Israel Matzav

McFarlane calls for Pollard's release

Former Reagan National Security Adviser Bud McFarlane has called for Jonathan Pollard's release.

Former National Security Advisor Robert C. “Bud” McFarlane, who served under President Ronald Reagan from 1983-1985, recently wrote to President Obama and asked that he commute Jonathan Pollard’s sentence to time served. In his correspondence to the President, McFarlane calls former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger’s affidavit in the Pollard case part of the “manifestation” of Weinberger’s “recurrent episodes of strong criticisms and unbalanced reasoning when decisions involving Israel were being made.” Similar criticism of Weinberger had been made by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, who stated that Pollard’s life sentence was due to Weinberger’s “visceral hatred of Israel.”

In his letter to President Obama, McFarlane cited Weinberger’s inaccurate affidavit as the primary cause for Pollard’s disproportionate sentence. McFarlane noted to the President that Weinberger’s well-known bias toward Israel undoubtedly led him to file the damaging affidavit that essentially sealed Pollard’s fate.

“In this case, the resultant imprisonment of Mr. Pollard for more than 26 years is more than excessive and well beyond what any court would award for the same action today,” wrote McFarlane. “Mr. Weinberger’s unduly harsh and unwarranted severity was disgraceful and mean-spirited. It has resulted in a great injustice that I encourage you to mitigate by awarding clemency and commuting Jonathan Pollard’s sentence to time served.”

While rumors of the role that Secretary of Defense Weinberger’s anti-Israel sentiments played in the Pollard case have been debated for years, McFarlane, who as National Security Advisor dealt closely with Weinberger on matters of national intelligence, unequivocally confirms that Weinberger had an anti-Israel agenda in mind when he weighed in on the Pollard case.

McFarlane’s call for clemency for Jonathan Pollard is especially significant in that he was the National Security Advisor at the time when Pollard was investigated and ultimately charged with disclosing classified information to an ally without intent to harm the United States.

McFarlane’s letter is also extremely noteworthy in that it conveys to the President that the major decision makers who were intimately involved in the Pollard case and who were most informed on the impact of Pollard’s actions have all issued public calls for Pollard’s release, including former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Senator David Durenberger, who served as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at the time of Pollard’s conviction, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, who served as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee at the time of Jonathan Pollard’s sentencing, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, and former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane.

If the poll numbers are close, Pollard will be released by Obama around October 30. Mark your calendars. If not, Pollard will have to wait for a Republican to be elected.

Labels: Caspar Weinberger, Jonathan Pollard

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:15 AM