Posted on 04/15/2006 4:31:49 PM PDT by Sabramerican
Report: US to release Pollard in Barghouti swap deal JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 16, 2006
Officials in Jerusalem claimed on Saturday that the US would free imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in exchange for Israel releasing jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.
According to Army Radio, Israel is set to offer the proposed prisoner swap deal in the next few months, following the unfolding anarchy in the Palestinian Authority. Seemingly, Israel intends to use Barghouti's release to strengthen the Fatah movement against the background of the much criticized rule of the new Hamas-led Palestinian government.
In 2004 Israel suggested a similar move but the initiative was rejected by the US government. Jerusalem officials predict that on this occasion the White House will accept the proposal.
Pollard, a former Mossad agent, was convicted of selling US military secrets to Israel, while he worked at the Defense Department's Pentagon headquarters. He was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty to the espionage charges. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and has been incarcerated in a US jail for the past 21 years.
The Israeli government denied for years that Pollard was its spy but finally acknowledged it in 1998.
Various prime ministers have since made efforts to secure a pardon for Pollard, none of which have been successful.
Bump.
I have mixed feelings about eventually freeing Pollard. But what the hell do we want with Barghouti? What, to turn him over to the ACLU and American trial lawyers? I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!!!
Leave him to rot in an Israeli jail, thank you very much.
i have read a number of versions of what pollard actually did, from passing info to israel that israel gave to the USSR that unrolled the US intelligence network in e. europe, to simply passing on something about old chem. weapon stockpiles, etc.
The only additional item that I find interesting is that the US has steadfastly refused to let him go, heck even CLINTON didn't let him go when pressed to for his ME peace deal, and anyone here knows clinton cares more about his own posterity than any national interests. Apparently there was an uproar in intelligence and others when he considered it, enough that he didn't do it.
whatever pollard gave israel, it wasn't something insignifigant to the US. Beyond that, I do not believe we will ever know for sure what it was, exception being the many freepers who apparently have the security clearance and access to reliably state that informatoin.
I'll let you know when we discuss someone convicted of Treason.
Pollard was not.
Treason is defined by the US Constitution. Pollard didn't commit Treason.
Um, so what do we get?
Any Israeli who agrees to release Bhargouti for Pollard is a traitorous pig. Bharghouti is a monster. Pollard is insignificant.
What was he convicted of?
mishandling a single classified document, IIRC. As I understood, this was the only charge brought in order to avoid having to reveal in court the actual espionage involved. He plead guilty and I think got max. term.
You might be right, but how do we know what his real offenses were compared to say what Hersh says? No offense, but I don't believe him or his wife.
I think Pollard should be released.
But, why is Israel releasing the terrorist Barghouti?
I have three questions for the governments of the U.S. and Israel:
1. Why do you place less value on the innocent lives of those who are killed or maimed by terrorists, when the victims are Jews?
2. Why do you insist on pursuing and killing Islamofascists...unless they happen to be "Palestinian" Arabs?
3. Why do you coddle "Palestinian" Arab Islamofascist terrorists?
Apparently, the sources "think" the release of the terrorist will somehow help negate Hamas, but I am at a complete loss as to how that is expected to work!
TAMPA - Capping an ordeal that spanned more than a decade, former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian has reached a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to be deported after admitting involvement with a terrorist organization, an attorney involved in the negotiations said.
"My understanding was that he was to plead guilty" to conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, said William Moffitt, who represented Al-Arian until a judge allowed him to withdraw from the case last month. The deal calls for Al-Arian to receive a sentence roughly equal to the time he has served behind bars since he was arrested in February 2003, Moffitt said.
Bush is representing all of his REAL supporters well.
He rewarded MBNA's $2 million in campaign contributions with a bankruptcy bill to make eternal slaves of millions of Americans.
He rewarded Bono woth $30 billion in "aid" to African dictators in the guise of AIDS support (and just wait for the big African debt bailout).
He rewarded his Saudi masters with the "Road Map" to Israeli vivisection.
And the list goes on. Bush is doing a great job servicing his true constituency.
That is just silly. If the article is on FR, people can't be expected not to comment on it.
What does that mean? mishandled a single classified document? Give me the whole story.
The Bush Administration, Rice, State, get to engage in some more, unending, Mideast fantasy.
Release a Fatah murderer to compete with the Hamas murderers.
What we really get is unending war: as we have gotten from similar policies for more then half a century.
faster for you to google it than me to google it for you and type it out.
The Vegas odds are 50/50 either way.
no one knows the whole story, officially at least.
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