Posted on 05/11/2002 4:30:09 PM PDT by xvb
US army returns security clearance to Jewish
By ARIEH O’SULLIVAN
A US Army appeals board has decided to reinstate the security clearance of a Jewish officer on active reserve duty six months after the Army revoked it and forced him to give up command of an intelligence unit.
The officer, Maj. Shawn Pine, a veteran of the IDF’s Golani Brigade and the US Army Rangers, has waged a determined battle to return his security clearance since last fall when The Jerusalem Post first published the story.
At the time, the US Army took away his top-secret clearance after he disclosed that he had served a stint of IDF reserve duty while studying in Israel in 1996 and voting in the elections. He was not on active duty in the US Army at that time.
A US Army Spokesman said then that Pine’s suspension of his security clearance had nothing to do with his religion or nationality. It was revoked because he held dual citizenship. The tribunal ruled that the procedure for revoking Pine’s security clearance was faulty.
After losing his security clearance, Pine was transferred from command of the 300th Military Intelligence Company of Austin, Texas to a supply position. Pine, a specialist in counterintelligence, claimed the whole ordeal was due to his close ties with Israel and reflected an inherent anti-Semitism in the US intelligence community.
“The US intelligence community is a very small organization and notwithstanding the restoration of my clearance, my reputation and career are indelibly tarnished,” Pine told The Jerusalem Post.
“There are a minority of intellectually and ethically challenged individuals within the intelligence community. Ever since the Pollard incident, these people have been driven by an almost paranoid anti-Israeli/Semitic animus,” Pine said.
Born in the United States, Pine immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 17 in the late 1970s. He was conscripted into the IDF and served three years in the Golani Brigade. But after his discharge, he returned to America for university studies. He chose a military career and served nine years as an officer in active duty in the US Army.
“I will continue to fight the inherent anti-Semitic/Israeli atmosphere that I believe exists within segments of the US intelligence community and to ferret out these cells in much the same way we are going after al-Qaida cells,” Pine added.
A resident of San Antonio, the US officer was also critical of the lack of support he received from the American Jewish community.
“I attempted to elicit the support of the American Jewish community. I will characterize their support by simply saying their silence was deafening and it was fortuitous for Captain Alfred Dreyfus that he had Emile Zola to champion his cause and not any of these self-proclaimed leaders of the American Jewish community,” Pine said.
The above quote tells us everything we need to know about this man. His JOB in the army was to fight against those hostile to this country,NOT to go on some kind of religious/cultural crusade. If he feels this strongly,let him take his ass back to Israel.
Hehehe, Bump!!!
On the other hand, Major Pine claims that he gave up Israeli citizenship and was told by the US consolate in Tel-Aviv to agree to serve again in the Israeli army in 1996.
Bush wants to solve our illegal immigration problems by giving all of the illegal aliens amnesty. Maybe he'll determine, with his razor sharp mind, that we can solve the intelligence community's problems by just giving all of our secrets away.
After all, aren't we just one big, happy global community, anyway?
>sarcasm<
“I will continue to fight the inherent anti-Semitic/Israeli atmosphere that I believe exists within segments of the US intelligence community and to ferret out these cells in much the same way we are going after al-Qaida cells"
He should be out today.
Then I'd suppose, it's just a matter of time.
Good commentary, sol2; & as usual, highly thought provoking.
...thanks for the ping.
Nope. The guy who Will get out is Pollard, watch for it. America is totally compromised now.
You certainly are. You don't think that fighting anti-Semitism is worthwhile?
US strips Jewish army major of security clearance
By Arieh O'Sullivan
The US Army has revoked the security clearance of a Jewish reserve major, forcing him to give up command of an intelligence unit, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The officer claims the action was for no other reason other than his close ties and affiliation to Israel. He said this reflected an inherent anti-Semitism in the US intelligence community.
Maj. Shawn Pine, commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Company (Linguist) of Austin, Texas, holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and is also an IDF veteran of the Golani Brigade as well as the elite US Army Rangers.
Pine, a specialist in counterintelligence, said he was given top-secret clearance after going through a detailed background investigation and polygraph in 1991.
Born in the United States, Pine immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 17 in the late 1970s. He was conscripted into the IDF and served three years in the Golani Brigade. But after his discharge, he returned to America for university studies. He chose a military career and served nine years as an officer in active duty in the US Army.
"It is not like my service and affiliation with Israel was kept a secret. I have always been very forthcoming in disclosing all of my interactions with Israel," Pine said.
"As with many Americans, the events of September 11th reinvigorated my sense of patriotism," Pine said. "But rather than try to utilize my experience and education, the US intelligence community is mired in a paranoid abyss in which it perceives every Jew to be Jonathan Pollard."
---
I found antoher article that has an intereesting tidbit in it, seems another officer went AWOL last year.
http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/011102/officer.shtml
Jewish officer suspects discrimination
SHARON SAMBER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A Jewish reserve officer says the U.S. Army stripped him of his security clearance and forced him to give up command of an intelligence unit because of his ties to Israel.
Major Shawn Pine, commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Company of Austin, Texas, holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship and received his top security clearance in 1990 - until it was revoked this summer.
While Pine says the reasons are rooted in anti-Semitism, the army says it's just implementing a simple rules change.
Pine's story, which first appeared in the Jerusalem Post, brings up concerns of heightened sensitivity in the U.S. armed forces to officers with Israel connections.
Pine was born in the United States and immigrated to Israel with his family in the late 1970s. Like other Israeli citizens, he entered the Israel Defense Force, serving in the elite Golani Brigade.
After his discharge, Pine returned to the United States to attend George-town University. He later chose a military career and served nine years as an officer in the U.S. Army.
In 1995, Pine returned to Israel to study international relations at the Hebrew University, simultaneously doing his occasional IDF reserve duty.
Pine says he discussed his Israel connection with the U.S. Army when his security clearance came up for routine update. He even agreed to the unusual step of taking a polygraph test, Pine says, saying it seemed fair because he had "a lot of interaction with Israel."
But now Pine says his career is ruined, as it's unlikely that private companies that get government contracts for security-related work would hire him without a security clearance.
Pine claims there is a "blatant" connection between his case and that of Lt. Col. Jeremiah Mattysse, a senior intelligence officer who converted to Judaism and went AWOL in Israel last year. There was speculation that Mattysse had passed on military intelligence to the Jewish state, but he eventually was cleared.
Pine was contacted about his security clearance update only a month after the Mattysse incident.
"They're looking for Jewish officers," he said.
The Army Reserves says it is implementing new rules that prevent anyone who holds dual citizenship from having top security clearance.
Pine is "not the only one caught up in the rules change," said Joe Hanley, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Reserve Command.
"This is not a punitive action," agreed Steve Stromvall, another spokesman.
A research associate at the Ariel Center for Policy Research in Israel, Pine has published many articles on military and strategic affairs in the Middle East. His writings have appeared in Israel Affairs, The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and the Jerusalem Post.
The Anti-Defamation League's Houston office said it had been contacted by Pine and is investigating the case.
Jewish sensitivity to accusations of dual loyalty has increased since the infamous case of Jonathan Pollard.
A former analyst for U.S. Navy intelligence, Pollard was convicted of espionage in 1985 for passing secret U.S. military information to Israel, and was sentenced to life in prison.
Anti-Israel feelings may be "endemic" in the U.S. Army's intelligence community, Pine believes.
"When they see a Jew, they see a Jonathan Pollard," he said.
There is no doubt that certain quarters of the U.S. intelligence community harbor an underlying suspicion of Jews with connections to Israel, attorney Neal Sher said.
Sher represented former intelligence officer Adam Ciralsky, who charged that the CIA placed him on leave in 1997 because of his ties with Israel. Ciralsky sued the CIA last year, claiming that rampant anti-Semitism within the agency destroyed his career.
Sher said he does not know the details of Pine's case, but said it is reasonable that anti-Semitism and anti- Israel animus could have played a role.
"The organized Jewish community should take this very seriously," he said.
---
Major Pine has had numerous articles published on the Internet, and he appears to be widely used as a source-
http://www.acpr.org.il/people/spine
http://www.freeman.org/m_online/pinea.htm
http://www.israelmybeloved.com/news/analysis/020107_peres_political_realism_1.htm
----
My question is, why is dual citizenship handled differently with regard to Israel? None of the articles I found mentioned if Pine's parents were Israeli nationals. If his parents were American citizens who emigrated to Isreal, how does Pine obtain his "dual" citizenship? I know that Israeli law provides for the right of return, but that should not be allowed to trump U.S. law with regards to citizenship. If you become an Isreali citizen, if you serve in the IDF, if you vote, that should nullify your U.S. citizenship.
Maybe I have a special passport, but on page 5 of mine, it says that I can loose my citizenship by being naturalized into a foregin state, serving in the armed forces of another state. I would think that dual citizenship shouldn't even be an issue.
At the end of the day, I don't find myself at all uncomfortable with the concept that individuals with dual citizenship may have conflicted loyalties, and therefore should not have a security clearance. Sorry. Major Pine. I appreciate the service you've given, but it's a national security issue. There should be no excpetions.
You got it!
Don't flag me anymore. I have read enough of your stupid anti-Bush posts that I don't need anymore of your BS!
Hm, let's see: (1) He has dual-citizenship with Israel, a country that (2) has a history of destructive espionage activities against the U.S. (Fmr. SecDef Weinberger called the Pollard case the worst breach of U.S. security in history up to that time--a breach that likely cost the lives of several U.S. intelligence operatives overseas).
Sounds proper to me.
OTOH, restoring his security clearance sounds like the successful politics of the Israel lobby.
With the assault from the Left, Feminazis and foreign agents of influence, it is a wonder our military still gets the job done.
In the first place, "anti-Semitism" is just a subset of the "racism" that the Left sees hiding in every nook and cranny of U.S. society. In other words, the phrase is tired, hackneyed and descriptive of NOTHING but the paranoia of those who continue to spout it.
In the second place you can "fight" all you want if you're a private citizen. But when you are a U.S. military officer your efforts are to be engaged in fighting the enemies of the U.S.
This guy reminds me of the pedophile priest, Paul Shandley, who continually vowed that his "vocation" was fighting against "discrimination" of homosexuals and pedophiles within the Catholic Church. Uh-uh, my man. That AIN'T your mission. YOUR mission was supposed to be to save souls, not prey upon them.
This "officer" needs to get back to Israel where he can fight "anti-Semitism" full-time, and with the blessing of his superiors.
Israel is our best friend and ally.
Why do you hate Jews?
Courageous Major Shawn Pine is a credit to his country - a great patriot.
Israel is the only democracy west of the Pecos.
AMEN!
Now, now..don't decieve people who may not click into the link I provided.
My link above goes to an article in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.
The Ha'aretz article by Nathan Guttman has been posted on FR here:
Spies, or students? Israelis trying to sell paintings, or agents in an espionage ring? And here:
US/Israel Spy Scandal Refuses To Die
How many times have you pushed the abuse buttom this morning trying to get threads pulled or replies deleted?
A masterful use of deception in trying to win an argument that you are losing due to lack of evidence. Just claim that you are privy to confidential information which, "of course", proves your point beyond a shadow of a doubt, but unfortunately you can not release it because of its sensitivity. Game, set, match.
With that technique, you can win any argument in the world. UFO's abducting humans for medical experiments? Take my word for it, I've seen the evidence firsthand, and it is totally convincing. But I can't share it with you - it's only for people with clearances far above your level.
Therefore, his credibility is in serious question. So you can dismiss his comments about "no lobby." pfft.
Er...I assume you're being facetious, right? He's a "great Patriot" because he chooses to focus on his personal paranoias rather than doing his job as a U.S. military officer?
You need to remove the scales from your eyes re Israel. They are "friend" to no one but Israel. If the U.S. is useful to them, they'll play ball--until they need to cross us in some way to achieve their own ends.
When Clinton criminal Rahm Emmanuel won the Democratic primary for the House a while back, the same people who dismiss Israel spying on the USA were defending Emmanuel. As I'm sure you know, he was once an Israel citizen and did volunteer to work for the IDF during the Gulf War.
Won't that be swell to have him in our congress? He's probably be put right on the House Intelligence committee.
The more you look, the worse it gets.
LOL. So move to Bahrain Mr. Lied. You are so out of step with the GOP now anyway. And you should quit spreading that tin-foil hat 'art student 'spy' story. People who spread urban myths are weird.
God save the Constitutional Republic!
http://www.acpr.org.il/people/spine.html
Shawn Pine
Shawn Pine is a Major in the active US Army Reserves specializing in counterintelligence. He is currently commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Company (Linguist). He has published a myriad of articles concerning the prevailing military and strategic environment in the Middle East. His works have appeared in Israel Affairs, The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, The Jerusalem Post, and Nativ. He also contributed an article to the work From Rabin to Netanyahu: Israel's Troubled Agenda.
Mr. Pine's most recent article, "International Relations Theory and the Prospects for Peace in the Middle East", was published in the January 2002 issue of NATIV.
International Relations Theory and the Prospects for Peace in the Middle East
By Shawn Pine
http://www.acpr.org.il/NATIV/2002-1/2002-1-pinexs.htm
Strategic Analysis By Major Shawn Pine
http://www.io.com/~freeman/updates/589.htm
Yes.
You need to remove the scales from your eyes re Israel. They are "friend" to no one but Israel. If the U.S. is useful to them, they'll play ball--until they need to cross us in some way to achieve their own ends.
Do you really think Israel could be as lying and treacherous to it's true friend, the USA, as these lefties claim?
The United States first became aware of Dimona's existence after U-2 overflights in 1958 captured the facility's construction, but it was not identified as a nuclear site until two years later. The complex was variously explained as a textile plant, an agricultural station, and a metallurgical research facility, until David Ben-Gurion stated in December 1960 that Dimona complex was a nuclear research center built for "peaceful purposes."
There followed two decades in which the United States, through a combination of benign neglect, erroneous analysis, and successful Israeli deception, failed to discern first the details of Israel's nuclear program. As early as 8 December 1960, the CIA issued a report outlining Dimona's implications for nuclear proliferation, and the CIA station in Tel Aviv had determined by the mid-1960s that the Israeli nuclear weapons program was an established and irreversible fact.
United States inspectors visited Dimona seven times during the 1960s, but they were unable to obtain an accurate picture of the activities carried out there, largely due to tight Israeli control over the timing and agenda of the visits. The Israelis went so far as to install false control room panels and to brick over elevators and hallways that accessed certain areas of the facility. The inspectors were able to report that there was no clear scientific research or civilian nuclear power program justifying such a large reactor - circumstantial evidence of the Israeli bomb program - but found no evidence of "weapons related activities" such as the existence of a plutonium reprocessing plant.
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