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.Spy Probe Tests US-Israel Ties
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-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a statement.
- - .
AlPAC, too, proclaims innocence. IIAny allegation ofcrimJnal conduct by AlPAC or our employees is
false and baseless,II a statement says.
StilJ, now that the probe has become public, speculation will contiriue until a conclusion,is reached. And
whether Israel is guilty or not, there wil~
be residual damage to the relationship, experts say. For one
thing, it reminds people ofthe time Israel was caught spying on the US once before. In 1987, a US Navy
intelligence analyst, Jonathan Pollard, ~mitted to selling state secrets to the Israelis. "I think this will
'escort us for many years to come,1I says ,Danny Yatom, a fonner chiefofthe Mossad, Israel's foreign
intelligence ann. IIThere was one attempt made by Pollard, and since then there is still an assessment that
Israel will try again whenever it is l?ushed into a comer.."
In ~ddition,
experts say the relationship,between the US and Israel has become so lax - because'ofthe
cozy ties between the two countries at the moment - that there was bound to be this sort ofproblem. "The
Israelis have always had more access tnan other friendly countries," says Patrick Lang, fonner head of
Middle East intelligence at the Defense, Intelligence Agency. tiThe liaison relationships between the
Israeli and American services are highl)' developed, codifie4, and have functioned for many years. II
In this climate, he says, it is easy to share information without checking the rulebook, which can lead to
problems. Indeed, some experts say the' level ofsharing will provoke other questions, even ifthe incident
turns out not to be serious.
"Why does this guy thjnk he should share this type ofinfonnation? asks Mr. Walsh. IIIfthis is just
standard operating procedure, then it does raise serious policy issues."
It is still not clear whether'the cl.1arge~
Will be serious (possibly espionage), or something more mundane
(mishandling ofdocuments), or whether there will be charges at all. FBI officials reportedly were tipped
to a potential problem months ago by ai series ofemail exchanges. The investigation recently ratcheted up
to the point where Justice Department officials have begun briefing Pentagon officials.
- Josh Mitnick contributedfrom .Tel Av(".
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