Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard released from U.S. prison after 30 years

[vienna]

If this guy had just spied for Israel, for "the love of Israel" alone and had not been getting paid for doing so, I might be able to muster up a scant bit of empathy for his situation. But he was evidently conducting his activities for self-enrichment and given that he was not terribly discriminate about to whom he was serving up information (e.g., Pakistan, South Africa and Australia, et al) as long as they paid him and given his activities endangered US assets and operations, I really can't be in the mood for empathy or mercy. The man should have been left to rot in prison; he is little more than a profiteer, a mercenary, someone whose scruples and morality are fungible for a the right amount of compensation. When he finally goes to Israel, there is very little doubt he will be hailed as a hero and patriot by the government and people of Israel; I can't help but be reminded of the Flight 103 bombing and the release of the individual found to be culpable of the crime who, after serving part of his life sentence, was released and sent back to Libya where he was given a hero's welcome and feted as a patriot; such is what will happen when Pollard is sent to Israel and it is fully as reprehensible and fully a slap to the face of the US, its government and people. Whatever backroom deals have been made by the political, business, or religious interests to effect Pollard's release are a disgrace and those involved are a shame to the nation and the world...


<O>

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

Originally Posted by vienna

If this guy had just spied for Israel, for "the love of Israel" alone and had not been getting paid for doing so, I might be able to muster up a scant bit of empathy for his situation. But he was evidently conducting his activities for self-enrichment and given that he was not terribly discriminate about to whom he was serving up information (e.g., Pakistan, South Africa and Australia, et al) as long as they paid him and given his activities endangered US assets and operations, I really can't be in the mood for empathy or mercy. The man should have been left to rot in prison; he is little more than a profiteer, a mercenary, someone whose scruples and morality are fungible for a the right amount of compensation. When he finally goes to Israel, there is very little doubt he will be hailed as a hero and patriot by the government and people of Israel; I can't help but be reminded of the Flight 103 bombing and the release of the individual found to be culpable of the crime who, after serving part of his life sentence, was released and sent back to Libya where he was given a hero's welcome and feted as a patriot; such is what will happen when Pollard is sent to Israel and it is fully as reprehensible and fully a slap to the face of the US, its government and people. Whatever backroom deals have been made by the political, business, or religious interests to effect Pollard's release are a disgrace and those involved are a shame to the nation and the world...


<O>

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by vienna

If this guy had just spied for Israel, for "the love of Israel" alone and had not been getting paid for doing so, I might be able to muster up a scant bit of empathy for his situation. But he was evidently conducting his activities for self-enrichment and given that he was not terribly discriminate about to whom he was serving up information (e.g., Pakistan, South Africa and Australia, et al) as long as they paid him and given his activities endangered US assets and operations, I really can't be in the mood for empathy or mercy. The man should have been left to rot in prison; he is little more than a profiteer, a mercenary, someone whose scruples and morality are fungible for a the right amount of compensation. When he finally goes to Israel, there is very little doubt he will be hailed as a hero and patriot by the government and people of Israel; I can't help but be reminded of the Flight 103 bombing and the release of the individual found to be culpable of the crime who, after serving part of his life sentence, was released and sent back to Libya where he was given a hero's welcome and feted as a patriot; such is what will happen when Pollard is sent to Israel and it is fully as reprehensible and fully a slap to the face of the US, its government and people. Whatever backroom deals have been made by the political, business, or religious interests to effect Pollard's release are a disgrace and those involved are a shame to the nation and the world...


<O>

I completely agree and believe a life sentence should have been just that, especially in Pollard's case . The spy case has been damaging to relations between Israel and the U.S and remained a thorn in the sides of both. The current Prime minister of Israel , Benjamin Netanyahu, had been personally lobbying for Pollards release from prison and emigration to Israel. Terms of Pollards release are that he must remain inside the U.S for 5 years even though his wife resides in Israel.

Pollard is free today and those he betrayed are most likely deceased. Seems fair, doesn't it ?

[Platapus]

Free being a relative term. He still has 5 years in parole. Any violation and he is right back in the grey place.

He served his time and I am glad he had to serve the full time.

[vienna]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Free being a relative term. He still has 5 years in parole. Any violation and he is right back in the grey place.

He served his time and I am glad he had to serve the full time.

He didn't serve the full time: he was sentenced to life. He had entered into a plea deal in order to serve less time, but, because he, Pollard, had numerously times violated the terms of the agreement he had signed, the judge in the case saw fit to void the agreement and, instead, sentence Pollard to life in prison. Given that he couldn't even manage to keep his nose clean in order to keep his prison sentence at a minimum, there is serious doubt about his ability to faithfully observe the conditions of his parole. Pollard's life is rife with instances of his saying one thing and doing another. It can only be hoped he will run true to his previous rep and again wind up a guest of a US prison...

Incidentally, for those may have not fully looked up his transgressions, here is a bit from Wikipedia:

Pollard revealed aspects of the American intelligence gathering process, the “sources and methods”. He sold numerous closely guarded state secrets, including the National Security Agency's ten-volume manual on how the U.S. gathers its signal intelligence, and disclosed the names of thousands of people who had cooperated with U.S. intelligence agencies. Though Benjamin Netanyahu argued that he did not work for anyone but Israel, Pollard admitted shopping his services—successfully, in some cases—to other countries.

There is a very good friend of mine, who is Jewish, who has, in the past, attempted to defend Pollard's activities; I once asked him what Israel would do if an Israeli citizen had been selling Israeli intelligence secrets to foreign powers. He conceded Israel would no doubt imprison the offender in the worst conditions possible; I added the offender would be imprisoned, of course, but only if the Mossad or Shin Bet didn't get to the offender first, you know, maybe an "unfortunate accident"...


<O>

[XabbaRus]

I don't know about the US but here in the UK life usually means about 25 years.

He served 30 years, he's no longer a threat to society, in this case the US state. Just seems rather vengeful if you ask me. I don't think life on the inside was a picnic, and if just going by your reaction I don't think life on the outside is going to be either. I doubt he has many friends left.

Most spies do it for money. The days of the spying for a cause are over.

[Stealhead]

In the US life usually means 20 years at which point the person can apply for parole. In theory you can simply never be paroled. This is why often sentence are handed out that exceed even 100 years. That's a way to say you will spend your entire life in prison.

In the federal system there is no probation so if you get 30 years then you serve 30 years. State systems allow probation.

[Jimbuna]

He did the crime and did the time.