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I, Spy | October 29, 1998
I was going to let this one go. Then I got mad.
I watched the Mideast negotiations at Wye Plantation in Maryland go from near failure to sudden fanfare to inexplicable farce. Yes,
Palestinian president Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an interim agreement, one which we can
all hope lasts. (It won't, of course, but that's another column).
What angered me was the injection of Israel's demand that Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of spying on his homeland for
Israel, be released from the prison where he has spent 12 deserved years, and where he should, by all rights, spend the rest of his
life.
As I nosed around, I learned more and more about the odd path by which Pollard's sullied name inserted itself into the peace talks.
And I found myself angry not at the Israelis, but at — surprise, surprise — William Jefferson Clinton.
All along, Netanyahu had been up front with Clinton about wanting Pollard freed. As he told my colleague Tony Snow, Netanyahu
believes Pollard was wrong to spy on his homeland. But he was doing it not to hurt America, but to help Israel. And by Netanyahu's
reckoning, that should be taken into consideration.
He raised the issue on Oct. 15, shortly after the summit began. Clinton said he'd review the Pollard case — which, coming from an
American president, is tantamount to saying he'd take care of it. The request to spring Pollard didn't become public knowledge until
a week later. And by then, Clinton had changed his mind.
As the Israelis tell it, Clinton waited until the Israelis and Palestinians had come to a basic framework of a deal before telling
Netanyahu he couldn't do anything for Pollard. The Israeli leader, no stranger to political dramatics, replied that Pollard's release
was required for a deal to be signed.
When Clinton saw the dilemma he had created with his casual promise, he went to ground. Netanyahu couldn't find him on Friday
morning when he wanted to discuss the issue. He later learned the president was asleep.
The issue was finessed in the end. Pollard stayed in jail; the Middle East leaders went home with a piece of paper promising peace.
But Bill Clinton's bad faith in promising that which he could not deliver does no one any credit.
Four Republican congressional leaders sent the president a stiff message, warning him that Pollard should not be used as bait for
further Israeli concessions. As they said in their letter: "Pollard is one of the most notorious traitors in U.S. history. He sold highly
classified technical and human intelligence that compromised many sensitive and expensive intelligence sources and methods as
well as U.S. military plans and operations. In return for these disclosures, which caused incalculable damage to our national
security, Pollard received $50,000 in cash, expensive jewelry, and lavish trips."
Selling American security, compromising our intelligence resources, shortchanging the armed forces — no wonder Bill Clinton was
initially willing to give Pollard his freedom. The country's not big enough to hold both of them.
John Moody ... Vice President, News EditorialFox News |
