Whitewashing Pollard
I believe that Jonathan Pollard should be granted clemency for humanitarian reasons. However, I do not support the attempt to whitewash his sins (“Pollard’s plight,” Letters to the Editor, March 10).
Jonathan Pollard was a paid spy for Israel. He stole hundreds of highly classified documents and turned them over to a foreign country. It is not relevant which country he passed them to.
He was sentenced to life in prison, which was upheld by a unanimous ruling of a three-judge appeals court. Apparently, the judges were influenced by a letter written by Casper Weinberger, Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan. The letter has never been produced but is reported to have suggested that some of the documents fell into the hands of another country and compromised CIA operations. There is no way to verify the truth of those accusations. What we do know is that George Tenet, who served as the head of the CIA under President Bill Clinton, said he threatened to resign if Clinton granted amnesty to Pollard.
No one connected with this case claims that Pollard did not deserve to be punished. Most feel that he has been punished enough.
Marvin Bograd
East Windsor
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