Report: Obama weighed clemency for Pollard, but Biden vehemently opposed move

[Jefferson23]

New York Times quotes U.S. vice president as saying that convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard would be released 'over my dead body'.


“President Obama was considering clemency, but I told him, ‘Over my dead body are we going to let him out before his time.’ If it were up to me, he would stay in jail for life,” U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was quoted as saying during a meeting with rabbis in Florida in a New York Times article published on Saturday.

The Times article reported that U.S. President Barack Obama has turned to Biden to shore up support amongst U.S. Jews.

"As Mr. Obama confronts his re-election challenge and the prospect of fracturing support among core constituencies, he is relying increasingly on Mr. Biden for help with one particular group: American Jews, who routinely tend to vote Democratic but whom the Republicans are, once again, making a run at," the Times article read.

According to the Times article, Democratic party officials believe that Obama will not lose the support of U.S. Jews, especially after Obama's pro-Israel speech at the United Nations last week.

remainder: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-obama-weighed-clemency-for-pollard-but-biden-vehemently-opposed-move-1.387562

[Daltons]

1. Jonathan Pollard

Jonathan Pollard is more than just an Israeli spy.
He is a Traitor to his country.

[Cherchez la Femme]

5. A traitor by the suitcase(s) full

Pay the piper

[Meandering Kitten]

6. Not true.

He has paid way way too much already. He should be released immediately.

[Kolesar]

2. Pollard betrayed the US to finance his cocaine habit

http://raleigh3.com/spy-conference-the-strange-pollard-spy-case-p1873-1.htm

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Jonathan+Pollard%22+%22cocaine+habit%22&hl=en&sa=2

[Poll_Blind]

3. There is a good reason why every president since Reagan refused to release him.

And I don't know it. All 10 volumes of RASIN would be enough to keep anyone in the clink forever but there's always been the hint of something more and, if you read up on it, the negative response to releasing Pollard seems to be proportional to the level of clearance intelligence officials held. Except for presidents, who have allegedly entertained the thought from time to time but have always been dissuaded in the strongest terms against it.

Despite his cause célèbre among the ultra-conservative in Israel, most wisely avoid clanging the pots too loudly over the issue.

PB

[King_David]

4. I agree,there is something we do not know about this story nt

[Meandering Kitten]

7. Then what else did he do?

[Poll_Blind]

8. Rep. Weiner once said "Anyone who knows isn't talking, and anyone who is talking doesn't know,"

That about sums it up.

PB

[Donald Ian Rankin]

9. How long have other people who committed similar offences got?

I've repeatedly heard it claimed by right-wing Israelis that Pollard's sentence was stricter than the average of others who have committed similar offences, but I've never seen it from a source I consider reliable, and conversely I've never seen a supporter of keeping him in gaol set out to refute it.

Does anyone know if that's fair, or just propaganda?

[shaayecanaan]

10. Its a half-truth...

you can find details of people convicted of espionage here:-

http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/spies.pdf

While it is true that no one else received as lengthy a sentence for passing secrets to an allied government, this is largely a reflection of the fact that Pollard stole more material than anyone else. Its probably fair to say that most of the other spies were more contrite about their involvement than Pollard was, and more remorseful.