PM vows to raise Pollard case during Obama visit - JPost

(Republished from March, 2013)

“The time has long since come for Jonathan to go free,” Netanyahu said at the outset of the meeting. “This issue will come up during President Obama’s visit. It has already been raised countless times by myself and others, and the time has come for him to go free,” he said. Esther Pollard echoed Netanyahu’s words, saying “Jonathan can’t anymore. This is a golden opportunity now that the president of the United States is coming. If not now, when?” Pollard’s wife was joined in her meeting with Netanyahu by Lawrence Korb, who was US deputy secretary of defense during the Reagan administration in 1985 when Pollard was arrested, and is currently a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank, which is considered close to the Obama administration. Also attending was Effie Lahav, who heads the Committee to Free Jonathan Pollard."  JPost

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OK.  How about this deal?

1-  The US frees Pollard and in the announcement reiterates the simple fact that he is a traitor to the United States who spied for Israel.

2 -At the same time Israel publicly admits that it betrayed its friendship with the United States in the Pollard affair.

3- POTUS orders the Secretary of the Navy to convene a full scale investigation with regard to the attack on the USS Liberty by the IDF in 1967.  The previous naval investigation of the incident conducted by Admiral Kidd in 1967 was a farce and completely inadequate.  Jim Webb should be asked to conduct the investigation.  pl 

http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/what-about-the-defamation-of-pollard/2013/03/18/?src=ataglance

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=305271

Comments

[ex-PFC Chuck]

Great idea. Chance of its happening? Zilch.

[Bill H]

Indeed. I read the line "Okay how about this deal?" and started smiling, because I knew the USS Liberty was coming. Jim Webb as investigator is a nice touch.

[Charles]

Col Lang,
I voted for Senator Webb and was very pleased that he won. However, he seemed to disappear from view especially on items concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do you have any idea why? I like him and wish that he could have had more of an impact on the discussion and policy.
Regards,

[turcopolier]

charles

Webb is not a man who hungers for notoriety or public office. that does not mean that he wuld not be suited to this task. pl

[Matthew]

Col: How hard is it to say, "We don't pardon traitors"?

[Lars]

I would reverse the order.

[turcopolier]

lars

I had no particular order in mind. pl

[jonst]

I don't even care if they agree to your proposal Col...I just would like to see them go public with it. But I am not holding my breath with this guy in the White House. Or, for that matter, anyone that has been in the White House since Ike.

[jurisV]

Well done Col. Lang! Concise and to the point. I do think that all of these three requirements need to be met and, most importantly, item three -- the USS Liberty investigation -- should be well underway before Pollard's release is even discussed.

[Former11B]

If I was dictator I would proclaim that if we send you money and you turn around and use that money to buy our politicians, then you don't need that money anymore.

p s How bout giving all those nukes we gave you back.

Israel went from asset to liability awhile back and I am tired of American Servicemen dying for their interest. If any country should reject fascism it should be them yet they seem to embrace it with gusto.

[oofda]

Colonel,
How about adding to the deal that the Isrealis return all the classified material that Pollard stole.

Off topic, but the Guardian (London) and the BBC have just come out with an investigation on purported U.S. links to Iraqi torture centers. Not good for Pertraeus. And the hiring of Shia to work in detention centers against Sunni was an epic blunder, which helped lead to civil war....

Revealed: Pentagon's link to Iraqi torture centres
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/06/pentagon-iraqi-torture-centres-link

From El Salvador to Iraq: Washington's man behind brutal police squads
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/06/el-salvador-iraq-police-squads-washington

[Medicine Man]

It's not for me to say but I would take that deal.

[michael rush]

Colonel,

Sounds good to me. Clean out the stables. Webb is an excellent man to do it.

[mbrenner]

One more to add to the category of "now we know - but not if you stick to the NYT." Eric Holder sent a memo to the Senate Intelligence Committee Monday declaring that the President of the United States has the same legal authority to kill an American citizen on U.S. soil, if he judges it necessary on national security grounds, as he does outside U.S. jurisdiction. Nancy Pelosi adds that she's not sure that the public should be informed of such killings.

[Stephanie]

Before any deal Israel would have to confirm what Pollard stole, return what they have, and make full disclosure of what they did with the information. (This last is crucial.) Also if Israel does that, any accompanying acknowledgment that they betrayed US trust in the matter will be superfluous. Not holding my breath.

[Jackie]

We should not release any traitors to Israel even if they only spied for "our good ally" Israel. Not now, not in this lifetime.

Sorry, this one pushes one of my buttons.

[Jake]

@mbrenner...
Its worse....Looks like Lindsey Graham is suffering from an acute case of cranial rectal inversions either that or he has been assimilation by the borg....
http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=18669421

[Jake]

I have a deal! How about Israel forfeitting the $3b and any other military or economic aid we give it every year and we let them have Pollard....

[russ]

Pat,
I would echo Jackie's comments. I think many/most of us working Middle East issues in the community at the time Pollard was stealing our secrets would never concur in his release for any reasons.
Russ

[turcopolier]

russ

You know that my conditions will not be met. pl

[William R. Cumming]

IMO US lost personnel because of Pollard so should not reparations be paid in full?

[The beaver]

A bit OT:
Anyone watch Colbert with Oren last night
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/424390/march-05-2013/obama-s-israel-trip---michael-oren

"What about Iran, when do you guys start bombing... When does the bombing start?... Ambassador Oren, I want you to tell Netanyahu when you get back there that the Colbert Nation is behind you on this one, and if you do bomb Iran we are right behind you with just as many nuclear weapons as you admit to having."

[jerseycityjoan]

Let Pollard stay where he belongs until he's too sick or old to function or think well anymore.

Let him never be allowed to leave this country to go to Israel or anywhere else.

And please God, let us find the strength to free ourselves from the control of one Israeli government after another and from all the Israel lobbiests.

By the way, what would we do if any of our real allies talked they were President of the United States, like this jerk Netanyahu?

[jerseycityjoan]

Jackie,

It pushes my buttons too. Every time this comes up, I get madder.

We have no good reason to let him out now and many good reasons not to. Once again, his supporters show their contempt for America.

The people Pollard exposed are unknown heroes and martyrs who went to prison and/or died because of what he did. I wish we could do something for them or their survivors.

[jerseycityjoan]

Would Israel release all the pertinent information?

I would think not.

Without that, then wouldn't any new investigation be another travesty?