Will W. commute Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard's sentence?

[bushmeister0]

NEWSWEEK:

"His lawyers and the Justice Department tell NEWSWEEK that he would like President Bush to commute his sentence to time served—the first time Pollard has submitted such a request. He's already figured out what he plans to do if the president grants his wish. 'Upon his release, he intends to work on helping to develop alternative sources of energy so that the U.S. can reduce its dependence on foreign oil,' Pollard's pro bono attorney, Jacques Semmelman, said in an e-mail. Pollard studied political science before taking his civilian job with the Navy in 1979."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/177729

What? He wants to develope alternative energy sources with a poli-sci degree? WTF?

This guy gave our good friends the Israeils millions of classified files that included how the US moves its spy satellites around. He took money and favors from the Israelis and, oh yeah, was is traitor of the worst type.

Oh, no, it was all because he felt we weren't helping our good friends the Israelis out enough with the intel we possessed.

From a NOVA special on him, showing his soley alturistic intent:

"By his own estimates Pollard passed to his Israeli handlers more than 800 classified publications and more than 1,000 cables, probably the largest cache of materials ever passed through espionage. At one point, when Pollard's new wife was hoping to clinch a job interview at an international public relations firm with branches in China, he brought home five secret studies on China. Her presentation was assessed as brilliant."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venona/dece_pollard.html

Such a patriot!

(Here's actual video of him stealing classified files: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15222134/)

I actually got this material from the Jewish Forward back in 2004, but for some reason the link isn't there any more:

"A significant percentage of Pollard's documents, including some that described the techniques the American Navy used to track Soviet submarines around the world

They also revealed how America was able to learn what it did -- a most sensitive area of intelligence defined as 'sources and methods.' Pollard gave the Israelis vast amounts of data dealing with specific American intelligence systems and how they worked.

For example, he betrayed details of an exotic capability that American satellites have of taking off-axis photographs from high in space...

While orbiting the earth in one direction, the satellites could photograph areas that were seemingly far out of range. Israeli nuclear-missile sites and the like, which would normally be shielded from American satellites, would thus be left exposed, and could be photographed.

'We monitor the Israelis,' one intelligence expert told me, 'and there's no doubt the Israelis want to prevent us from being able to surveil their country.'

The data passed along by Pollard included detailed information on the various platforms -- in the air, on land, and at sea -- used by military components of the National Security Agency to intercept Israeli military, commercial, and diplomatic communications."

http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.06.28/news.pollard.html/

What W. knows about Pollard:

"From the Book on Bush by Eric Alterman:

"Asked for instance, in July 2003, whether he might revisit the case of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, Bush replied, 'Well, I said very clearly at the press conference with Prime Minister Abbas, I don't expect anybody to release somebody from prison who'll go kill somebody...'

Clearly Bush had never even heard of Pollard, who is only the most famous foreign spy to be captured and tried in the United States in the past thirty years and whose jail sentence remains a significant bone of contention in U.S.-Israeli relations."

(I took the quote directly out of book, there is no link that I know of for this)

So, what are the chances Bush will commute this patriot's sentence to time served? The timing might be a little difficult considering the Israelis are currently turning the Gaza Strip into a large landfill at the moment. But, who cares about that, right? They're only Palestinians. it's their own fault for voting for Hamas in the first place.

[leftynyc]

1. I don't think so

but the news of it could certainly get buried under the blanket pardons waiting for Cheney, Rumsfeld, Condi, Gonzales and some others who I'm forgetting.

[bushmeister0]

2. You could add Addington, Bybee, Wolfowitz, Feith . . . the list is long.

I could see him easily slip Pollard in. If anyone dares report it, AIPAC will be right there to start up the boycot threats.

[gratuitous]

3. My guess would be no

Bush doesn't give a tin shit about anything north of his wallet or south of his liquor cabinet, and Pollard doesn't fit into either one. There's no coin to be realized in commuting Pollard's sentence, and Pollard was convicted of the pussy little crime (in Bush's estimation) of espionage, and not a manly crime like murder or torture or something else that gets Bush's jock-sniffer rocks off. Pollard can rot in jail for all Bush cares, and Bush doesn't care a bit.