Dual Citizenship -- Loyal to Whom? by Dan Eden
Please also see Omert Humiliates America and Who Controls Hollywood and the Media?.Someone wrote and asked me, "Why are there Israeli- but not Mexican-American Dual Nationals?"
Well, here's my take on this. I'd also like your views and opinions.
Before I begin I'd like to day something important. There is a new law -- the so-called "Hate Speech" law, that just passed the House and is expected to pass the Senate and become law very soon. It was originally designed to guard against discrimination of oppressed minorities but was soon recognized as a way for Israel to forever end any criticism of the state of Israel and Zionism. When it is law, this page, and many like it will be deleted from the internet as yet another mile marker of the infringement of truth and free speech by certain dual-nationals at the expense of true and patriotic Americans. Enough said.
Unless we are Native American Indians, all Americans have their origins in some other country. Both of my parents were from England. They were proud to be "British" but they were most proud of achieving their American citizenship. Sure, we had pictures of the Queen and nick-nacks with the Union Jack on them. My mother even celebrated the traditional 4 o'clock tea time and was good at making Yorkshire Pudding. In the late 60's my older brother served in the US Army and did his tour in Viet Nam. When it came down to "allegiance," we were all patriotic Americans. Period.
The word "allegiance" means that we promise loyalty. It also carries with it the expectation that this loyalty will be exclusive and unrestrained. In the case of a declared war or real threat or conflict, for example, our allegiance to America should preclude any other interest, be it another country or political ideology.
When they took their oath to become American citizens, my parents had to pledge their "allegiance" exclusively to America and renounce their allegiance to "any and all foreign governments." That included Great Britain, one of our strongest allies.
Before Viewzone asked me to research the meaning of "dual citizenship," I had never heard of the term. How could someone be a citizen of two countries at the same time? But I was just ignorant. Dual nationalities and citizenships are quite common.
From my internet research, I learned that in 1997, a French Canadian with a U.S. passport ran for mayor of Plattsburgh, N.Y. He argued that the incumbent spoke French too poorly to be running a city so close to Quebec. He lost. Also in 1997, a retired top American official for the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) ran for president of Lithuania. He was inaugurated in February to a burst of fireworks!
In 1996, Dominicans from New York not only could vote in the Dominican Republic's presidential elections for the first time, they could vote for a fellow New Yorker. Multiple nationalities have become so commonplace that some analysts fear the trend is undermining the notion of nationhood, particularly in the place with the most diverse citizenry on Earth: the United States.
Debate over the issue intensified in the late 1990s, when Mexico joined the growing list of poor nations that say it's OK for their nationals to be citizens of the countries to which they have migrated. Under the law that took effect in 1998 Mexicans abroad -- most of them in the United States -- will be able to retain Mexican citizenship even if they seek U.S. citizenship. And naturalized Americans of Mexican descent will be able to reclaim their original citizenship. The Mexican government stopped short, for now, of giving expatriates the right to vote.
Security Issues
Since citizenship carries with it a responsibility to be exclusively loyal to one country, the whole concept of dual citizenship and nationality raises questions about which of the dual citizenships have priority. This is extremely important when the two countries have opposing interests. It can be a deadly problem when a dual citizen is in a high position within our American government.
Can one imagine a Japanese citizen serving in the Pentagon during WWII? Or how about a citizen of the Soviet Union holding a cabinet position in the White House during the Cold War?
Today's conflicts are centered in the Middle East. America needs to balance foreign policies towards oil producing Arab nations with our goal being peace and stability in the region. This places a burdon on our government to be even-handed in our dealings with the Arab world and Israel. While the Iraq War was waged on lies about Weapons of Mass Destruction and revenge for 911, the real reason has emerged as a well designed global plan to improve the power and leverage of Israel. Added to this policy is yet another potential blow to American interests and security -- the impending War with Iran. This war will be waged for the security of Israel and will be paid for by the blood of American soldiers and the hard-earned money of American citizens whose quality of life is inversely tied to the cost of petrolium.
Recently, in their much lauded paper, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, Harvard professor, Stephen Walt, and University of Chicago professor, John Mearsheimer, focused attention on the strong Israeli lobby which has a powerful influence over American foreign policies (see BBC article). They detail the influence that this lobby has exerted, forming a series of international policies which can be viewed as in direct opposition to the interests and security of the American people. These acts and policies are more often than not carried out by US government appointees who hold powerful positions and who are dual American-Israeli citizens. Since the policies they support are often exclusively beneficial to Israel, often to the detriment of America, it has been argued that their loyalties are misdirected.
A few classic examples can be cited here.
Jonathan Jay Pollard [right] was an American-Israeli citizen who worked for the US government. He is well known because he stole more secrets from the U.S. than has any other spy in American history. During his interrogation Pollard said he felt compelled to put the "interests of my state" ahead of his own. Although as a U.S. Navy counter-intelligence specialist he had a top-secret security clearance, by "my state" he meant the state of Israel. Literally tens of thousands of Americans holding U.S. passports admit they feel a primary allegiance to the state of Israel. In many instances, these Americans vote in Israeli elections, wear Israeli uniforms and fight in Israeli wars. Many are actively engaged both in the confiscation of Palestinian lands and in the Israeli political system. Three examples come to mind:
One is Rabbi Meir Kahane, who founded the militant Jewish Defense League in the U.S. in the 1960s, then emigrated to Israel where, eventually, he was elected to the Knesset. Until he was shot and killed at one of his U.S. fund-raising rallies in 1990, the Brooklyn-born rabbi shuttled between Tel Aviv and New York, where he recruited militant American Jews for his activities in Israel against Palestinians. He claimed to be a "dual citizen" of America and Israel.
Another Jewish American, James Mahon from Alexandria, Virginia, reportedly was on a secret mission to kill PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat when he was shot in 1980 by an unknown assailant. When he was shot, Mahon held an American M-16 in his hand and a U.S. passport in his pocket.
Then there was Alan Harry Goodman, an American Jew who left his home in Baltimore, Maryland, flew to Israel and served in the Israeli army. Then, on April 11, 1982, armed with an Uzi submachine gun, he walked, alone, to Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem's most holy Islamic shrine, where he opened fire, killing two Palestinians and wounding others. Both the U.S. and Israeli governments played down the incident, as did the media.
Most recently, US Navy Petty Officer, Ariel J. Weinmann, while serving at or near Bahrain, Mexico, and Austria, "with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation (Israel), [attempted] to communicate, deliver or transmit classified CONFIDENTIAL and SECRET information relating to the national defense, to a representative, officer, agent or employee of a foreign government." Weinmann was apprehended on March 26 after being listed as "a deserter by his command," according to the US Navy. The information he gathered was supplied to Israel.
Ben-Ami Kadish, a Connecticut-born U.S. dual citizen who worked in New Jersey was arrested and charged with giving top secret nuclear information and details about the US Patriot Missile to an Israeli agent -- the same agent involved with the Jay Pollard case. The espionage charges reportedly stem from acts committed in the 1980s. These activities, like the ones with convicted spy Pollard, were immediately denied by Israel (Pollard pleaded guilty in 1986). It is further reported that Israeli officials instructed Kadish to lie to US investigators. Kadish was scheduled to be arraigned on April 22, 2008 at U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Unfortunately, such an act of treason remains unchallenged and Jane Harman remains at her congressional job and enjoys being the third wealthiest member of Congress. Only in America!
The examples of Kahane, Mahonm, Goodman and Weinmann raise the question of when a U.S. citizen ceases to be, or should cease to be, a U.S. citizen. U.S. Law at one time clearly stated that an American citizen owed first allegiance to the United States. A U.S. citizen should not fight in a foreign army or hold high office in a foreign country without risking expatriation. What the heck happened?
The 1940 Nationality Act
Section 401 (e) of the 1940 Nationality Act provides that a U.S. citizen, whether by birth or naturalization, "shall lose his [U.S.] nationality by...voting in a political election in a foreign state."
This law was tested many times. In 1958, for instance, an American citizen named Perez voted in a Mexican election. The case went to the Supreme Court, where the majority opinion held that Perez must lose his American nationality. The court said Congress could provide for expatriation as a reasonable way of preventing embarrassment to the United States in its foreign relations.
But then something very odd happened.
In 1967 an American Jew, Beys Afroyim received an exemption that set a precedent exclusively for American Jews. Afroyim, born in Poland in 1895, emigrated to America in 1912, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1926. In 1950, aged 55, he emigrated to Israel and became an Israeli citizen. In 1951 Afroyim voted in an Israeli Knesset election and in five political elections that followed. So, by all standards he lost his American citizenship -- right? Wrong.
After living in Israel for a decade, Afroyim wished to return to New York. In 1960, he asked the U.S. Consulate in Haifa for an American passport. The Department of State refused the application, invoking section 401 (e) of the Nationality Act -- the same ruling that had stripped the American citizen named Perez of his U.S. citizenship.
Attorneys acting for Afroyim took his case to a Washington, DC District Court, which upheld the law. Then his attorneys appealed to the Court of Appeals. This court also upheld the law. The attorneys for Afroyim then moved the case on to the Supreme Court. Here, with Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas, Lyndon Johnson's former attorney and one of the most powerful Jewish Americans, casting the swing vote, the court voted five to four in favor of Afroyim. The court held that the U.S. government had no right to "rob" Afroyim of his American citizenship!
The court, reversing its previous judgment as regards the Mexican American, ruled that Afroyim had not shown "intent" to lose citizenship by voting in Israeli elections. Huh?
While Washington claims it has a "good neighbor" policy with Mexico, the U.S. does not permit Mexicans to hold dual nationality. The US makes them become either U.S. or Mexican -- you can't be both. But the U.S., in its special relationship with Israel, has become very sympathetic to allowing Israeli-Americans to retain two nationalities and allowing U.S. citizens not only to hold public office in Israel, but to hold US government positions as well! No other country holds this special exception to our laws of citizenship.
So, you might ask, are there any other dual Israel-American citizens who hold US government positions that could compromise American security? Yes. Consider the following list that I obtained on the web:
Recently appointed as US Attorney General. Mukasey also was the judge in the litigation between developer Larry Silverstein and several insurance companies arising from the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001.
Michael Chertoff
Former Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, at the Justice Department; now head of Homeland Security.
Richard Perle
One of Bush's foreign policy advisors, he is the chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board. A very likely Israeli government agent, Perle was expelled from Senator Henry Jackson's office in the 1970's after the National Security Agency (NSA) caught him passing Highly-Classified (National Security) documents to the Israeli Embassy. He later worked for the Israeli weapons firm, Soltam. Perle came from one the above mentioned pro-Israel thinktanks, the AEI. Perle is one of the leading pro-Israeli fanatics leading this Iraq war mongering within the administration and now in the media.
Paul Wolfowitz
Former Deputy Defense Secretary, and member of Perle's Defense Policy Board, in the Pentagon. Wolfowitz is a close associate of Perle, and reportedly has close ties to the Israeli military. His sister lives in Israel. Wolfowitz came from the above mentioned Jewish thinktank, JINSA. Wolfowitz was the number two leader within the administration behind this Iraq war mongering. He later was appointed head of the World Bank but resigned under pressure from World Bank members over a scandal involving his misuse of power.
The former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst with expertise in Iranian policy issues who worked in the office of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith and reported directly to Feith's deputy, William Luti, was sentenced January 20, 2006, "to more than 12 years in prison for giving classified information to an Israeli diplomat" and members of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Franklin will "remain free while the government continues with the wider case" and his "prison time could be sharply reduced in return for his help in prosecuting" former AIPAC members Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, [who] are scheduled to go on trial in April [2006]. Franklin admitted that he met periodically with Rosen and Weissman between 2002 and 2004 and discussed classified information, including information about potential attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. Rosen and Weissman would later share what they learned with reporters and Israeli officials." (source: sourcewatch.com).
Douglas Feith
Under Secretary of Defense and Policy Advisor at the Pentagon. He is a close associate of Perle and served as his Special Counsel. Like Perle and the others, Feith is a pro-Israel extremist, who has advocated anti-Arab policies in the past. He is closely associated with the extremist group, the Zionist Organization of America, which even attacks Jews that don't agree with its extremist views. Feith frequently speaks at ZOA conferences. Feith runs a small law firm, Feith and Zell, which only has one International office, in Israel. The majority of their legal work is representing Israeli interests. His firm's own website stated, prior to his appointment, that Feith "represents Israeli Armaments Manufacturer." Feith basically represents the Israeli War Machine. Feith also came from the Jewish thinktank JINSA. Feith, like Perle and Wolfowitz, are campaigning hard for this Israeli proxy war against Iraq.
Feith was investigated by the FBI under suspicion of leaking classified information to Israel, being that he was Larry Franklin's boss when Franklin leaked those documents to Rosen and Weissman of AIPAC. For that he was forced to leave the National Security Council. Feith was also investigated by the Senate Intelligence Committee for sexing up 'intelligence' that was used to justify invading Iraq.
Edward Luttwak
Member of the National Security Study Group of the Department of Defence at the Pentagon. Luttwak is reportedly an Israeli citizen and has taught in Israel. He frequently writes for Israeli and pro-Israeli newspapers and journals. Luttwak is an Israeli extremist whose main theme in many of his articles is the necessity of the U.S. waging war against Iraq and Iran.
Henry Kissinger
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Kissinger sits on the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle. For detailed information about Kissinger's evil past, read Seymour Hersch's book (Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House). Kissinger likely had a part in the Watergate crimes, Southeast Asia mass murders (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos), Installing Chilean mass murdering dictator Pinochet, Operation Condor's mass killings in South America, and more recently served as Serbia's Ex-Dictator Slobodan Milosevic's Advisor. He consistently advocated going to war against Iraq. Kissinger is the Ariel Sharon of the U.S. Unfortunately, President Bush nominated Kissinger as chairman of the September 11 investigating commission. It's like picking a bank robber to investigate a fraud scandal. He later declined this job under enormous protests.
Dov Zakheim
Dov Zakheim is an ordained rabbi and reportedly holds Israeli citizenship. Zakheim attended Jew's College in London and became an ordained Orthodox Jewish Rabbi in 1973. He was adjunct professor at New York's Jewish Yeshiva University. Zakheim is close to the Israeli lobby.
Dov Zakheim is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and in 2000 a co-author of the Project for the New American Century's position paper, Rebuilding America's Defenses, advocating the necessity for a Pearl-Harbor-like incident to mobilize the country into war with its enemies, mostly Middle Eastern Muslim nations.
He was appointed by Bush as Pentagon Comptroller from May 4, 2001 to March 10, 2004. At that time he was unable to explain the disappearance of $1 trillion dollars. Actually, nearly three years earlier, Donald Rumsfeld announced on September 10, 2001 that an audit discovered $2.3 trillion was also missing from the Pentagon books. That story, as mentioned, was buried under 9-11's rubble. The two sums disappeared on Zakheim's watch. We can only guess where that cash went.
Despite these suspicions, on May 6, 2004, Zakheim took a lucrative position at Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the most prestigious strategy consulting firms in the world. One of its clients then was Blessed Relief, a charity said to be a front for Osama bin Laden. Booz, Allen & Hamilton then also worked closely with DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is the research arm of the Department of Defense.
Judicial Inc's bio of Dov tells us Zakheim is a dual Israeli/American citizen and has been tracking the halls of US government for 25 years, casting defense policy and influence on Presidents Reagan, Clinton, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. Judicial Inc points out that most of Israel's armaments were gotten thanks to him. Squads of US F-16 and F-15 were classified military surplus and sold to Israel at a fraction of their value.
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Adelman also sits on the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle, and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor, who supported going to war against Iraq. Adelman frequently is a guest on Fox News, and often expresses extremist and often ridiculus anti-Arab and anti-Muslim views. Through his racism or ignorance, he actually called Arabs "anti-Semitic" on Fox News (11/28/2001), when he could have looked it up in the dictionary to find out that Arabs by definition are Semites. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby
Vice President Dick Cheney's ex-Chief of Staff. As chief pro-Israel Jewish advisor to Cheney, it helps explains why Cheney is so gun-ho to invade Iran. Libby is longtime associate of Wolfowitz. Libby was also a lawyer for convicted felon and Israeli spy Marc Rich, whom Clinton pardoned, in his last days as president. Libby was recently found guilty of lying to Federal investigators in the Valerie Plame affair, in which Plame, a covert CIA agent, was exposed for political revenge by the Bush administration following her husband's revelations about the lies leading to the Iraq War.
Robert Satloff
U.S. National Security Council Advisor, Satloff was the executive director of the Israeli lobby's "think tank," Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Many of the Israeli lobby's "experts" come from this front group, like Martin Indyk.
Elliott Abrams
National Security Council Advisor. He previously worked at Washington-based "Think Tank" Ethics and Public Policy Center. During the Reagan Adminstration, Abrams was the Assistant Secretary of State, handling, for the most part, Latin American affairs. He played an important role in the Iran-Contra Scandal, which involved illegally selling U.S. weapons to Iran to fight Iraq, and illegally funding the contra rebels fighting to overthrow Nicaragua's Sandinista government. He also actively deceived three congressional committees about his involvement and thereby faced felony charges based on his testimony. Abrams pled guilty in 1991 to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to a year's probation and 100 hours of community service. A year later, former President Bush (Senior) granted Abrams a full pardon. He was one of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the Reagan Administration's State Department.
Marc Grossman
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. He was Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources at the Department of State. Grossman is one of many of the pro-Israel Jewish officials from the Clinton Administration that Bush has promoted to higher posts.
Richard Haass
Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and Ambassador at large. He is also Director of National Security Programs and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He was one of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the first Bush (Sr) Administration who sat on the National Security Council, and who consistently advocated going to war against Iraq. Haass is also a member of the Defense Department's National Security Study Group, at the Pentagon.
Robert Zoellick
U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position. He is also one of the more hawkish pro-Israel Jews in the Bush (Jr) Administration who advocated invading Iraq and occupying a portion of the country in order to set up a Vichy-style puppet government. He consistently advocates going to war against Iran.
Ari Fleischer
Ex- White House Spokesman for the Bush (Jr) Administration. Prominent in the Jewish community, some reports state that he holds Israeli citizenship. Fleischer is closely connected to the extremist Jewish group called the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidics, who follow the Qabala, and hold very extremist and insulting views of non-Jews. Fleischer was the co-president of Chabad's Capitol Jewish Forum. He received the Young Leadership Award from the American Friends of Lubavitch in October, 2001.
James Schlesinger
One of many Pentagon Advisors, Schlesinger also sits on the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor, who supported going to war against Iraq. Schlesinger is also a commissioner of the Defense Department's National Security Study Group, at the Pentagon.
David Frum
White House speechwriter behind the "Axis of Evil" label. He lumped together all the lies and accusations against Iraq for Bush to justify the war.
Joshua Bolten
White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Bolten was previously a banker, former legislative aide, and prominent in the Jewish community.
John Bolton
Former UN Representative and Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Bolton is also a Senior Advisor to President Bush. Prior to this position, Bolton was Senior Vice President of the above mentioned pro-Israel thinktank, AEI. He recently (October 2002) accused Syria of having a nuclear program, so that they can attack Syria after Iraq. He must have forgotten that Israel has 400 nuclear warheads, some of which are thermonuclear weapons (according to a recent U.S. Air Force report).
David Wurmser
Special Assistant to John Bolton (above), the under-secretary for arms control and international security. Wurmser also worked at the AEI with Perle and Bolton. His wife, Meyrav Wurmser, along with Colonel Yigal Carmon, formerly of Israeli military intelligence, co-founded the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri),a Washington-based Israeli outfit which distributes articles translated from Arabic newspapers portraying Arabs in a bad light.
Eliot Cohen
Member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Perle and is another extremist pro-Israel advisor. Like Adelman, he often expresses extremist and often ridiculus anti-Arab and anti-Muslim views. More recently, he wrote an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal openly admitting his rascist hatred of Islam claiming that Islam should be the enemy, not terrorism.
Mel Sembler
President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. A Prominent Jewish Republican and Former National Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee. The Export-Import Bank facilitates trade relationships between U.S. businesses and foreign countries, specifically those with financial problems.
Steve Goldsmith
Senior Advisor to the President, and Bush's Jewish domestic policy advisor. He also served as liaison in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (White House OFBCI) within the Executive Office of the President. He was the former mayor of Indianapolis. He is also friends with Israeli Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert and often visits Israel to coach mayors on privatization initiatives.
Adam Goldman
White House's Special Liaison to the Jewish Community.
Joseph Gildenhorn
Bush Campaign's Special Liaison to the Jewish Community. He was the DC finance chairman for the Bush campaign, as well as campaign coordinator, and former ambassador to Switzerland.
Christopher Gersten
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families at HHS. Gersten was the former Executive Director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Husband of Labor Secretary.
Mark Weinberger
Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs.
Samuel Bodman
Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He was the Chairman and CEO of Cabot Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts.
Bonnie Cohen
Under Secretary of State for Management.
Ruth Davis
Director of Foreign Service Institute, who reports to the Office of Under Secretary for Management. This Office is responsible for training all Department of State staff (including ambassadors).
Daniel Kurtzer
Ambassador to Israel.
Cliff Sobel
Ambassador to the Netherlands.
Stuart Bernstein
Ambassador to Denmark.
Nancy Brinker
Ambassador to Hungary
Frank Lavin
Ambassador to Singapore.
Ron Weiser
Ambassador to Slovakia.
Mel Sembler
Ambassador to Italy.
Martin Silverstein
Ambassador to Uruguay.
Lincoln Bloomfield
Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs.
Jay Lefkowitz
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Ken Melman
White House Political Director.
Brad Blakeman
White House Director of Scheduling.
I don't know about you, but dual citizenship is fine with me for an ordinary citizen. But if you hold an official position that demands that you put American interests above all else -- if you should look transparent and fair to the rest of the world regarding your formation of Middle East foreign policies, then this is a dangerous trend. Even if there were no pro-Israeli agenda, the fact that decision makers have a bias or an allegiance to one of the parties involved in the current conflict should have raised red flags long before now.
Hey, I could be way off on this. Let's hear from you.
FBI arrests US scientist on spying charges
In Jerusalem, Israeli government officials had no immediate comment. A scientist credited with helping discover evidence of water on the moon has been arrested on charges of attempting to pass on classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer. The US justice department said Stewart David Nozette, 52, was charged with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information to an individual he believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer. The criminal complaint against Nozette does not allege that Israel's government or anyone acting on its behalf violated US law. In Jerusalem, where the story broke late at night, Israeli government officials had no immediate comment. Nozette, from Maryland, was arrested yesterday by FBI agents. He is expected to appear in federal court in Washington today.
In an affidavit supporting the complaint, Leslie Martell, a FBI agent, said that on 3 September, Nozette received a telephone call from an individual purporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer. The caller was an undercover FBI agent. Nozette agreed to meet with the agent later that day at a hotel in Washington. During the meeting the two discussed Nozette's willingness to work for Israeli intelligence. The scientist allegedly said that he had, in the past, held top security clearances and had access to US satellite information, the affidavit said. Nozette also was alleged to have said he would be willing to answer questions about this information in exchange for money. According to the affidavit, the agent explained that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, would arrange for a communication system so Nozette could pass on information in a post office box. Nozette agreed to provide regular, continuing information and asked for an Israeli passport, the government alleged. The affidavit then alleged the following sequence of events:- Sept. 4: Nozette and the agent met again in the same hotel. The scientist allegedly said that while he no longer had legal access to any classified information at a US government facility, he could, nonetheless, recall classified information by memory. He allegedly asked when he could expect to receive his first settlement funding, saying he preferred cash amounts "under ten thousand" so he didn't have to report it. (Anti-money laundering laws require that all transactions of $10,000 (£6,000) or more must be reported to the US tax authorities). Nozette allegedly told the agent, "Well, I should tell you my first need is that they should figure out how to pay me ... They don't expect me to do this for free."
- Sept. 10: Undercover FBI agents left a letter in the designated post office box, asking Nozette to answer a list of questions about US satellite information. The agents provided a $2,000 cash payment. Serial numbers of the bills were recorded.
- Sept. 16: Nozette was captured on videotape leaving a manila envelope in the post office box. The next day, agents retrieved the sealed envelope and found, among other things, a one-page document containing answers to the questions and an encrypted computer thumb drive. One answer contained information, classified as secret, that concerned capabilities of a prototype overhead collection system.
- Sept. 17: Agents left a second letter in the post office box with another list of questions about US satellite information. The FBI also left a cash payment of $9,000. Nozette allegedly retrieved the questions and the money the same day.
- Oct. 1: Nozette was videotaped leaving a manila envelope in the post office box. FBI agents retrieved it and found a second set of answers. The responses contained information classified as top secret and secret, involving US satellites, early warning systems, means of defence or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information, and major elements of defence strategy.
March 2010
Four-fifths of the U.S. House and Senate recently declared in correspondence to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the U.S. must reaffirm its "unbreakable bond" with Israel. What persuaded our Congress to proclaim their loyalty to Israel while our military is waging war in the Middle East based on fabricated intelligence? Any sober assessment of this bond must concede a need to reappraise its cost in blood and treasure. Yet the Congress - our Congress - opposed that reassessment even as our commander-in-chief seeks to end a brutal Israeli occupation of Palestine that has provoked worldwide outrage for more than six decades. The Congress and the president are sworn to the same oath of office. That oath obliges them to protect the U.S. from all threats, both foreign and domestic. The facts confirm a common pro-Israeli source of the phony intelligence that took our military to war in Iraq. All the evidence points to Israel or its surrogates, including those in the Congress. Is that why the Israel lobby pressed the Congress for a pledge of allegiance to Israel?
Comments:
I am a math teacher, and I tutor on the side to supplement my income. However, it is the policy of my school and the college where I work that I can not tutor my own students on the basis of conflict of interest. How much more serious is to have dual citizenship when you are a goverment official. I think this says it all.
Naz P>
Dear Sir:
I am a survivor of the deliberate attack on the USS Liberty, June 8, 1967 during the Six Day War. I think dual citizenship has a lot to do with the reason that the surviving crew cannot get the U.S. Government to look at our "War Crimes Report". This is an act by the Israeli Defense Force that has never been investigated by Congress. There was a Naval Board of Inquiry and it was found by that board that the attack was an accident. If you will look on the USS LIberty web site you will find that former Captain Ward Boston who was the counsel for the board has made a statement that he was forced to make the outcome appear to be an accident and that Robert McNamara and LBJ forced him into doing just that. We have not been able to get even a Congressional Investigation into this attack because we are being stopped by those in our government with what I believe to have dual citizenship. Having a high position in our government and maintaining dual citizenship is wrong, and no one should be allowed to do this if they can't give their complete loyality to one country.
Ronald G. Kukal www.ussliberty.org
In answer to all, irrespective of which side of the argument they fall on, the issue is not being Jewish, it is being Zionist. When a political movement masquerades as religion and says they can do whatever they do because "god" is on their side, therefore they cannot be wrong, it gives a different tenor to the whole situation.
Incidentally, I do not want to have Wahhabis in a position in our government (the US of A) to determine foreign policy as regards Saudi Arabia, either. I get rather bloody minded when some official of Mexico tells us how to run our immigration policy. I would be more so were we to put a dual national in charge of policy at ICE.
Oh, and I do think that some of what we have now is about guilt because we know that what we did before and during WWII when we deliberately hindered the exit of Jews from Europe from emigrating was morally and ethically reprehensible. We could have given them Idaho or one of the Dakotas, they would have been saved, and the settlement of the Middle East issues, and Jerusalem would have been in "god's" province. The presumption that humans can manipulate this religious issue reeks. Human stupidity. If "god" exists, I am sure that if He is all religion says He is, He doesn't need us to manage it for Him!
In the meantime, those who work for our government need to be loyal to us, and to no other country.
As for passports, if a US passport isn't good enough for Americans to travel where they want, tough. I see having multiples of passports in a government official's hands as a way to sneak around to do something underhanded. Same goes for private citizens on business or whatever. I also know that most officials traveling on government business, diplomatic passports are available. CIA excepted - they are in a separate class, but their job requirements may not be usual, either. I know that sometime the diplomatic passports are even issued to enlisted GIs. So, no problem, but this is an either or thing as regards loyalty.
Those who emigrate and are nationalized take an oath. Those who are born here are born to the oath, or we can leave.
sharra_r
This was a real eye-opener. I began to have my suspicions when Mukasey's confirmation was approved by swing votes from Schumer and Feingold, despite his objectionable views on torture, which Democrats allegedly oppose. You know, I read that Jews make up only 2% of the American population. Why don't we see more Blacks (12.8%), Irish (12%), Italians (8%), Asians (4.3%), Mexicans (14.4%) or even Arabs (3.8%) in government positions? Why always from the same group?
H.J. San Diego
I fully support the State of Israel and their right to exist. I do, however, see problems when the US is transparently pro-Israel with regards to its policies and UN vetoes. This created distrust in the rest of the world and complicates the progress for peace. In the end, it is self-destructive.
M.B.
The State of Israel grants citizenship to all Jews who have maternal Jewish heritage. It's not only the politicians you have cited in your article. Having dual citizensip or a dual nationality does not automatically mean that one will favor Israel over America. It is wrong to suggest that.
D. DeG.
Hey "D. DeG"--
I also support Israel but it is not wrong to suggest it when the evidence supports it. Check the record of sanctions issues by the United Nations against Israel which are ALWAYS vetoed by America. Check the amount of foreign aid that goes to Israel every year against the amounts going to other countries. Check the immigration visas granted to Israel or the number of Jews in our prison system vs. other races... Almost any parameter you check will open your eyes to something called "Sayanims." Google it. Yes, there's problem. And it needs to be discussed.
BryanAnt
Check this out! The so-called "Americal Al Qaeda," Azzam the American, who is featured on many al Qaeda tapes and videos is an American-Israeli Jew.
Concerned
What a punch to the gut. How many war mongers are on that list? How many spies? How many on that list are now clamoring for the U.S. to fight another war for Israel, this time against Iran.
Like Mel Sembler and Brad Blakeman, who helped finance the Bush 2000 Florida recount and is backing the pro-war, let's bomb ALL of Israel's "existential" enemies, Freedom's Watch.
Maybe we should change the "Pledge of Allegiance" to reflect this New World of Order in D.C.
I pledge allegiance to the Star of David of the Apartheid State of Israel, and to the Racism for which it stands, one World, under our Talmud, with liberty and justice only for the Jews.
Greg Bacon>
Ava, MO
You forgot ambassador Feltman(Jeffrey)since 3 years head of mission in Lebanon,dual citisenship ,very close to Sharon and now Olmert Bonzai.
Brunella H
To add to the nightmare: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Being "Guarded" by Israel.
Jim Hartley
A note about dual citizenship I think you should know. Sovereign nations have the authority to issue citizenship to whomever they wish and stipulate whatever conditions they want. No country can prevent you from holding citizenship of another country because it is not in their power. If you apply for naturalization within the United States, while technically you are supposed to swear allegiance, not all countries will recognize your repudiation. For example, as a Canadian citizen, by being naturalized in the US, I am still a citizen of both countries. If my grandmother were German, I would be entitled to German citizenship regardless of whether I have been there or not. Ireland is another country where you can never repudiate your citizenship.
Now on to Israel. The modern state of Israel was conceived as a Jewish homeland, and, naturally, grant the right of return to anyone who is Jewish. The fact that as a Jew, they are entitled to citizenship shouldn't be construed as a threat to national security. In most cases people opt to take up dual citizenship for ease of travel and work. As a citizen of Israel you are entitled to be there, whether just visiting relatives or whatever. That a number of government officials also hold Israeli citizenship reflects an effective strategy to keep their own close. But there is nothing stopping other countries, say Great Britain, from promoting citizenship among the descendants of the English.
The simple fact is, there is nothing the United States can do to prevent other countries offering citizenship to whomever they wish.
Nels Erickson
Um... As an American citizen... I'm completely surprised by your anti- semitism.
Truck Mac
The above dual citizenship group looks like a rogues gallery of key neocon warmongers who pushed the US into numerous wars in my lifetime. Many of them also appeared on Sebil Edmonds web page when she recently went public with high crimes she found when working as an FBI translator.
Why does America stand for such duplicity? The Bush/Cheney/neocon wars alone have cost each and every faimily in the US over $20,000 and counting, just in direct dollar costs. And it is beyond counting the damaged done to our future. Lets not wait til they get their war on Iran!
Impeach Now!
Tim
I am a US-Israeli dual citizen, and I live in Israel. Most of my family is in the US, and I grew up in the US. Just because someone is a dual citizen, doesn't mean that they are acting perniciously or have a conflict of interest. What you attribute to some sort of conspiracy is in reality most of the time just sincere convictions people have. Congress and many Americans in general support Israel because in their (and my) opinion it is the right thing to do. They also sincerely believe that is in the US interest to do so as well. There are strong arguments to be made for that position, whether you agree with it or not. If you look at some of the history of it, you will see that it is not a new thing to come up with Jewish conspiracy theories. There were pograms in Europe over hundreds of years based on popular paranoia of such things. In reality, the "conspiracies"were often enough cooked up by other parties who stood to benefit by deflecting people's paranoia and suspicion onto the Jews. The most famous documented example of this is the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", which was forged by the government in Czarist Russia, but has been used as justification for the murders of countless innocent Jews, and is still popular in many parts of the world, particularly the Arab Middle East, to this day. This is not even to mention the Nazi regime and the Holocaust.
There are many Jews who have some connection to Israel who also are "right-wing" when it comes to American foreign policy, at least in the Middle East. There are actually just as many American Jews who are very left-leaning in the same area though. Those who are right wing ("neo-cons") are often accused as in your article of immorally acting based on mixed loyalty- but this is again not a fair accusation unless you can substantiate that they are actually doing something concrete against US interest. It is more likely that based on their experience and knowledge of the middle east (Israel has been on the front line against terrorism and Arab rejectionism of the West for more than half a century) they have come to the conclusions they have. If they do in fact have a connection to Israel, all the more so if they are knowledgable about Israel's military and strategic position and history in the ME, they happen to be a great deal more informed about the region than your average person.
It's not fair to cast aspersion on people who are likely trying to fulfill the duties of their positions honestly and sincerely just because you disagree with their politics, which is what this boils down to. There are isolated instances (such as Pollard, etc) where people did in fact act unethically relative to their duties to the US, but that is not the case in most of the people mentioned in your article. And anyway, you will find such examples for any nationality or creed. Despite the "hype" to the contrary, Jews are still one of the smallest minorities in the world, and it's scary when people accuse us of conspiracies and the like, especially given our collective experience over the course of history.
Yosef D.
Very, very good article. Well-researched, and brings it all together.
A quick challenge for those that say things like "I fully support the State of Israel and their right to exist." What precisely is the right to the land? Their occupation of Palestine is a result of the Balfour Declaration, which was (among other things) an agreement between Zionist Jews and England to bring the US into the war in exchange for the creation of a "uniquely Jewish state." Since today's Askenazi Jews are demonstrably not semite (as any Jewish Dictionary will confirm, along with their own scholarship) any pretense of a "biblical right" to the land is fundamentally flawed. Fueling the "return to their homeland" craze is mainstream Christianity, which largely holds to an eschatology that erroneously declares prophetic significance to the creation of Israel by UN decree in 1948.
Brad Stone
An eye opener that should be more in the mainstream media. Our country is being lead by idiots like GW that think God has ordained them to protect Israel due to a fringe interpretation of the Old Testament, and radical Jewish dual citizens rush in to fill in the ranks of their officers! I think I'll move to China!
MD11DRIVER
The word 'anti-semite'does not mean against semites,it really means against Jews who are not semites at all.Read the 'Thirteenth Tribe',by Arthur Koestler. Check out the term in a high quality dictionary. BILL Caucasians are also classified as a semitic people although the evidence is obfuscated for very obvious reasons.
Bill Van Foeken
I just read (a bit late, I know) your article on dual citizenship and elected, as well as other high-level government official. I'm glad to let you know that on the most part, I agree with the points you raise.
I read in the article about "...in 1997, a retired top American official for the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) ran for president of Lithuania. He was inaugurated in February to a burst of fireworks!". That official was/is Valdas Adamkus. While I understand you used him as an example to make a point, I feel his situation is much different than the other examples you raise.
Valdas Adamkus was actually born in Lithuania, and immigrated to the United States. Before that, he fought the soviets in Lithuania before eventually finding his home in the US. From the re-establishment of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian government, and the people of Lithuania wanted to allow ALL persons of Lithuanian descent (ie citizens of the first republic of Lithuania and their families) to return to their homeland as things had changed, and the constitution preserved their Lithuanian citizenship. Thus, Adamkus was a Lithuanian citizen while he worked at the EPA, but also a "refugee" of the soviet union, in some sense.
While Adamkus ran for President of Lithuania, he still held US citizenship. At this time Lithuania had a much different version of dual citizenship than it does presently. He formally renounced his citizenship before US consular officials before he was allowed to be President.
Now, as I believe it, there is a presidential directive (from Carter, I believe) allowing US citizens to become citizens of another country, without losing their US citizenship. This is because the US government believes that no one would really want to give up their citizenship, and that sometimes people are pressured to do so. The directive rules that one must renounce their citizenship through a special process in front of a US official. There is precedent allowing dual citizenship of the US. Of course, this could change at any time, if some "decider" decides it so.
Renunciation of US citizenship is not something someone can easily do, and is impossible to do inside the US.
Thanks for the article,
Mike Carey
I guess I should have been thrown out of this country a long time ago, as I have never felt any national pride as a result of citizenship by birth. I give credit to the immigrant in swearing allegiance to his new-found country, no matter how misdirected his reasons for emigrating might be. I don't believe that the gifts of this nation would have been withheld from me in any other country I might have chosen to live in, granting those gifts were available. The nation-state has never been anything but an impediment to world peace and an equal distribution of wealth and will continue to prevent the world's citizens from achieving harmony in the future. In michiu kaaku's imaginary journey through the universe, he points out numbers of former planets, now turned to lifeless cinders and claims them to be planets that failed to achieve world government. How I feel about dual citizenship doesn't seem to be the case here, so much as how I feel about American citizens becoming political operatives of a foreign country.
This can only end in political advantage moving in one direction and is a failure to the rest of the population. We must, for every obvious reason become citizens of the world or the whole thing is doomed to fail.
kitchenrat
yosef d..
why don't you tell us about eh bolsheviks eh? was that a conspiracy theory?
K.Oke
I am an Iranian American citizen and firmly support the constitution of United State above any other law or form of government in the world. If the Iranian or any other government attack US or declare war against US I will be supporting and defending the United State to preserve this democracy and the constitution I mean US constitution not Israel or any other countries.
But when it is so clear that only one ethnic group have so much power in the government of the US to advance a separate agenda that clearly is promoting and considering the Israel benefit over the US.Then, it is time to activate the law that no one with dual citizenship should be allowed to hold any government office, I mean influential policy effecting position not US Post Office or low level government jobs.
Remember former head of CIA, I believe his name was John Duech who was under treason allegations and investigations for passing the CIA secret information to Israel consulate, and was pardoned by Bill Clinton that after that Sunday his name was never mentioned in the media.
Thanks for very informative and thorough article.
Hamid
I am a Jew, an American citizen, and I hold dual citizenship - not with Israel. I'd like to make two points on your article. First, I'm glad you recognize the right and utility for a regular citizen to have dual citizenship. To be perfectly honest, as a frequent traveler, I would love to have global citizenship and feel that I already do my best to defend the interests of ALL people. I would also like to work for the U.S. government one day, not as a high-ranking official but as a translator or language teacher, and I don't see how having dual (or multiple) citizenship would in any way prevent me from making accurate translations or teaching effectively.
Second, regarding the number of Jews in positions of power in the United States, you are absolutely right - the proportion is quite high. However, before attributing this to some sort of conspiracy, please take a look at the proportion of Jews with college or graduate degrees - that is also quite high, and is not a result of conspiracy. You see, the Jewish history is one of persecution and forced migration, and the only thing that you can be sure to bring with you when you're forced out of your home or country is your brain. As a result, Jewish parents historically invested heavily in their children's education, and continue to do so now.
I'll also bring up an example from my own life. When I was a child, my father always told me that, as a Jew, I had to be better than everyone in my class if I wanted to get anywhere in life. Growing up in the Soviet Union, because of government-imposed quotas, Jews had to be EXCEPTIONAL in order to get into college or find a job. Ask a psychologist or an education specialist, and they will tell you that children who face high expectations tend to preform better. Now, you take this small minority group of Jews with their culture of education and high expectations, and you put them into a capitalist society like the United States. What happens?
Despite anti-semitic conspiracy theorists may lead you to believe, "the Jews" are not a cohesive community where every member can rely on connections to rise to the top of society. To be honest, the propaganda I read on the Internet makes me truly bitter - life would be much easier if my Jewish-ness would entitle me to some sort of special rights or connections. My parents have no connections and earn little more than minimum wage - my mother has to work 3 jobs at the age of 60 to make ends meet. But, as a Jew and a recent immigrant, I have struggled all my life to excel, especially in the realm of education. That alone, I hope, will allow me to succeed this year as I graduate and enter the work world. The challenge is to see that connections are not the privilege of Jews but that of the wealthy. Wealthy Englishmen, wealthy Frenchmen and wealthy Mexicans have all the privileges of wealthy Jews and maybe more, while poor Jews (yes, they do exist) struggle just like everyone else.
I apologize for the deficient writing. This topic is too close to my heart. I hope the message gets through.
Lyuba
Did you know that by law the US guarantees israel's oil supply - no matter what?
Under a 1975 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the USA guaranteed all Israel's oil needs in the event of a crisis. This Memorandum of Understanding is quietly renewed every five years. It commits U.S. taxpayers to maintain a strategic U.S. reserve for Israel, equivalent to $3 billion in 2002 dollars. Special legislation was enacted to exempt Israel from restrictions on oil exports from the USA. Moreover, the U.S. government agreed to divert oil from the USA, even if this causes domestic shortages. The U.S. government also guaranteed delivery of oil in U.S. tankers if commercial shippers become unable or unwilling to carry oil from the USA to Israel.
This is just an example of how f***ed up things have gotten.
Josh
Why are so few Jews not calling for the Israeli Govt. to stop killing Palestinians, & stop knocking down their homes and facilitating stealing their land? Or, criticized the Lebanon invasion/murders or threatening Iran etc? Why do we see NO fair plans to settle Palestinian et al disputes? The current & past crimes of the Govt. of Israel (& their operatives WITH or WITHOUT USA passports) are amongst the most evil in history let alone 2008 (& of course all Jews of don't support them) ? But why are so many Jews & others silent about "planed ethnic cleansing" & stealing & virtual forced labor LIKE THE NAZIS?..... Remember it's not what people say it's what they do.....And what any of us allow a relatively small group of "collaborating warmongering thieves" (composed of ALL religions?) to do to ANY others we are "facilitating" them to do to us & ours at a later time, perhaps via a "terrorist" label "someone" puts in a computer & that is subject to NO PUBLIC JUSTICE whatsoever. How long before all "dissenters" or people with “alternate proposed solutions to problems†are on a list? Or get picked up & disappear? What is TRULY horrific is we are ALL allowing these crooks &/or brainwashed supremacists to torture, scrap Habeas Corpus/JUSTICE and have "NO TRIA" & "secret trials"......This is a huge danger to all Jews as well all as others? Prosecute corrupt politicians those that bribe, and Media lies that kill, not protesters.
Billy Field
Great Article,
Thanks for taking the time to write your article, I do not think all Jews are bad, but any Jews or other race that think the atrocities committed to children females and unarmed civilians of Palestinian decent or any other country must also justify the acts that took place during the
Holocaust. As a young man learning History I felt very bad about what happened at the Holocaust. But now as I hear what happens in Palestine and other countries with no oil or other kind of wealth, and I do not hear this from US media, I feel just as bad, The US should invest more in looking for a peaceful resolution to the problems instead of supporting the Bully.
The UN should be the guardian for peace in the World and all countries should support it equally, the US should support the UN and push for fairness, instead of supporting the strong and those with political ties to our government.
FJF
God Bless The Jew; God Damn The Zionist
Lots of excellent talking points in your column, Mr. Eden, as well as from your many readers. Not mentioned was Dov Zakheim's interest in a aeronautic company that made remote controlled aviation devices at the time of 911 attack. Zakheim was serving as a top Pentagon official, the man in charge of the money (YOUR tax dollars) during which time you mentioned $2.3 Trillion went missing. Which begs the question: WHY wasn't any investigation done into this high (Treason) crime? Oh, right, of course; we had the 911 attack.
NO, I emphatically DO NOT believe anyone should possess dual citizenship and hold high office in the USA. That is, no higher political office than say, mayor of Carmel or Jackson Hole. Then local citizens might recall, indict and incarcerate them if found quilty. Instead too many dual citizens hold lifelong tenure and immunity in Washington DC.
Are ALL Jews guilty of disloyalty----What the heck, let's call it treason--- in high places? Nope. But many powerful players are. But then so are many rich and powerful Christian WASPS. Are they secretly Jewish? No, technically they are Zionists, and there is a huge difference. Just Google Professor Norman Finkelstein or read Rense.com.
Seems politics makes strange bedfellows, and obscene profits tempt traitors too, whatever their so-called loyalties.
Sam Mule Adams
Thank you for this article. I just yesterday left a comment on a blog regarding exactly this list. You have done an excellent job of flushing out the information that was not provided on the other list. It is a shame that so many have been brainwashed into believing the holocaust hogwash which has been thoroughly disproven scientifically and by eyewitness accounts. It has been way overused and has outlived its usefulness. So have most of the dual citizenship traitors who occupy our government offices.
It’s true that all Jews are not bad people. The problem is Judaism, specifically Zionism, and every other ideology in existence. But Zionism/Judaism in particular is the only one that is self glorifying, separatist, elitist, and teaches that other races are only slightly above camel dung. Of course they deny that that philosophy is any longer taught and most references have been removed from public texts. However, I have it on pretty good authority that it is still taught verbally.
We need to cast off all ideologies in order to bring the world into better harmony. Spirituality is not a function of ideology, politics are. We are all ONE. It’s time we all started acting like it. We need to start by purging Washington and getting back to the founding principles of our nation. Apparently the only candidate that has offered to do that is Ron Paul. Viva la Revolution!
James Stephens
It's sickening what a few Zionists have done to this planet and it's occupants including 150 million Jews.
Wayne
Good article. As for the comments, . . . let's abandon pretense. This country is now run by a coup. Elements of the coup are extremely pro-Zionist. In order to loosen the death grip this coup has on this country we are going to have to abandon niceties and risk calling things as they are in spite of labels such as "anti-Semitic." Of course these officials have bias for Israel. Of course there is evidence of anti-American activity by them. I have Jewish friends who are effectively Sayanim in spirit if not in deed, just like some of the Commenters. Why such a strong sense of duty to Israel and such a lack of awareness of any duty to America?
To understand how precarious a situation we Americans are in, see if you can find Solzhenitsyn's work on the Jewish Bolsheviks. You can perhaps read it in the Russian. A Nobel Laureate's work is banned in the West. Why? Because he tells the story of how many Jews ran the Cheka (Secret Police) and how Jews supervised the deaths of tens of millions in the Soviet Union. For a time up until Stalin's purges it could be said that the Soviet Union was the first (modern) Jewish State. Is Solzhenitsyn fabricating this out of whole cloth? No, the Soviet Archives were opened when the government fell. He is not the only researcher who has touched on this, although perhaps the most prominent. The proof is there. It's just politically incorrect to discuss it.
The problem is not that we have NeoCons. The problem is that they're not New and they're not Conservatives. They are philosophical Trotskyites. And referring back to Solzhenitsyn, Trotsky's actual name was Leiba Bronstein. Irving Kristol has stated that there is no philosophical basis for individual liberties. Do you understand? The NeoCon position clears the way for the manipulation of an inner circle elite. They believe in the will to power, not the American doctrine of God-given rights of the individual. You, dear reader, believe you are electing or seeing the appointment of Americans and this is not so. It is a coup by philosophical foreigners in every sense of the word. The gap is of Grand Canyon proportions. Yet we are informed that "what is" has no right so to be. We must ignore. We must not see. We are the "not see"'s, . . . ironically.
If we cannot loosen the grip of the pro-Israel Zionist hand on our throats, how are we ever to get to those Americans with no such split allegiance who are even more culpable because they are simply involved in high treason?
The pathway to a remedy in this country is solidly blocked by the NeoCons. Only by disempowering this sacrosanct "sacred cow"ism of anti-Semitism can we move beyond. For it is launched every time we get near to a correction. For instance, consider the irony. How appropriately American is it to have the son of the first woman Mossad agent in charge of Homeland Security? What was "for dinner" at the Chertoff home? Did she practice interrogation techniques if he didn't eat his spinach? How characteristically American was the response to Hurricane Katrina? There are still camps of detained Katrina evacuees. How does that contrast with the release of some 600 Israeli suspects detained after 911, many before questioning? The best answer is we don't know where Chertoff's allegiances really lie but there are compelling grounds for concluding they're not even close to being American.
Support of Israel is apparently one of the strongest narcotics that exists. It numbs moral sensibilities and conscience, and blinds us from perceiving objectively. If you have a survival instinct left, drop the opiate now. Leave it and move on. Learn from the Russian experience! Visualize! How does the world look post-NeoCon?
Regards,
Umbriago
Dear Viewzone:
I've tangled with a couple of very prominent "progressive" journalists on this same subject. That would be Spencer Ackerman and Laura Rozen. Ackerman tore me a new ass for even bringing up the subject of "dual Israeli/American citizenship and wrote me off as "anti-Semitic" for even mentioning the subject. Got myself blacklisted from the Washington Independent for that little exchange. Laura Rozen of Mother Jones just said I was an "anti-Semitic" ass. She will no longer correspond with me either.
Seems it's perfectly acceptable for Americans with that "dual citizenship" bullshit to die for Israel but, criminy, ask why Americans would even bother and you're "anti-Semitic." How is that anti-Semitic? How is holding dual American/Israeli citizenship a thing to be proud of? Americans are Americans and that's that. Simple and UNIQUELY American. I'm proud of being American and I'm a dissident wise-assing graphic fool.
Anyway, it leaves any American wondering whom these dual citizenship holding freaks are really in service to? Just my "anti-Semitic" opinion but, if I ever get the chance to have at Spencer Crackerman, I'll probably just bitch-slap the punk and let the chips fall where they may. Dual citizenship holding Israeli poser! respectfully,
don nash
aka
Skulz Fontaine
Gaza Strip, Utah/Nevada
Israel runs one of the most aggressive and damaging espionage networks targeting the U.S., yet public discussion about it is almost nil.
Scratch a counterintelligence officer in the U.S. government and they'll tell you that Israel is not a friend to the United States.
This is because Israel runs one of the most aggressive and damaging espionage networks targeting the U.S.. The fact of Israeli penetration into the country is not a subject oft-discussed in the media or in the circles of governance, due to the extreme sensitivity of the U.S.-Israel relationship coupled with the burden of the Israel lobby, which punishes legislators who dare to criticize the Jewish state. The void where the facts should sit is filled instead with the hallucinations of conspiracy theory -- the kind in which, for example, agents of the Mossad, IsraelÃs top intelligence agency, engineer the 9/11 attacks, while 4,000 Israelis in the Twin Towers somehow all get word to escape before the planes hit. The effect, as disturbing as it is ironic, is that the less the truth is addressed, the more noxious the falsity that spreads.
Israel's spying on the U.S., however, is a matter of public record, and neither conspiracy nor theory is needed to present the evidence. When the FBI produces its annual report to Congress concerning "Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage," Israel and its intelligence services often feature prominently as a threat second only to China. In 2005 the FBI noted, for example, that Israel maintains "an active program to gather proprietary information within the United States." A key Israeli method, said the FBI report, is computer intrusion. In 1996, the Defense Intelligence Service, a branch of the Pentagon, issued a warning that "the collection of scientific intelligence in the United States [is] the third highest priority of Israeli Intelligence after information on its Arab neighbors and information on secret U.S. policies or decisions relating to Israel." In 1979, the Central Intelligence Agency produced a scathing survey of Israeli intelligence activities that targeted the U.S. government. Like any worthy spy service, Israeli intelligence early on employed wiretaps as an effective tool, according to the CIA report. In 1954, the U.S. Ambassador in Tel Aviv discovered in his office a hidden microphone "planted by the Israelis," and two years later telephone taps were found in the residence of the U.S. military attachÈ. In a telegram to Washington, the ambassador at the time cabled a warning: "Department must assume that all conversations [in] my office are known to the Israelis." The former ambassador to Qatar, Andrew Killgore, who also served as a foreign officer in Jerusalem and Beirut, told me Israeli taps of U.S. missions and embassies in the Middle East were part of a "standard operating procedure."
According to the 1979 CIA report, the Israelis, while targeting political secrets, also devote "a considerable portion of their covert operations to obtaining scientific and technical intelligence." These operations involved, among other machinations, "attempts to penetrate certain classified defense projects in the United States." The penetrations, according to the CIA report, were effected using "deep cover enterprises," which the report described as "firms and organizations, some specifically created for, or adaptable to, a specific objective." At the time, the CIA singled out government-subsidized companies such as El Al airlines and Zim, the Israeli shipping firm, as deep cover enterprises. Other deep cover operations included the penetration of a U.S. company that provided weapons-grade uranium to the Department of Defense during the 1960s; Israeli agents eventually spirited home an estimated 200 pounds of uranium as the bulwark in IsraelÃs secret nuclear weapons program. Moles have burrowed on IsraelÃs behalf throughout the U.S. intelligence services. Perhaps most infamous was the case of Jonathan Pollard, a Jewish-American employed as a civilian analyst with the U.S. Navy who purloined an estimated 800,000 code-word protected documents from inside the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and numerous other U.S. agencies. While Pollard was sentenced to life in prison, counterintelligence investigators at the FBI suspected he was linked to a mole far higher in the food chain, ensconced somewhere in the DIA, but this suspected Israeli operative, nicknamed "Mr. X," was never found. Following the embarrassment of the Pollard affair -- and its devastating effects on U.S. national security, as testified by then Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger (who allegedly stated that Pollard "should have been shot") -- the Israeli government vowed never again to pursue espionage against its ally and chief benefactor.
Fast-forward a quarter century, and the vow has proven empty. In 2004, the authoritative Jane's Intelligence Group noted that Israel's intelligence organizations "have been spying on the U.S. and running clandestine operations since Israel was established." The former deputy director of counterintelligence at FBI, Harry B. Brandon, last year told Congressional Quarterly magazine that "the Israelis are interested in commercial as much as military secrets. They have a muscular technology sector themselves." According to CQ, "One effective espionage tool is forming joint partnerships with U.S. companies to supply software and other technology products to U.S. government agencies."
Best-selling author James Bamford now adds another twist in this history of infiltration in a book published last October, "The Shadow Factory," which forms the latest installment in his trilogy of investigations into the super-secret National Security Agency. Bamford is regarded among journalists and intelligence officers as the nationÃs expert on the workings of the NSA, whose inner sanctums he first exposed to the public in 1982. (So precise is his reporting that NSA officers once threw him a book party, despite the fact that he continually reveals their secrets.) The agency has come a long way in the half-century since its founding in 1952. Armed with digital technology and handed vast new funding and an almost limitless mandate in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Bamford writes, the NSA has today "become the largest, most costly, and most technologically sophisticated spy organization the world has ever known." The NSA touches on every facet of U.S. communications, its mega-computers secretly filtering "millions of phone calls and e-mails" every hour of operation. For those who have followed the revelations of the NSAÃs "warrantless wiretapping" program in the New York Times in 2005 and the Wall Street Journal last year, what Bamford unveils in "The Shadow Factory" is only confirmation of the worst fears: "There is now the capacity," he writes of the NSAÃs tentacular reach into the private lives of Americans, "to make tyranny total."
Much less has been reported about the high-tech Israeli wiretapping firms that service U.S. telecommunications companies, primarily AT&T and Verizon, whose networks serve as the chief conduits for NSA surveillance. Even less is known about the links between those Israeli companies and the Israeli intelligence services. But what Bamford suggests in his book accords with the history of Israeli spying in the U.S.: Through joint partnerships with U.S. telecoms, Israel may be a shadow arm of surveillance among the tentacles of the NSA. In other words, when the NSA violates constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure to vacuum up the contents of your telephone conversations and e-mail traffic, the Israeli intelligence services may be gathering it up too -- a kind of mirror tap that is effectively a two-government-in-one violation.
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On its face, the overseas outsourcing of high-tech services would seem de rigueur in a competitive globalized marketplace. Equipment and services from IsraelÃs telecom sector are among the countryÃs prime exports, courtesy of Israeli entrepreneurs who have helped pioneer wireless telephony, voicemail and voice recognition software, instant messaging, phone billing software, and, not least, "communications interception solutions." Israeli telecom interception hardware and software is appraised as some of the best in the world.
By the mid-1990s, Israeli wiretap firms would arrive in the U.S. in a big way. The key to the kingdom was the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which was Congressà solution for wiretapping in the digital age. Gone are the days when wiretaps were conducted through on-site tinkering with copper switches. CALEA mandated that telephonic surveillance operate through computers linked directly into the routers and hubs of telecom companies -- a spyware apparatus matched in real-time, all the time, to American telephones and modems. CALEA effectively made spy equipment an inextricable ligature in telephonic life. Without CALEA, the NSA in its spectacular surveillance exploits could not have succeeded.
AT&T and Verizon, which together manage as much as 90 percent of the nationÃs communications traffic, contracted with Israeli firms in order to comply with CALEA. AT&T employed the services of Narus Inc., which was founded in Israel in 1997. It was Narus technology that AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein, a 22-year technician with the company, famously unveiled in a 2006 affidavit that described the operations in AT&TÃs secret tapping room at its San Francisco facilities. (KleinÃs affidavit formed the gravamen of a lawsuit against AT&T mounted by the Electronic Freedom Foundation, but the lawsuit died when Congress passed the telecom immunity bill last year.) According to Klein, the Narus supercomputer, the STA 6400, was "known to be used particularly by government intelligence agencies because of its ability to sift through large amounts of data looking for preprogrammed targets." The Narus system, which was maintained by Narus technicans, also provided a real-time mirror image of all data streaming through AT&T routers, an image to be rerouted into the computers of the NSA.
According to Jim Bamford, who cites knowledgeable sources, VerizonÃs eavesdropping program is run by a competing Israeli firm called Verint, a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, which was founded by a former Israeli intelligence officer in 1984. Incorporated in New York and Tel Aviv, Comverse is effectively an arm of the Israeli government: 50 percent of its R&D costs are reimbursed by the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Verint technology deployed throughout VerizonÃs network, known as STAR-GATE, boasts an array of Orwellian capabilities. "With STAR-GATE, service providers can access communications on virtually any type of network," according to the companyÃs literature. "Designed to manage vast numbers of targets, concurrent sessions, call data records, and communications, STAR-GATE transparently accesses targeted communications without alerting subscribers or disrupting service." As with the Narus system, the point is to be able to tap into communications unobtrusively, in real time, all the time. A Verint spinoff firm, PerSay, takes the tap to the next stage, deploying "advanced voice mining," which singles out "a targetÃs voice within a large volume of intercepted calls, regardless of the conversation content or method of communication." VerintÃs interception systems have gone global since the late 1990s, and sales in 2006 reached $374 million (a doubling of its revenues over 2003). More than 5,000 organizations -- mostly intelligence services and police units -- in at least 100 countries today use Verint technology.
What troubles Bamford is that executives and directors at companies like Narus and Verint formerly worked at or maintain close connections with the Israeli intelligence services, including Mossad; the internal security agency Shin Bet; and the Israeli version of the NSA, Unit 8200, an arm of the Israeli Defense Forces Intelligence Corps. Unit 8200, which Bamford describes as "hypersecret," is a key player in the eavesdropping industrial complex in Israel, its retired personnel dispersed throughout dozens of companies. According to HaÃaretz, the Israeli daily, "Many of the [eavesdropping] technologies in use around the world and developed in Israel were originally military technologies and were developed and improved by [Unit 8200] veterans." A former commander of Unit 8200, cited by Bamford, states that Verint technology was "directly influenced by 8200 technologyÖ.[Verint parent company] ComverseÃs main product, the Logger, is based on the UnitÃs technology." The implications for U.S. national security, writes Bamford, are "unnerving." "Virtually the entire American telecommunications system," he avers, "is bugged by [Israeli-formed] companies with possible ties to IsraelÃs eavesdropping agency." Congress, he says, maintains no oversight of these companiesà operations, and even their contracts with U.S. telecoms -- contracts pivotal to NSA surveillance -- are considered trade secrets and go undisclosed in company statements.
U.S. intelligence officers have not been quiet in their concerns about Verint (I reported on this matter in CounterPunch.org last September). "Phone calls are intercepted, recorded, and transmitted to U.S. investigators by Verint, which claims that it has to be ëhands onà with its equipment to maintain the system," says former CIA counterterrorism officer Philip Giraldi. The "hands on" factor is what bothers Giraldi, specifically because of the possibility of a "trojan" embedded in Verint wiretap software. A trojan in information security hardware/software is a backdoor that can be accessed remotely by parties who normally would not have access to the secure system. Allegations of widespread trojan spying have rocked the Israeli business community in recent years. "Top Israeli blue chip companies," reported the AP in 2005, "are suspected of using illicit surveillance software to steal information from their rivals and enemies." Over 40 companies have come under scrutiny. "It is the largest cybercrime case in Israeli history," Boaz Guttmann, a veteran cybercrimes investigator with the Israeli national police, told me. "Trojan horse espionage is part of the way of life of companies in Israel. ItÃs a culture of spying."
In a wide-ranging four-part investigation into Israel-linked espionage that aired in December 2001, Carl Cameron, a correspondent at Fox News Channel, reported the distress among U.S. intelligence officials warning about possible trojans cached in Verint technology. Sources told Cameron that "while various FBI inquiries into [Verint] have been conducted over the years," the inquiries had "been halted before the actual equipment has ever been thoroughly tested for leaks." Cameron also cited a 1999 internal FCC document indicating that "several government agencies expressed deep concerns that too many unauthorized non-law enforcement personnel can access the wiretap system." Much of this access was facilitated through "remote maintenance."
The Fox News report reverberated throughout U.S. law enforcement, particularly at the Drug Enforcement Agency, which makes extensive use of wiretaps for narcotics interdiction. Security officers at DEA, an adjunct of the Justice Department, began examining the agencyÃs own relationship with Comverse/Verint. In 1997, DEA had transformed its wiretap infrastructure with the $25 million procurement from Comverse/Verint of a technology called "T2S2" -- "translation and transcription support services" -- with Comverse/Verint contracted to provide the hardware and software. The company was also tasked with "support services, training, upgrades, enhancements and options throughout the life of the contract," according to the DEAÃs "contracts and acquisitions" notice. In the wake of the Fox News investigation, however, the director of security programs at DEA, Heidi Raffanello, was rattled enough to issue an internal communiquÈ on the matter, dated Dec. 18, 2001. Directly referencing Fox News, she worried that "Comverse remote maintenance" was "not addressed in the C&A [contracts and acquisitions] processÖ.It remains unclear if Comverse personnel are security cleared, and if so, who are they and what type of clearances are on recordÖ.Bottom line we should have caught it." It is not known what resulted from DEAÃs review of the issue of remote maintenance and access by Comverse/Verint.
Bamford devotes a portion of his argument to the detailing of the operations of a third Israeli wiretap company, NICE Systems, which he describes as "a major eavesdropper in the U.S." that "keeps its government and commercial client list very secret." Formed in 1986 by seven veterans of Unit 8200, NICE software "captures voice, email, chat, screen activity, and essential call details," while offering "audio compression technology that performs continuous recordings of up to thousands of analog and digital telephone lines and radio channels." NICE Systems has on at least one occasion shown up on the radar of U.S. counterintelligence. During 2000-2001, when agents at the FBI and the CIA began investigating allegations that Israeli nationals posing as "art students" were in fact conducting espionage on U.S. soil, one of the Israeli "art students" was discovered to be an employee with NICE Systems. Among the targets of the art students were facilities and offices of the Drug Enforcement Agency nationwide. The same Israeli employee of NICE Systems, who was identified as a former operative in the Israeli intelligence services, was carrying a disk that contained a file labeled "DEA Groups." U.S. counterintelligence officers concluded it was a highly suspicious nexus: An Israeli national and alleged spy was working for an Israeli wiretap company while carrying in his possession computer information regarding the Drug Enforcement Agency -- at the same time this Israeli was conducting what the DEA described as "intelligence gathering" about DEA facilities.
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A former senior counterintelligence official in the Bush administration told me that as early as 1999, "CIA was very concerned about [Israeli wiretapping companies]" -- Verint in particular. "I know that CIA has tried to monitor what the Israelis were doing -- technically watch what they were doing on the networks in terms of remote access. Other countries were concerned as well," said the intelligence official. Jim Bamford, who notes that Verint "can automatically access the mega-terabytes of stored and real-time data secretly and remotely from anywhere," reports that Australian lawmakers in 2004 held hearings on this remote monitoring capability. "[Y]ou can access data from overseas," the lawmakers told a Verint representative during the hearings, "but [the legislature] seems restricted to access data within that system." The Australians found this astonishing. In 2000, the Canadian intelligence service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, conducted "a probe related to allegations that [Israeli] spies used rigged software to hack into Canada's top secret intelligence files," according to an article in the Toronto Star. Several sources in the U.S. intelligence community told me the Canadians liaised with their American counterparts to try to understand the problem. According to the Bush administration official who spoke with me, "the Dutch also had come to the CIA very concerned about what the Israelis were doing with this." The Dutch intelligence service, under contract with Verint, "had discovered strange things were going on -- there was activity on the network, the Israelis uploading and downloading stuff out of the switches, remotely, and apparently using it for their own wiretap purposes. The CIA was very embarrassed to say, ëWe have the same problem.à But the CIA didnÃt have an answer for them. ëWe hear you, weÃre surprised, and we understand your concern.Ã" Indeed, sources in the Dutch counterintelligence community in 2002 claimed there was "strong evidence that the Israeli secret service has uncontrolled access to confidential tapping data collected by the Dutch police and intelligence services," according to the Dutch broadcast radio station Evangelische Omroep (EO). In January 2003, the respected Dutch technology and computing magazine, CÃT, ran a follow-up to the EO story, headlined "Dutch Tapping Room not Kosher." The article states: "All tapping equipment of the Dutch intelligence services and half the tapping equipment of the national police force [is] insecure and is leaking information to Israel."
"The key to this whole thing is that Australian meeting," Bamford told me in a recent interview. "They accused Verint of remote access and Verint said they wonÃt do it again -- which implies they were doing it in the past. ItÃs a matter of a backdoor into the system, and those backdoors should not be allowed to exist. You can tell by the Australian example that it was certainly a concern of Australian lawmakers."
Congress doesnÃt seem to share the concern. "Part of the responsibility of Congress," says Bamford, "is not just to oversee the intelligence community but to look into the companies with which the intelligence community contracts. TheyÃre just very sloppy about this." According to the Bush administration intelligence official who spoke with me, "Frustratingly, I did not get the sense that our government was stepping up to this and grasping the bull by the horns." Another former high level U.S. intelligence official told me, "The fact of the vulnerability of our telecom backbone is indisputable. How it came to pass, why nothing has been done, who has done what -- these are the incendiary questions." There is also the fundamental fact that the wiretap technologies implemented by Verint, Narus and other Israeli companies are fully in place and no alternative is on the horizon. "There is a technical path dependence problem," says the Bush administration official. "I have been told nobody else makes software like this for the big digital switches, so that is part of the problem. Other issues," he adds, "compound the problem" -- referring to the sensitivity of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
And that, of course, is the elephant in the room. "Whether itÃs a Democratic or Republican administration, you donÃt bad-mouth Israel if you want to get ahead," says former CIA counterterrorism officer Philip Giraldi. "Most of the people in the agency were very concerned about Israeli espionage and Israeli actions against U.S. interests. Everybody was aware of it. Everybody hated it. But they wouldnÃt get promoted if they spoke out. Israel has a privileged position and thatÃs the way things are. ItÃs crazy. And everybody knows itÃs crazy."
Why are the American people so afraid of Israel?
Do the Israeli people believe that America is some protector assigned by God just for Israel?
If the Israelis want to go to war with Iran, let them do it with their blood, and money and not the blood and money of others.
If Israel thinks it is so strong then let them go it alone, let them spill Jewish blood and not Christian, I sure donÃt want my grandchildren fighting a war for the jews.
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