There really was an ongoing investigation in Washington about
the leakage of classified information to Israel but it does
not appear to have been the result of actions taken by
Israel.
As things appear, a low-level Defense Department analyst may
have shown some classified documents to friends at AIPAC
(American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the main Israel
lobby in Washington, DC). Aipac staffers may have in turn
told Israeli diplomats about the information, but it is not
known if they presented it as secret.
The Defense Department employee, Mr. Lawrence A. Franklin, is
a lower-level employee in the office of Douglas J. Feith, the
under Defense Secretary for policy. Mr. Feith has about 1,500
such analysts working under him. Mr. Lawrence specialized in
Iranian issues. Pentagon officials said that no one at the
Defense Department beyond Mr. Franklin is suspected of any
wrongdoing.
Though first presented as a suspicion of espionage, within a
short time the possible charges were said to be mishandling
of classified documents. This is a much lesser charge and
many people are charged with it. It can easily happen through
sloppy work habits and not as a deliberate attempt to
undermine the US.
Mr. Franklin is described as a relatively minor official, who
is near retirement age. He is not Jewish. Though he was known
to be friendly with Aipac officials and Israeli diplomats,
there is no clear motive for his actions if they are assumed
to have been criminal. Also, the document he is suspected of
passing, a draft policy directive on Iran, is not obviously
that valuable to Israel. One Israeli source that they have
easy access to such information through their regular,
official channels.
Aipac and Israel have denied that they engaged in any
wrongdoing. Israel has seemed not to be concerned by the
incident. Prime Minister Sharon did not cut short a vacation
when informed of the press reports.
Naor Gilon, a diplomat at Israel's embassy in Washington who
reportedly had contact with alleged Pentagon "mole," returned
to the US on Sunday after a vacation in Israel. Israeli
Foreign Ministry officials said Gilon, the political affairs
minister and number three at the embassy, returned to
Washington because he "did nothing wrong," and "has nothing
to hide."
The press reported that FBI agents had been following and
monitoring Gilon. Though this is not considered standard
practice, Israel did not immediately protest the
investigation of its diplomat.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Monday that all the
reports are "media nonsense" that has been blown way out of
proportion. "Israel would not do anything that could harm our
best friend, the US," Shalom said.
"The government of Israel categorically rejects the
accusations that it spied or is spying on its best friend,
the US," he said.
Shalom said that meetings between embassy and US
Administration officials are routine, ordinary, and part of
the regular diplomatic work in Washington. He said that
similar meetings and exchanges of information take place in
Israel among US Embassy and Israeli government officials.
Israel, Shalom said, has a firm policy of not conducting any
espionage activities in the US. Many Israeli officials said
similar things.
Other Israeli officials have said that the allegations,
coming on the eve of the Republican National Convention, are
meant to embarrass US President George W. Bush, and are part
of an ongoing policy battle in Washington among officials in
the State Department, CIA, and Pentagon who are really at
odds over US policy in Iraq.
One House Democratic staffer said: "My impression is that the
Justice Department is backing off."
Stung by the suggestions that AIPAC is involved in a possible
case of espionage, Bernice Manocherian, AIPAC's president
thanked people for their support over the past few trying
days, and said that it is against their policies. She called
the allegations, "outrageous as well as baseless."
