ongoing relationship at all levels and in no way would Israel do anything to impair this relationship."
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee also denied any wrongdoing. The organization said in a statement: "Any allegation of criminal conduct by the organization or its employees is baseless and false." The group added, "We are fully cooperating with the governmental authorities and will continue to do so." The F.B.I. inquiry has been underway for at least a year, and has been one of the bureau's most sensitive spy cases in years, officials said. One official said that the suspected involvement of people working at a major pro-Israeli lobbying organization in the spy case led the Justice Department to move cautiously.
The fact that the Pentagon official under investigation works for Mr. Feith has also made the case politically sensitive for the Bush administration.
Before the war in Iraq, Mr. Feith created a special intelligence unit that sought to build a case for Iraq's ties to al Qaeda, an effort that has since been heavily criticized by American intelligence professionals as an effort to justify the war.
In a statement made public on Friday night, the Pentagon said: "DOD has been cooperating fully with the Department of Justice on this matter for an extended period of time. The investigation involves a single individual at DOD at the desk officer level, who was not in a position to have significant influence over U.S. policy. Nor could a foreign power be in a position to influence U.S. policy through this individual. To the best of DOD's knowledge, the investigation does not target any other DOD individuals."
The U.S. official said he did not know the motive for the desk officer's actions, and could not assess the potential damage of his alleged actions. "He had a certain expertise and had access to things, but he wasn't a policymaker," the official said.
Some of the classified information that investigators suspect was passed to Israel dealt with sensitive policy discussions about the United States position toward Iran, officials said.
As a result, the investigation is likely to give rise to questions about whether Israel may have used the information to influence American policy in the Middle East.
The Pentagon analyst who officials said is under suspicion was one of two department officials who traveled to Paris for a secret meeting with Manucher Ghorbanifar, an Iranian arms dealer who had been a central figure in the Iran-contra affair.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld confirmed last year that the secret meeting had occurred, but he defended it as an appropriate diplomatic effort. He said the talks went nowhere.
It was not immediately clear whether the espionage investigation was directly related to the secret meeting with Mr. Ghorbanifar. Nor was there immediate evidence of whether money had changed hands in exchange for classified information.
NYTimes speaks!
NYTimes speaks!
Is this just a clever ploy to divert suspicion?
And no one listens.
Intelligence gathering is one sleazy proffesion with no allies or commitments,only bloody national interests-Israel gathers intell from the US & you can be asured the US also has it's folks in the Israeli govt & atleast Israel won't pass this info on to a bunch of Slammie radicals.The people Israel heavily cooperates with on intell gathering(apart from the US) are Turkey & India.
"And no one listens."
JFKerry, Joe Wilson, and my brother-in-law does!!!
Or it would be Harold Rhode or Larry Franklin?
Oh my. Iran Contra again. Is this another Chalabi factional fight?
As I recall, Ghorbanifar was involved in the origins of the Iran side of the Iran-Contra affair.
Is this another Chalabi factional fight?
What connection with Chalabi do you see?
Or Monica, Chandra or Cipel? </joke>
Ghorbanifar and Shackley.
According to Shackley's own Congressional testimony, the Iran-contra affair began when Ghorbanifar told Shackley that he could orchestrate the ransom of 3 US hostages being held in Lebanon. Ghorbanifar also let it known that Iran desired US antitank missles. Shackley relayed this to the State Dept, who did not evince interest, and to Michael Ledeen, who did.
The rest is history.
"Oh my. Iran Contra again. Is this another Chalabi factional fight?"
Tooo early to tell what was and is going on. Ellen the "rat" on Fox Weekend call the group the "hawks". Fox said the name of this guy was out there, he was ready for retirement, went to Paris to meet with an Iranian, no money changed hands. Supposedly the person is a desk officer.
Hard to know yet exactly how the liberals will shape this situation, however usage of the word "hawks" is the beginning.
Some liberal in Congress, on "INTEL" committee, or "Armed Services Committee", most likely tossed this out there to divert attention from "Swiftvets".
Sounds like the investigation has been going on for a while, and someone wanted a change of focus in the press.
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