milos

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FBI looks at Pentagon worker in Israel spy probe

The alleged "mole" working for Israel could have been in a position to influence Bush administration policy toward Iran and Iraq, one of the officials said on Friday.

However, another government official said the suspect is "not in a level to influence policy."

"He is an analyst in an undersecretary's office," this official said.

Sources said the FBI investigation has been going on for many months and more than one government employee is under investigation.

A senior Pentagon official confirmed to CNN that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "had been made generally aware that the Justice Department had an investigation going on."

The Pentagon issued a statement Friday, confirming it "has been cooperating with the Department of Justice on this matter for an extended period of time."

"It is the DOD [Department of Defense] understanding that the investigation within the DOD is limited in its scope."

CBS News, which first reported the story, said the FBI had developed evidence against the suspect, including photographs and conversations recorded through wiretaps.

The network said the alleged spy has ties to two senior Pentagon officials: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith.

Multiple sources have told CNN that the investigation is well along, and one government official described the evidence against the suspect as a "slam dunk case" and said "there has been no decision to prosecute the individual."

Officials said the suspect passed classified documents to Israel through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobbying group.

But AIPAC released a statement late Friday calling the news reports "false and baseless."

The statement said AIPAC learned Friday that "the government is investigating an employee of the Department of Defense for possible violations in handling confidential information."

A designation of the material as confidential would indicate a much lower level of secrecy than if it had been designated as classified.

AIPAC said it "is cooperating fully" with government authorities, including providing documents and information and making staff members available for interviews. Sources told CNN that two AIPAC employees have been interviewed in the case by the FBI.

"Neither AIPAC nor any of its employees has violated any laws or rules, nor has AIPAC or its employees ever received information they believed was secret or classified," the statement said.

"AIPAC is an American organization comprised of proud and loyal U.S. citizens committed to promoting American interests. We do not condone or tolerate any violation of any U.S. law or interests."

Washington insiders note that it is not unusual for friendly governments to have access to certain classified information, so even if the allegations are correct, not everyone involved may have thought they were involved in espionage.

Still, one U.S. source is calling the case "a very serious matter."

David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, denied the allegations.

"The United States is Israel's most cherished friend and ally. We have a strong, ongoing, working relationship at all levels, and in no way would Israel do anything to impair this relationship."

An Israeli official in Washington said the U.S. government has not contacted the Israelis about any such investigation.

Despite the close relationship between the two countries, espionage against the United States on behalf of Israel would not be without precedent. Former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is serving a life sentence for passing classified material to Israel.

The Justice Department, speaking for the FBI, refused to comment, saying only, "We cannot confirm or deny the report."

An FBI spokesman said the bureau has no comment on the CBS report

milos

CBS) CBS News has learned that the FBI has a full-fledged espionage investigation under way and is about to -- in FBI terminology -- "roll up" someone agents believe has been spying not for an enemy, but for Israel from within the office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports the FBI believes it has "solid" evidence that the suspected mole supplied Israel with classified materials that include secret White House policy deliberations on Iran.

At the heart of the investigation are two people who work at The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington.

The FBI investigation, headed up by Dave Szady, has involved wiretaps, undercover surveillance and photography that CBS News was told document the passing of classified information from the mole, to the men at AIPAC, and on to the Israelis.

CBS sources say that last year the suspected spy, described as a trusted analyst at the Pentagon, turned over a presidential directive on U.S. policy toward Iran while it was, "in the draft phase when U.S. policy-makers were still debating the policy."

This put the Israelis, according to one source, "inside the decision-making loop" so they could "try to influence the outcome."

The case raises another concern among investigators: Did Israel also use the analyst to try to influence U.S. policy on the war in Iraq?

With ties to top Pentagon officials Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the analyst was assigned to a unit within the Defense Department tasked with helping develop the Pentagon's Iraq policy.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been made aware of the case. The government notified AIPAC today that it wants information about the two employees and their contacts with a person at the Pentagon.

AIPAC told CBS News it is cooperating with the government and has hired outside counsel. It denies any wrongdoing by the organization or any of its employees.

An Israeli spokesman said, "We categorically deny these allegations. They are completely false and outrageous." The suspected spy has not returned repeated phone calls from CBS News.

yawn

I really wonder about that country. It sucks that Jews have been oppressed for thousands of years and they finally have their own country, but, some of the shit they do, they really bring it upon themselves. They should stop building and just give back the land that they took over. They are causing more problems than they are solving them.

Jimi

Racist.

Car Enthusiast

mmm, yeah it is a little racist, but isreal has been a big problem we caused

milos

i dont think it is racist at all...can you explain why you think it is? :happycow:

michaeljohn

Ok guys, this is a serious forum. We will have absolutely no smart ass replies here. This means no name calling. Clear?

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Car Enthusiast

yes dad

steadydiet

isreal gets a lot of support from the us because they are among the few non-arab states in that region. how nice...after world war two we helped set up israel. it did have a lot to do with ww2, but it also had a lot to do with what was going to happen after ww2. the ussr and the united states knew they would be the only nations to really "win" that war. and in order to secure their spot as "superpower" they needed a lot of resources. thus, both countries draft, what their respective publics called "cold war policies". but what both administrations called "grand area policies".

it is not surprising that israel is one of the countries we offered (and they accepted) nuclear weapons technology. and it isnt surprising that since ww2 much of the "hot spots" have been in the grand area...aka...middle east. and the face of the killer in the middle east after ww2 has been two countries...USA and USSR.

Jimi

The fact that it is a generalization on a large group of people who are prejudiced on a regular basis.

"They bring it upon themselves."

milos

it is not about the group of ppl, it is rather about the country. And if this is the case, then half the topics in this forum about iraq, korea and whatever country are as well

Jimi

No, he said Jews, not Isrealis. Iraq is a country, as is Korea.... Judaism is the religion.

yawn

Let me clarify myself.

I really wonder about that country. It sucks that Jews have been oppressed for thousands of years and they finally have their own country. But, some of the shit Israel does, you would start to think that they bring it upon themselves. They should stop building and just give back the land that they took over in the subsequent wars after the land grant that was done after WWII. They are causing more problems than they are solving them.

And furthermore, threatening Iran isn't helping their situation at all.

Jimi

The problem is, the Bible said that Isreal and it's allies would be triumphant in war.... So, those who claim to be born-again Christians will help Isreal.