Posted on 03/05/2002 2:27:35 PM PST by jmp702
U.S. Deports Israelis Amid Warnings of Espionage Activities
By Ted Bridis Associated Press Writer
Published: Mar 5, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) - Authorities have arrested and deported dozens of young Israelis since early last year who represented themselves as art students in efforts to gain access to sensitive federal office buildings and the homes of government employees, U.S. officials said.
A draft report from the Drug Enforcement Administration - which first characterized the activities as suspicious - said the youths' actions "may well be an organized intelligence-gathering activity."
Immigration officials deported them for visa violations; no criminal espionage charges were filed.
The arrests, made in an unspecified number of major U.S. cities from California to Florida, came amid public warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies about suspicious behavior by people posing as Israeli art students and "attempting to bypass facility security and enter federal buildings."
The Israelis were arrested and deported on charges of working in the United States without authorization or overstaying visits on tourist visas, said Russ Bergeron, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington. He described dozens of arrests since early 2001 but gave no exact figures.
The DEA report said a majority of the students questioned by U.S. investigators acknowledged having served in military intelligence, electronic signals interception or explosive ordnance units in the Israeli military. The DEA said one person questioned was the son of a two-star Israeli general, one had served as the bodyguard to the head of the Israeli Army and another served in a Patriot missile unit.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yaffa Ben-Ari said it was "nonsense" that the students were spying on the United States.
Another Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Irit Stopper, confirmed that a few Israelis posing as art students were expelled from the United States for working without permits. However they were not accused of espionage, she said. She did not say how many Israelis were expelled and did not give any additional details.
The DEA report was first obtained by a French Web site that specializes in intelligence news, Intelligenceonline.com, and confirmed Tuesday as authentic by DEA spokeswoman Rogene Waite in Washington. The Web site said 120 Israelis had been arrested.
"That these people are now traveling in the U.S. selling art seems not to fit their background," the report said.
An FBI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted there were no espionage charges filed against any of the individuals and that they had been deported. Asked whether any spying activity occurred, the official repeated that no charges had been filed.
A Justice Department official, also asking not to be publicly identified, said investigators have been aware of some "alleged linkage" between the students and alleged espionage activities in the United States since early 2001, and said authorities have made arrests in Dallas, Chicago, San Diego and in south Florida. INS spokesman Rodney Germain in Miami said five or six people were arrested in that area at least six months ago on immigration counts.
Although security experts at the DEA first characterized the youths' behavior as suspicious, and INS authorities later arrested them, the FBI typically investigates espionage cases in the United States.
The DEA report said that among U.S. sites apparently targeted was Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, home to the military's AWACS surveillance planes and the place where many of the nation's B-1 bombers are repaired. Investigators also said that one female art student went to the home of a worker for the Environmental Protection Agency in Denver to sell paintings and returned later to photograph the house, according to the report.
No one within the Justice Department has expressed concerns about the Israeli students possibly committing espionage, Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra said. The deputy U.S. attorney general, Larry Thompson, declined to discuss the arrests when asked about them during a news conference Tuesday.
The U.S. Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, a federal agency, circulated a public warning in March 2001 urging employees to report contact with people describing themselves as Israeli art students.
"These individuals have been described as aggressive," the warning said. "They attempt to engage employees in conversation rather than giving a sales pitch."
Cooperation with Israel, a longtime key ally, is increasingly important in the U.S. war on terrorism.
AP-ES-03-05-02 1658EST
Tinker A.F.B. is in Oklahoma City OK, one area where the Israeli mafia was targeting. The drug use was making its way into the military, that is why the article is on Tinker's website. As well as Eglin where cocaine, heroin is being mixed with ecstasy. Again the Israeli connection.
As for who they were, I would confer Bush's policies (Super Bowl Ad) on kids buying drugs and who the money supports.
Then why were they deported instead of given an extended stay in the Pollard Wing of the Graybar Hotel?
All in good time. Are you denying you already posted news about your assignment to Lebanon ? Tell us more about your friends there, by all means, tell us all you know about the Islamic terrorists and their supporters while you're busy posting your HateIsraelFirst comments.
I mean, pulling individual posts and even whole threads I can understand.. But "locking" one?
Why the hell would you do that?
Was any reason given?
But that would put so many Israeli gays in jeopardy. You might want to rethink that.
I think you should re-read Southern Federalist's post, and perhaps consider hiring him to write for your 'website'. He would definitely elevate the discourse over there, in every way.
You know, for an antiwar sorta guy, it seems to me you rarely join a thread without at some point calling for the bombing of Tel Aviv or some other such site.
Concerned ? No
Vigilant ? Yes
Only incompetents or HateIsraelFirst evil ones would fail to recognize the threat of Islamic terrorists and their supporters to murder millions of our citizens and those of our allies. The thought of incompetents being in charge of our defense would be most disconcerting. I am reassured to see the names of Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rice, and Bush though.
Do you have an Islamic name ?
Naah, the Israelis wouldn't do that. They'd just provide logistics. :)
Rogue Mossad cells working with Osama would make for a really cool novel.
The difference is that in a war between India and Pakistan, you'd have bunches of nuked out dead folk on both sides, and then some kind of a truce. In a war between Israel and "the arab world", you'd have Israel essentially untouched, surrounded by a sea of hot glistening glass.
I hope that clears things up for you.
"In the meantime, if you feel so strongly about Israel, you're welcome to encourage your family members to contact a recruiter and enlist."
Aw, ain't that sweet? The ol' "we don' like yer kind 'round heah, jew" treatment.
I tell you what, Moustafachik. Why don't you just GFYS and we'll call it even, OK?
To-wit: why does it upset you that legions of raving Palies are the ones who will likely pay with their lives -- if anyone is -- due to Pollard's actions?
"when are you people--Israel Firsters--going to start acting like real Americans?"
When are you people -- shameless defenders of all things islamist -- going to stop pretending to be real Americans?
You say that like it's a bad thing.
The DEA has a deserved reputation for vicious ineptitude. That it would posit any opinion on espionage is farce.
One example of DEA evil incompetence was the four-year wrongful imprisonment of Jim Williams in Ecuador for "drug-related money-laundering." Jim Williams is free thanks to his wife Robin's tireless lobbying on his behalf.
There is a vicious and very sloppy attempt to use the current non-event to slander Israel, which fails.
Had there been an espionage connection, the alleged intelligent agents would have been tried after lengthy interrogation.
The fact that they were deported rather than detained as hundreds have been further indicates their activities were drug-related.
The "French intelligence analyst" and Le Monde deepen the picture of an anti-Israel/anti-American smear badly botched.
Only incompetents or HateIsraelFirst evil ones would fail to recognize the threat of Islamic terrorists and their supporters to murder millions of our citizens and those of our allies. The thought of incompetents being in charge of our defense would be most disconcerting. I am reassured to see the names of Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rice, and Bush though
You're the one that has written that anyone criticizing Israel must be aligned with the "evil one." By that I can only assume you mean Satan. Gee... now *that's* sound critical thinking. Good grief, talk about incompetents! LOL...
Get this through your head. Recognizing the Islamic threat doesn't necessitate turning a blind eye to Israeli treachery just because the Israeli treachery is carried out on behalf of the Jews.
Go join the IDF if you're so concerned about Israel. Nobody's stopping you; they could probably use someone with your talents in their propaganda mills.
Aw, ain't that sweet? The ol' "we don' like yer kind 'round heah, jew" treatment.I tell you what, Moustafachik. Why don't you just GFYS and we'll call it even, OK?
Nice smear.
You should calm down; I am not your enemy.
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