by Christopher Manion
I've been hearing from friends who know this fellow at Defense – the one who's being tried in the media for leaking secrets to AIPAC, an operation based in Washington that appears to be closely allied to a foreign government.
According to published reports, Larry Franklin is the desk officer for Iran and allegedly gave some draft of some plan to someone in the AIPAC/Israeli complex.
First and foremost, Mr. Franklin is innocent until proven guilty – by a court, not by the press. But Mr. Franklin's ordeal brings other issues to mind as well. As all the commotion unfolds regarding this "mid-level official," it occurs to me that the "crime" he supposedly committed – sharing secrets with the Israelis – is something his superiors are doing every day – quite legally, I hasten to add. And so I wonder, why are they hanging this particular chap out to dry, twisting slowly in the wind?
In a word, why won't DoD Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary Douglas Feith step up to the plate, acknowledge that what this guy allegedly did was a minor microcosm of what they do, major league, big time, day in and day out? They could easily make their exit, stage left (where they came from, by the way) and join the crowd of former "Defense officials" in the sewer that Beltway types, and Richer Perle in particular (according to the NYT), all treat like their private hot tub?
Feith, Wolfowitz, and co. have all made it clear that they can chime in when Congressman Tom DeLay sings, "I am an Israeli at heart." This widespread conviction appears to be legal, if not entirely heartening, so what's the big deal? If Franklin shared any information with the Israeli government or its AIPAC branch, it was no different than walking down the hall to share it with Feith or Wolfowitz.
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