Pollard should get out, stay out
By Dan K. THOMASSON
Tribune News Service
WASHINGTON
One would hope we had heard the last of Jonathan Pollard, the traitor they just let out of prison after 30 years. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The first thing he did on his release was go to court to try to get restrictive conditions of his parole lifted. They amount to wearing a GPS ankle bracelet so we know where he is at all times, not being able to leave the country for five years and limits on his Internet usage.
I also find those conditions unfair. Not to him but to his fellow Americans who were not only betrayed but had to feed and shelter him for all those years while listening to the constant whining of Israeli officials to let him go. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement wishing him joy and peace throughout the rest of his life. There were reports that Netanyahu asked fellow Israeli officials to dampen their enthusiasm lest they irritate President Barack Obama. You think?
Enough of this guy. Lift the bloody restrictions, and send him packing, never to darken our shores again, especially since most of what he knows is too old to be useful now.
Before you get all agitated, you must realize that this man who once worked for the U.S. Navy probably gave away to our cherished ally more secrets than any other “spy” (a term that gives him more dignity than he deserves) in modern history. That’s why the court handed him a life sentence in the first place.
Damaging secret thief
In fact, the defense secretary at the time, Casper Weinberger, described Pollard as one of the most damaging secret thieves who ever operated in this country. Years ago, knowledgeable intelligence sources said the extent of his crimes might not even be restricted to Israel, hinting that some of the classified material might have fallen into the hands of others. This has been supported by the fact that a host of U.S. intelligence officials lent their voices to keeping him in prison over the decades.
Sympathy for him might have been more justified had he not been paid $50,000, a tidy sum in those days, to betray his homeland. So much for his dedication to Israel.
The Israelis gave him citizenship in 1995 and he reportedly is ready to relinquish his American passport. Bully for him. He did that all those years ago, when he decided his moonlighting job paid pretty well. He used part of it to buy a diamond ring for his intended, who also was his accomplice.
Will he be destitute and homeless if he isn’t allowed to leave the U.S? Hardly. He already has a job in the finance department of a New York investment firm and an apartment waiting for him in New York. Obviously, those who regard him a hero have made sure he is well taken care of. The winner of the diamond ring is now his ex-wife; Pollard 20 years ago remarried while in a North Carolina federal prison.
So let this blight leave. Having him around as a constant reminder that there was a time (if not now) that our major ally in the Middle East willingly accepted and defended his actions here is offensive. We should shun him.
Dan Thomasson is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service and a former vice president of Scripps Howard Newspapers. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC