Is Jonathan Pollard Being Held Prisoner by the Saudis?

Sir - Two former highly-placed public officials have recently shed light on the true motives surrounding Jonathan Pollard's sentencing. Both officials relate to the affidavit, put forward by the then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, that was responsible for abrogating the plea bargain between Pollard and the U.S. Government. This affidavit effectively brought about the end of the (already agreed-upon) plea bargain, and replaced it with a life-imprisonment sentence.

In a letter to President Obama recommending Pollard's immediate release, former National Security Advisor Bud McFarlane unequivocally blamed Weinberger's "anti-Israel agenda" for his disproportionate sentence and called it a "great injustice." Similarly, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb stated that the sentence was entirely due to Weinberger's "visceral hatred of Israel." The pathological animus that surrounded Pollard's sentencing found a potent soul mate in Weinberger, one who not only shared the hatred but possessed the motivation, means, and influence to assure Pollard's internment for three decades.

But as we've seen, Weinberger was not the only voice calling for Pollard to remain in jail. To the impartial observer, there appears to be a anti-Pollard agenda deeply ensconced among the leaders of the U.S government. Which begs the question: What type of damning information could Pollard have transferred to Israel that caused such malicious players in Washington to send him away for life?

First note that Pollard never sought to betray the U.S. or bring harm to any of its institutions. His only crime was wanting to aid Israel by supplying it with information he felt was vital to its security and yet being withheld from it. He transferred the pick of U.S. intelligence on Arab and Islamic military activity conducted by both "friendly and unfriendly" Arab countries, such as Morocco and Pakistan. The data included essential details about Syrian, Iraqi, Libyan, and Iranian nuclear, chemical, and biological-warfare capabilities, as well as planned terrorist attacks against Israel.

Pollard's revelations could not have sat well with the Arab world, but fortunately for them there was one country positioned to raise the cudgel: Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's possession of the world's largest oil reserves, its strategic location, and its unique role in the Arab and Islamic worlds are the reasons Saudi friendship is valued by the United States. They share common concerns and consult regularly on regional and global issues. These close ties with America, in addition to their vast oil-based wealth, provide the Saudis with the means to establish a huge network of pernicious influence throughout the United States. Firstly, they export Wahabism, the most extreme form of Islamic religious practice. They achieve this by financing the construction of hundreds of mosques and madrasas across America, and pay for the training and support of the fanatical imams that spread these teachings. Secondly, the Saudis invest millions of dollars 'buying up' departments of Middle East Studies and Political Science in select universities in order to spread their biased ideologies. And still more baneful is the Saudis' accumulation of out-going U.S public officials on their bloated payrolls. As former CIA case officer Robert Baer puts it, there is hardly a living former CIA director, White House staffer, or member of Congress who hasn't ended up on the Saudi payroll in one way or another. It therefore comes as no surprise when we learn of the Saudi funds going to the Carter Center, established by the former President.

I fear that Pollard, while delving into the various intelligent reports, may have discovered the more detailed accounts of Saudi influence on America's government as well as on past and present public servants. He did not stand much of a chance against Weinberger's deeply-rooted hatred of Israel or against Saudi Arabia's unlimited funds being channeled toward Muslim extremism.

Zev Chamudot

Petach Tikvah

[Banner image credit: Wikimedia user udi Steinwell]

Saudi Arabian Perfidy

Sir, - Saudi Arabia, despite its being an absolute autocratic monarchy, expends huge sums of money in an attempt to portray itself as a country that is moderate, stable and decidedly pro-western in its orientation. It also claims a central role among Islamic countries with its purported anti-Iranian stance and policies.

This supposed orientation and policy is revealed as total duplicity when we read today that two Iranian warships have reached Syria via the Suez Canal, after first stopping at Jedda, Saudi Arabia.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

Anti-Israel 'Second Front'

Sir, - While Israel and many western countries have expressed their most urgent concerns about the threat of a nuclear armed Iran, there exists a far more insidious 'second front' that seeks to undermine Israel's legitimacy and very existence. The oil rich Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia, have been pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars into American universities and 'buying' up departments of Middle East and Political Studies wherein they place their biased professors to teach and preach their anti-Israel doctrine.

This well planned program has already invaded some of America's most prestigious universities like Harvard, that in March is hosting a two-day conference on the "One State Solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the only featured speakers will be those who seek to deny Israel's legitimacy. This follows a $20 million gift by a Saudi prince.

It is known that Saudi Arabia is the most active exporter of "Wahabism" which stresses the most extreme anti-democratic tenets of Islam.

ZEV  CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva