POLLARD “SWAP” FOR CONCESSIONS IS A ROTTEN IDEA
IN MY VIEW FIRST: POLLARD … SPIED….PERIOD…..
TWO: HE SHOULD BE RELEASED BECAUSE 25 YEARS IN THE CLINKER IS MORE THAN ENOUGH
THREE: THE RUSSIAN SPIES WHO WERE INTENT ON DOING FAR MORE DAMAGE WERE RELEASED PROMPTLY AND ARE HAVING A GRAND OLD TIME IN MOSCOW.
FOUR: I QUOTE AND AGREE WITH THIS EDITORIAL:”Not a good swap
The idea of freeing Jonathan Pollard in exchange for peace process
concessions by Israel is unseemly and impractical.
NO ONE….NOT EVEN GILAD SHALIT SHOULD BE RELEASED IN EXCHANGE FOR ISRAEL’S SUICIDE!!!
LA Times Editorial: Not a good swap
The idea of freeing Jonathan Pollard in exchange for peace process
concessions by Israel is unseemly and impractical.
The Los Angeles Times – October 23, 2010
There may be good reasons for granting clemency to Jonathan Pollard, the
former Navy intelligence analyst who was sentenced to life in prison in 1987
for providing U.S. military documents to Israel. But Pollard’s usefulness as
a diplomatic bargaining chip isn’t one of them.
Four Democrats in Congress are circulating a letter urging President Obama
to release Pollard as a way of encouraging Israel to make “difficult
decisions” in the peace process with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement
was suggested during recent talks about how the United States might persuade
Israel to extend a freeze on the construction of Jewish settlements in the
West Bank. It wasn’t the first time the idea of “swapping” Pollard for
Israeli concessions had been proposed. [J4JP: No swap was proposed. See J4JP
Comment following the text below.]
The idea is unseemly and impractical. Granted, the United States has
released foreign spies — most recently sleeper agents from Russia — in
exchange for the freedom of Americans or political prisoners.[J4JP: The 10
Russian agents were released so swiftly that they were neither interrogated
nor indicted so, clearly, no accurate damage assessment. exists. It is a
moot point whether they were merely “sleeper” agents. ] But there is no one
this country needs to ransom from Israel. As for the supposed diplomatic
benefits of Pollard’s release, it’s doubtful whether it would induce Israel
over the long term to pursue policies it considered inimical to its
security. Israel is much more likely to be influenced by continuing U.S.
support for its security as it pursues negotiations with the Palestinians.
Pollard’s lawyers have petitioned Obama for a commutation of his sentence to
the time he already has served. What criteria should influence the
president’s decision? The fact that Pollard spied for a friendly nation
isn’t an extenuating factor; even if Israel and the United States have
identical interests, which isn’t always the case, the decision to share
intelligence with another country belongs to the political leadership of
this nation, not to individual government employees. [J4JP: Jonathan Pollard
is the only person in the history of the United States to receive a life
sentence for spying for an ally. Proportional justice, or “equal justice
for all” which is supposed to be guaranteed by the American Constitution
means similar sentences for similar offenses. There is no reasonable or
acceptable way to explain or justify why the median sentence for this
offense is 2 to 4years for everyone else, but for Pollard it is life.]
A better argument for clemency (one that also figures in the letter from the
members of Congress) is that Pollard’s sentence was excessive compared with
those of other convicted spies. That disparity is something for the
president to consider. Even so, other factors must be taken into account,
including whether Pollard is sincerely remorseful and whether his continued
detention is a deterrent to others who might be tempted to engage in
espionage against their own country, either out of ideology or for financial
gain.[J4JP responds: The 3 old canards of remorse, deterrence and financial
gain continue to be raised endlessly, in spite of all evidence to the
contrary, only in the Pollard case. One more time: 1) Jonathan Pollard did
not enjoy financial gain from his espionage activities on behalf of Israel.
This fact was established after 9 months of intensive polygraphing by the
FBI, and recognized by the sentencing judge who declined to impose a
monetary fine. 2) Deterrence: 25 years trumps all. For an offense that
carries a median sentence of 2 to 4 years and today is capped at maximum of
10 years, the 25 years that Pollard has already served in prison, far
outweighs any deterrent value that his continued incarceration would have.
He has already served two and a half times the current maximum sentence for
this offense, and more than 6 times longer than the median sentence. 3) As
for the remorse canard, this is a non-issue. Suffice to say that the
official record shows that Jonathan Pollard has consistently expressed
remorse for his actions, to U.S. Presidents and others. For further
information on the remorse issue:
http://www.jonathanpollard.org/remorse.htm]
In making any decision, Obama should consult his legal and national security
advisers. But he shouldn’t allow himself to be stampeded into a decision by
an illusory promise of diplomatic dividends.
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article>>latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-pollard-20101023,0,3619496.story
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