Justice Rubinstein: U.S. should free convicted spy Pollard

http://www.haaretz.com/ ^ | Jack

[MarkL]

Sorry, but a spy is a spy. Throw away the key.

Agreed! The only reason that he's alive is that he spied for an "ally."

Now the Walkers and Ames... They should have been given the death sentance.

Mark

[papertyger]

Others on the thread may have links to this. I could find some after work.

I sure would appreciate it.

I've heard the "false flag" arguments before, but I've never heard it presented as an established issue.

[brivette]

No, not at all. I have a problem with Pollard, however.

[dfrussell]

...request to recognize him as a Prisoner of Zion

And this stupidity is why he needs to stay locked up until 1 day after his demise.

[SirJohnBarleycorn]

Yes, we should have executed Pollard.

Pollard will be freed the next time there is a Democrat president. Clinton would have freed Pollard, but backed off only when Tenet went to the mat against doing so.

Israel has long had an aggressive espionage operation against us. Obtaining Pollard's freedom, and being seen to have done so, is important for the Israelis so that they can say to spies they recruit here that they will do everything in their power to protect them.

[tanknetter]

then why do other spies receive smaller sentences for demonstrably greater offenses?

Many, if not most, spies end up reaching plea bargain deals where they are thoroughly debriefed on their activities in return for not being executed. The counter intelligence folks get information on how we were penetrated, while the damage assessment folks get a full picture on what exactly was compromised.

[cynicom]

Hang an extra tenner on him for good measure.

[papertyger]

What does Zion have to do with this?

Well, supposedly Pollard was a "walk-in" to the Israeli intelligence apparatus because Bobby Ray Inman choked off intelligence as a bureaucratic reaction to the Osiraq bombing. We were suppose to share the stuff Pollard was analysing with the Israelis, by treaty. When Inman cut the flow, Pollard turned.

[TopQuark]

I have a problem with Pollard, however.

I do too. It would not occur to me to true martyrs for their faith to be equates to Pollard, a scummy lefist that betrayed his country.

What do they have in common except being Jewish? Absolutely nothing. You may want to ask yourself why, then, their Jewishness was important to you.

[bvw]

That is not proof of any sort -- that's one of the real troubles with secrecy, the real story doesn't get into the hands that need it. In this case us schlubs, arguing what we'd like to be -- men who keep oaths, or men who break them.

As the Chinese operations have shown -- no secret worth keeping can be kept, there is always some way to get it.

No pertinant to this Pollard case, but I am generally philosophically opposed to all but the rarest sercrets. Too many vain oaths, for one thing. Swear an oath and it best be for some non-trivial thing.

[TopQuark]

Right. I don't think there is anyone that has been given a sentence that long, including those that spied for Russia and in the case of the the most recent breech (I forgot his name). The question (of justice) is, what was exceptional in the case of Pollard?

[bvw]

W88, right. Not W80.

Pollard's served his hard time. Clinton gets millions in pension and office support a year from us taxpayers. Plush.

That's too much of s discordance for me.

[TopQuark]

TQ: What does Zion have to do with this?

papertyger: Well, supposedly Pollard was a "walk-in" to the Israeli intelligence.

You only confirm my suspicions: Israel is not Zion. Italy, and even Vatican, is not the same thing as Christianity.

What does religion have to do with this? Unless one has a bias against that particular religion, absolutely noting.

Even more importantly, I asked why you smear all those people in KGB prisons that suffered for their faith by putting them in the same category with a scummy traitor Pollard.

How does your post answer that? Not at all. The nonexistent "Zion" aspect in this affair indicates only that you suspect all people of Jewish faith as being disloyal. You also showed no hesitation of smearing Jewish martyrs (did you ever suggest, even jokingly, to put some Christian spy and Christian martyrs into the same category?).

[brivette]

Don't try to spin this as an anti-semitic thing. Pollard did considerable damage to our country. Are you defending that?

[papertyger]

Pollard's served his hard time. Clinton gets millions in pension and office support a year from us taxpayers. Plush. That's too much of s discordance for me.

While I understand your thrust, we really don't know what Pollard gave up.

It's my understanding the sheer volume of documents he gave the Israelis would fill a 10 ft. x 10 ft. cube.

[papertyger]

You've got the wrong cat, fella.

Read my posts, and rethink yours.

[SolutionsOnly]

...then why do other spies receive smaller sentences for demonstrably greater offenses?"

the only answers I can come up with are either 'Politics' or the ideology of the sentencing judge. And I'll agree with you - both answers - if true - are unacceptable.

[Cheburashka]

He took an oath to the United States. He broke that oath. He is now paying the price levied by our legal system.

I see no reason that should change.

[Dave S]

Israel IS our ally.

If so, why did they trade some of OUR top secrets to the Soviet Union? Allies dont betray their friends like that. Can accept that they felt forced to sink one of our ships during the 6 Day War but trading our top secrets to our enemy stinks. With friends like that, who needs enemies.

[Dave S]

Such lovely respondents we have here today. All real men. Probably all wearing their wife's undergarments for the thrill of it

And you apparently are Pollard's wife or maybe you were just his wife in prison. So how long have you been out? How about we transfer Pollard to the general prison population of Gitmo? Would that do?