Analysis: Larry Franklin Suspected of Spying For Israel

Weekend Edition Sunday: August 29, 2004

LIANE HANSEN, host:

A career Pentagon intelligence analyst named Larry Franklin has been identified as being suspected of giving secrets to Israel. Government officials say the FBI has spent more than a year investigating whether Franklin passed classified information about Iran to the Israelis. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

MARY LOUISE KELLY reporting:

Larry Franklin is one of a handful of people who focus on Iran in the Pentagon's Near East/South Asia office. A Defense Department statement describes his job as desk officer level, not a position with significant influence over US policy. But Franklin has access to classified policy documents and, in some cases, would be involved in drafting them, according to a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official says Franklin travels to Israel regularly and has been there as recently as the past few months as part of his duties as a US Air Force Reservist. He says Franklin has, quote, "a close working relationship with people in Israel."

This case is attracting particular scrutiny because the Near East/South Asia office is overseen by Doug Feith, the number-three official at the Pentagon. Feith also oversaw pre-Iraq War intelligence operations that critics say exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime. Feith has consistently denied those charges.

The specific allegation today is that Franklin passed documents to the Israelis, including a draft presidential directive on US policy towards Iran, and that the exchange was made through AIPAC. That's the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington. AIPAC denies it played any role in the matter. Larry Franklin could not be reached for comment for this story, but a friend and business associate, Michael Ledeen, dismissed the allegations as laughable. Ledeen is a conservative analyst at the American Enterprise Institute. Back in December 2001, he arranged a secret meeting in Rome for Pentagon officials and Iranian dissidents. Among those attending were Larry Franklin and Manucher Ghorbanifar, a controversial Iranian arms dealer who played a central role in the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal. It's not clear whether the current investigation is linked to that meeting.

It's also not clear whether it will rise to the level of espionage or end up involving a lesser charge, such as mishandling of classified information. Either way, it's already deeply embarrassing for Israel, which says it stopped spying on the United States almost 20 years ago. That's when Jonathan Pollard, a US Navy intelligence officer, was found guilty of spying for Israel and was sentenced to life in prison. Mary Louise Kelly, NPR News, Washington.

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