by Smadar Bat Adam
When reports surfaced
suggesting that the U.S. was eavesdropping on dozens of Western leaders,
among them the leaders of its closest allies, sending shockwaves
through the West, and a U.S. State Department spokeswoman responded by
saying they would look into the reports from the perspective of "our
friends and partners around the world," I was reminded of another
convoluted remark made by an American figure: "I did not have sexual
relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." That is what then-President
Bill Clinton said back in 1998. I was reminded of that instance because
of the Americans' unique way of presenting things they have done that
are forbidden or immoral.
Now the U.S.'s friends
are angry. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reprimanded U.S.
President Barack Obama and told him that the trust between their two
countries has been severely compromised. Obama claims he was not aware
of the National Security Agency's eavesdropping, even though he directly
oversees that office. When it emerges that he was actually notified as
early as 2010, he will have to call Merkel again and say, "Whoops,
sorry, I wasn't aware that I was aware."
French President
Francois Hollande is also unhappy. He is inviting additional European
countries to join a no-spying agreement France and Germany seek to
impose on the Americans.
In short, the U.S. messed up.
It is with all that in
mind that every word uttered by U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Jen
Psaki should be analyzed. Pay close attention when she says the U.S.
"will continue to gather the information necessary to protect the
American people and their allies." The Americans are doing damage
control. Or when Obama orders a re-examination of the country's
surveillance program, and his Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco
promises the democratic world that the U.S. is "collecting information
because we need it and not just because we can."
Jerusalem, you got
that? America is admitting that according to its standards, espionage
among friends is legitimate, when it is needed. And it will continue
doing so. After having admitted as much, it would only be right for the
U.S. to release Jonathan Pollard, who, not because he could but because
he thought he needed to, relayed information to a very close ally of the
U.S. while he was working for Navy Intelligence. This information
served Israel in preparing, among other things, for attacks by Arab
nations with weapons of mass destruction, in operations like the bombing
of the PLO headquarters in Tunisia on Oct. 1, 1985, or in responding to
a string of terror attacks.
Pollard confessed, and
was convicted of spying, even though he was spying for a friendly
country with no intention of causing harm to the U.S. On March 4, 1987,
he was sentenced to life in prison with a recommendation to deny him
parole. Until that point, the heaviest sentence handed down for
espionage in the U.S. had been 14 years.
Pollard consistently
argued that his actions were motivated by a need to protect the
existence of the State of Israel, after he discovered that certain
individuals within the American national security mechanism were putting
Israeli lives at risk by deliberately withholding some of the
information to which Israel should have been privy under a 1983
memorandum. Lawrence Korb, who was the assistant secretary of defense at
the time of Pollard's trial, confirmed during a recent visit to Israel
that the information Pollard gave Israel did in fact have to do with
dangers posed to Israel by the Arab world. He stressed that Pollard was
never charged with treason, and remarked that he felt the punishment
Pollard received was excessive.
Israel has to demand Pollard's
immediate release, and to reprimand the U.S. for its shameful conduct.
Enough with the double standards. And Obama, who views fairness as the
ultimate value, must, in the name of his country, apologize to Pollard,
whose crime fell well within the bounds of "espionage among friends"
when necessary. He must be granted his freedom as soon as possible.
Smadar Bat Adam
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=6139
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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