[iwar] [fc:US.Army.Strips.Jewish.Major.Of.Security.Clearance.For.Ties.To.Israel]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-24 10:24:48
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 10:24:48 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:US.Army.Strips.Jewish.Major.Of.Security.Clearance.For.Ties.To.Israel]
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Jerusalem Post
October 24, 2001
US Army Strips Jewish Major Of Security Clearance For Ties To Israel
By Arieh O'Sullivan
JERUSALEM - The US Army has revoked the security clearance of a Jewish
reserve officer, forcing him to give up command of an intelligence unit, The
Jerusalem Post has learned. 
The officer, Maj. Shawn Pine, claims it was only because of his close ties
to Israel and reflected an inherent anti-Semitism in the US intelligence
community. 
Pine, commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Company (Linguist) of
Austin, Texas, holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and is also a veteran of
the IDF's Golani Brigade and the US Army Rangers. 
A specialist in counterintelligence, Pine said he was given top-secret
clearance after going through a detailed background investigation and
polygraph in 1991. 
Born in the US, Pine immigrated to Israel with his family at 17 in the late
1970s. He was conscripted and served in the Golani Brigade. After his
discharge, he returned to America for university studies. He chose a
military career and served nine years as an officer 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 11 reinvigorated my sense
of patriotism. 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." 
A spokesman for the US Army Reserve confirmed that Pine's security clearance
was revoked and he is being reassigned from his current command. 
"The standards that applied to him apply to everyone. It has nothing to do
with his religion or his nationality," said Steve Stromvall, spokesman for
the US Army Reserve Command. "It is the fact of dual citizenship. It had
nothing to do with his being Jewish or a citizen of the State of Israel." 
Pine claims the decision to revoke his top-secret security clearance and
reassign him from his command was baseless. 
Pine said he left active duty in 1995 and came to Israel for two years where
he pursued his doctorate. During that period, he was called up for a stint
of reserve duty. Pine said he consulted with the military attache at the US
Embassy at the time and was informed him "there was nothing that could be
done and I had to obey all Israeli laws." 
He reported for duty. He also voted in the 1996 elections. When he left
Israel in 1997, he did so on his Israeli passport as required by law. 
The US Embassy declined to comment on the matter. 
Upon return to the US, he went into the active reserve and for the past
three years has commanded the 300th Military Intelligence Company. Trouble
started last summer when his periodic reinvestigation for his security
clearance came up and he disclosed that he had been called up to reserve
duty while in Israel. 
Ironically, this happened in August 2000, just when the US Army was
embarrassed by the disappearance of Lt.-Col. Jeremiah Mattysse, a senior
intelligence officer who converted to Judaism and went AWOL in Israel. 
Originally suspected of espionage, Mattysse was eventually allowed to retire
with full benefits. 
Pine had been in contact a number of times with Mattysse when the latter
commanded the Southwest Area Reserve Intelligence Center. He said it was to
"run interference" for soldiers in his command who were providing support
for a non-army agency mission. 
Pine is certain the Mattysse case sparked the witch-hunt against him. 
"I believe that they are revoking my clearance on the most spurious of
reasons, a function of profiling and a decision to ferret out Jewish
officers who have connections with Israel," Pine said. "A few months after I
provided my statement I was asked to take a polygraph. That is an
extraordinary procedure and not part of the normal investigative process. 
"I was told that up until then everything with the background investigation
was fine and that they just wanted to be sure that nothing had happened
while I was in Israel. I readily agreed, and passed the polygraph. Yet they
still revoked my clearance based upon information that was in their
possession prior to my taking the polygraph. 
"Not only did they blatantly lie, I think this clearly demonstrates they had
nefarious intentions," Pine said. 
He said he was told that mere possession of a foreign passport is sufficient
to be denied access. 
Stromvall said that Pine is currently in a process of appealing the
decision. However, he said dual citizenship is incompatible with the
standards for access to classified military information. 
"Anyone who carries dual citizenship and does things to indicate that this
is active is going to have difficulty keeping and maintaining a security
clearance. That would be true with any country and not necessarily Israel,"
Stromvall said. 
Nevertheless, Pine said he believes this is only enforced with Israeli
passport holders. 
"I know a number of soldiers that have foreign passports, yet they have not
had their access revoked, so apparently this criteria - whose interpretation
is not supported by written guidelines - is reserved for Jews holding an
Israeli passports," Pine said. 
"They are basing their decision to revoke my clearance solely on my
statement that I provided them. If I had not voluntarily disclosed this
information, they would never had known that I had been called to reserve
duty while in Israel. Whoever said honesty is the best policy obviously
never dealt with the US Army. Unfortunately, this action will have a
chilling effect on any voluntary disclosure of information," Pine said. 
"The impact on my career is total devastation. It is ended. They are pulling
my whole clearance, which means that I can't be an officer and continue to
serve," Pine said. 
He said that he is being force to end his career with little over a year
before he is eligible for retirement.

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