US strips Jewish army major of security clearance
By Arieh O'Sullivan
jpost.com
The US Army has revoked the security clearance of a Jewish reserve major, forcing him to give up command of an intelligence unit, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The officer claims the action was for no other reason other than his close ties and affiliation to Israel. He said this reflected an inherent anti-Semitism in the US intelligence community.
Maj. Shawn Pine, commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Company (Linguist) of Austin, Texas, holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and is also an IDF veteran of the Golani Brigade as well as the elite US Army Rangers.
Pine, a specialist in counterintelligence, said he was given top-secret clearance after going through a detailed background investigation and polygraph in 1991.
Born in the United States, Pine immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 17 in the late 1970s. He was conscripted into the IDF and served three years in the Golani Brigade. But after his discharge, he returned to America for university studies. He chose a military career and served nine years as an officer in active duty in the US Army.
"It is not like my service and affiliation with Israel was kept a secret. I have always been very forthcoming in disclosing all of my interactions with Israel," Pine said.
"As with many Americans, the events of September 11th reinvigorated my sense of patriotism," Pine said. "But rather than try to utilize my experience and education, the US intelligence community is mired in a paranoid abyss in which it perceives every Jew to be Jonathan Pollard." |
