[Mb-civic] FBI and Israeli Spy

[Barbara Siomos]

    FBI Probes Pentagon Spy Case 
    CBS News 
    Friday 27 August 2004 

    CBS News has learned that the FBI has a full-fledged
espionage investigation under way and is about to - in FBI terminology -
"roll up" someone agents believe has been spying not for an enemy, but
for Israel from within the office of the Secretary of Defense at the
Pentagon.
 
    60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports the FBI
believes it has "solid" evidence that the suspected mole supplied Israel
with classified materials that include secret White House policy
deliberations on Iran.
 
    At the heart of the investigation are two people who work at
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful
pro-Israel lobby in Washington.
 
    The FBI investigation, headed up by Dave Szady, has involved
wiretaps, undercover surveillance and photography that CBS News was told
document the passing of classified information from the mole, to the men
at AIPAC, and on to the Israelis.
 
    CBS sources say that last year the suspected spy, described
as a trusted analyst at the Pentagon, turned over a presidential
directive on U.S. policy toward Iran while it was, "in the draft phase
when U.S. policy-makers were still debating the policy."
 
    This put the Israelis, according to one source, "inside the
decision-making loop" so they could "try to influence the outcome."
 
    The case raises another concern among investigators: Did
Israel also use the analyst to try to influence U.S. policy on the war
in Iraq?
 
    With ties to top Pentagon officials Paul Wolfowitz and
Douglas Feith, the analyst was assigned to a unit within the Defense
Department tasked with helping develop the Pentagon's Iraq policy.
 
    Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been made aware of the
case. The government notified AIPAC today that it wants information
about the two employees and their contacts with a person at the
Pentagon.
 
    AIPAC told CBS News it is cooperating with the government
and has hired outside counsel. It denies any wrongdoing by the
organization or any of its employees.
 
    An Israeli spokesman said, "We categorically deny these
allegations. They are completely false and outrageous." The suspected
spy has not returned repeated phone calls from CBS News.