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Jonathan Pollard Photo: AP
Jonathan Pollard Photo: AP
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New details emerge in Pollard case
CIA allows release of 'damage assessment' report which proves that Pollard did not spy on US
Itamar Eichner
Published: 12.16.12, 12:19 / Israel News
The US administration has allowed the release of secret documents pertaining to the case of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.
The main document is a 160-page "damage assessment" report by the Pentagon and the CIA issued after Pollard's apprehension. A small segment of the report was released in 2006 but the main bulk remained secret until the National Security Archive petitioned for its disclosure.
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The report is largely based on Pollard's interrogation, with which he fully cooperated according to his interrogators. His testimony was subjected to a polygraph test and found to be credible.
According to the report, Pollard revealed that Rafi Eitan, head of the Defense Ministry's Bureau for Scientific Relations at the time, had asked him for intelligence containing "dirt" on Israeli officials as well as on "moles" relaying information to the US.
The document notes that his direct handler, Joseph Yagur told, him to ignore Eitan's request. However it was not disclosed whether Pollard had in fact heeded Eitan's orders.
The document reveals that Pollard was asked mainly to provide information on Arab states, Pakistan and the Soviet Union and not on the United States. Pollard was to collect intelligence on Pakistan's nuclear program, Egyptian missile programs, and Iraqi and Syrian chemical warfare production capabilities.
He was apparently given a telephone number which he was supposed to call in case of a war alert. He delivered thousands of documents to Israel in suitcases.
The documents suggest there were at least 12 instances which should have aroused the US agencies' suspicion. In one case Pollard was late to an interview claiming he had spent the weekend rescuing his wife from the Irish Republican Army after they had kidnapped her. To his friends he said he was caught and tortured while on an operation in Syria.
A Navy psychologist diagnosed Pollard as a compulsive liar and recommended that he be reassigned to a lower clearance capacity. His bosses however decided to promote him for his analytical skills. T
he documents further suggest that Pollard used marijuana and cocaine, often got into fights and was in debt. A psychiatrist who examined him diagnosed him as suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder.
Pollard delivered the documents to the apartment of a secretary working for the Israeli embassy. For a meeting with Eitan in Paris he created the fictitious "Uncle Joe Fischer" who supposedly paid for the trip as an engagement present.
After returning from Paris, his fees rose from $1,500 to $2,500 a month (equivalent to his Navy salary).
The document also describes a meeting in Israel between Eitan and Pollard in which he was promised an annual $30,000 to be deposited in a Swiss bank account under the name "Danny Cohen."
He was to continue his espionage for another 10 years after which he was to emigrate to Israel with his family and use the money to establish himself there.
Dr. Lawrence Korb, who served as Assistant Secretary of Defense when Pollard was apprehended expressed satisfaction at the documents' release claiming that Pollard's sentence was "disproportionate."
The Free Pollard foundation said in response, "This is the first time that an official CIA paper confirms that Pollard did not spy on the US and we believe that the disclosure of the documents will help in his release." Rafi Eitan was not immediately available for comment.
Topic: CIA releases Pollard documents he didn't spy on U.S. (Read 817 times)