FBI Seizes Computer from AIPAC Offices
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press 
Thursday September 02, 2004 11:54
by redjade
AIPAC is the largest Pro-Israel Lobby Org in Washington DC
this is Iran-Contra II - watch this story develop
FBI agents on Friday copied the computer hard drive of a senior staffer at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who has been questioned in relation to the case of a Pentagon official suspected of turning over a classified document either directly to Israel, or via the pro-Israel lobby group.
Sources in Washington said the hard drive was that of Steve Rosen, AIPAC's director of foreign policy issues.
It was not clear if FBI agents also seized other materials from Rosen's office. AIPAC says it is cooperating fully with the FBI's investigation.
Government lawyers, according to Tuesday's New York Times, are preparing to make the first arrests in the case by issuing a criminal complaint against one or more figures who are said to be involved. The case is being handled by federal prosecutors in Virginia.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0901-05.htm
- - - -
AIPAC Statement on Recent Events
AIPAC has learned that the government is investigating an employee of the Department of Defense for possible violations in handling confidential information. News stations tonight reported that the investigation centers around a supposed "mole" in the Department of Defense who allegedly disseminated internal White House policy deliberations on Iran to Israel through two AIPAC staff members.
Any allegation of criminal conduct by AIPAC or our employees is false and baseless. 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.
http://www.aipac.org/
Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4President Bush's top national security advisers were told more than two years ago of an FBI investigation into whether classified information was passed to Israel by a powerful pro-Israeli lobbying group, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The counterintelligence investigation started earlier than the year-old criminal investigation now focusing on whether a Defense Department analyst passed secret documents to Israeli intelligence through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
A senior administration official said national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and her deputy, Stephen Hadley, were "apprised of the counterintelligence investigation of AIPAC" more than two years ago.
The official said the investigation centered on whether AIPAC was acting as a "conduit" -- relaying information the group collected from the administration and the U.S. Congress to Israel, Washington's closest ally in the Middle East.
FBI counterintelligence investigators have in recent weeks questioned current and former U.S. officials about whether a small group of Iran specialists at the Pentagon and in Vice President Cheney's office may have been involved in passing classified information to an Iraqi politician or a U.S. lobbying group allied with Israel, according to sources familiar with or involved in the case.
In their interviews, the FBI agents have also named two Israeli diplomats stationed in Washington and asked whether they would be willing recipients of sensitive intelligence, the sources added.
[....]
Iran has been a particularly controversial issue within the Bush administration, which still does not have a formal policy more than 3 1/2 years after taking office. A small group of Pentagon neoconservatives opposed a draft directive because it did not support a change of governments in Tehran, which they advocated, current and former U.S. officials said.
The officials whose names came up during questioning have strong ties to Israel. They also share a long-standing position on Iran and other radical regimes. Wurmser, Feith and Perle were co-authors of a 1996 policy paper for then-Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu titled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm." It called for removing Hussein from power in Iraq as part of a broad strategy to transform the region and remove radical regimes.
ou might want to re-read Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack now that you know the FBI has been attempting for at least two years to determine whether or not the development of that plan and/or associated National Security Presidential Directives (NSPD) involved any acts of treason.
Treason?
That's right. Not spying. Treason. It would be an act of treason for any American to deliberately develop an NSPD that was in the best interests of some other country, but not in our best interests.
Of course, the neo-crazies and their media sycophants claim that the FBI is merely looking for Israeli spies, and that there are none because Israel doesn't need them.
The neo-crazies boast that if the Israelis or their paid lobbyists at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) want to know something, all they have to do is drop by the White House and National Security Adviser Condi Rice or one of her deputies will tell them anything – literally anything – they want to know.
But, one of the "persons of interest" in the FBI investigation is Larry Franklin – a munchkin in the neo-crazy fiefdom of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith. According to news reports, Franklin is not suspected of spying. But he has apparently been observed by the FBI asking AIPAC lobbyists if there is anything in a top secret "draft" NSPD on Iran that the Israelis object to. Or if there is anything that isn't in the NSPD on Iran that the Israelis want included.
Stephen Green writes an excellent update to his earlier piece on the Bush Neo-con - Israel connection for CounterPunch this week. CounterPunch is a must read, as is cursor.org for all this sort of thing.
Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.