[Poohbah]

I agree that US agents (ie. spies whom the Soviets executed as spies) were killed. If Pollard delivered the documents to the Soviets or knew they would be delivered to the Soviets he should be treated just like Ames and Hanssen. Otherwise he should be treated like spies who deliver documents to friendly countries, albeit the magnitude and quality of the information should be considered.

Anyone who engages in espionage is saying, in essence, that they don't give an airborne fornication who sees the classified material they are entrusted with. To say otherwise is to say that the spy is ignorant of the possibilities of:

• False-flag recruitments--where his handler claims loyalty to Country A while actually working for Country B
• The possibility of someone in the receiving agency (example: Mossad) working for somebody else (example: KGB).
• The possibility of the spy's "take" being bartered or given to another country.

[af_vet_1981]

Anyone who mishandles classified information is doing the same. Anyone who leaks classified information is doing the same. Jonathan Pollard has to live with the consequences of his actions. All those who betray their country should get approximately equal treatment. For example, if a black CIA employee sold information on our networks to an African country they should be treated the same as Pollard, or vice versa.