It is always sad to see the reactions about freeing Pollard. He might be free today when you read this, but as I write he is still locked up. The American president seems to feel that since he has someone of ours (Pollard) and Israel wants him freed, Israel should free 400 or more Arab murderers and stop building in Judea and Samaria in return. Excuse me, please, for not understanding. I am sure that everyone in the United States already realizes that anyone who was caught spying against the U.S. for an enemy power would be out of jail after 10 or 20 years.

What is special about Jonathan Pollard? He did spy for another government, but I guess that it is far worse because he spied for an American ally rather than spying for an enemy. It is true that the information he passed was important to that American ally (Israel) and that the information was being withheld from Israel for some unknown reason, despite the agreements to share between allies. I guess that spying for a friendly government is worse than spying for an enemy government and gathering information useful against American interests. Pollard is a Jew who was helping Israel. Whoops, that may be much worse than being a Christian or a Muslim spying against America.

I do not know if Pollard did what he did for altruistic reasons or if he did it for money or if, as some news sources love to claim, he was unstable all along. Pollard was a civilian working for U.S. Navy intelligence. A family friend seems to have set him up with an Israeli handler and Pollard volunteered to spy.

Today it seems immaterial what secrets he passed along, but from reports it was related to artillery developments in several Arab countries. It was reported that the Israelis continued to ask for secrets directly related to their security which included information about Arab and Pakistani nuclear secrets and capabilities of the Soviet weapons in Arab hands, which the U.S. should have shared with its ally, Israel!

I do not believe that Pollard was innocent or that he should receive a commendation for his acts. America withheld data from Israel because it felt that it was in the best interest of the United States to do so, even if I disagree. There are reports that Pollard did it for the money and that he handed over “suitcases of secrets” until his arrest in November 1985. No citizen should be allowed to make that kind of decision, even if he wasn’t doing it for the money. How would we react if a Muslim American would steal United States secrets about Israel and turn them over to Saudi Arabia, an American ally?

But enough is enough. Many spies who spied for Russia, an enemy of the U.S., have been released after serving fewer years in prison. David Henry Barnett was a CIA officer convicted of espionage, who admitted that he had sold CIA secrets to the Soviets. He was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment and was paroled in 1990 after serving only ten years.

Harold Nicholson was convicted of selling U.S. intelligence to Russia and was sentenced to 23 years, 7 months of imprisonment in 1997. Prosecutors believed that he had sold the identities of all the U.S. intelligence officers stationed in Russia, as well as the identities of his trainees at the CIA school.

William Kampiles, a CIA officer, was charged with espionage, and convicted. His prison sentence was reduced to 19 years, and he was released in 1996, after serving 18 years.

Israel has launched another military satellite to keep an eye on Iran as the Islamic Republic ramps up its nuclear development program.

While international leaders continue to negotiate with Iran over slowing down its race to develop nuclear arms – an intent it denies despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary – Israel is watching Tehran very closely. Iran has repeatedly vowed to wipe Israel “off the map.”

On Wednesday the Defense Ministry sent its newest “eye in the sky” heavenward to join its predecessors in the mission to keep tabs on Iran and other enemies of the Jewish State.

The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)’s Ofek 10 reconnaissance satellite is expected to orbit the Earth every 99 minutes – 800 times a year — from an altitude of 373 miles (600 kilometers) officials said. The process should take about 64,000 minutes annually. Like its predecessor, the new satellite was launched from the Palmachim Airbase near Rishon Lezion. And although the Ofek 9 carried a multi-spectral ‘Jupiter’ space camera produced by El-Op, its new brother has better equipment.

The camera on the Ofek 10 reportedly boasts resolution “much better than half a meter,” and is sharp enough to detect objects being carried by people, officials said. It is also capable of photographing under different lighting and changing weather conditions.

Two other Israeli satellites, the Ofek 5 and the Ofek 7, are still orbiting the Earth as well.

The Jewish State’s tenth satellite will also send images to other intelligence agencies.

President Barack Obama is taking it on the chin for the suggestion that the United States free Jonathan Pollard in exchange for Israel’s releasing terrorists and agreeing to a partial building freeze on building Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria – all of this in order to keep Israel and Palestinian Authority on the diplomatic war path for another year.

Obama has repeatedly rejected any idea that Pollard be freed from his life punishment for passing on to Israel classified information during his work for the Pentagon.

Maybe the president is smoking something strange. He talked his way into office, and now he is doing a great job in proving he is not much of anything besides a  great orator and a brilliant comedian.

But his handling of “Pollard for terrorists and peace talks” is no joke.

It would be interesting which presidential advisers came up with the horrendous notion of freeing Pollard so Israel can free terrorists so John Kerry can talk  and talk.

Obama is ultimately responsible, as the buck stopped at his desk when he backed the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, backed the Muslim Brotherhood regime, backed the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood regime, backed military action against Syria and backed no military action in Syria.

It is a small wonder that an Associated Press poll released last week showed that only 59 percent, and not 89 percent, of Americans disapprove of the way he is running the country.

Even The New York Times would have a hard time coming up with an excuse for the immorality of deciding that Pollard can go free because the President of the United States thinks that the security of Americans is dependent on another year of tortured conversations between American mediators and negotiators for the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

Dozens of American officials and former officials have said Pollard was dealt a fixed deck and an unfair trial.

Although anyone who knows how much or how little damage Pollard has done to the United States isn’t talking, perceptions are more important than the truth when it comes good ol’ American patriotism.

The Pollard episode, for whatever harm it may have done to the United States, did more harm to the American ego.

The revelation that Pollard worked as a double agent made him a traitor in the eyes of millions of Americans, and U.S. media still report he was convicted for “spying,” which is not true.

Obama showed some cold feet Tuesday, and White House press secretary Jay Carney said “no decision” has been made.

Criticism of freeing Pollard is coming from all quarters, including defense and intelligence officials, politicians and even a former Middle East negotiator.

“I think what he did is exceeded only by Edward Snowden,” Retired Adm. Thomas Brooks told Foreign Policy.

The Christian Science Monitor reported, “Pollard peddled secrets that included details of US spy satellites, analyses of foreign missile systems, and the extent of NSA surveillance of foreign governments.

“He reportedly offered material to South Africa, Argentina, and Taiwan, and was in touch with officials in Pakistan. Then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger testified in court that the US national security community suspects that much of what Pollard stole ended up with the Soviet Union, through the USSR’s own network of spies and moles.”

Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations, wrote in TIME Magazine, “Releasing Pollard… reflects the weakness and desperation of an administration that is presiding over a peace process not yet ready for prime time.

“What does the administration get for releasing Pollard — something none of its predecessors agreed to do? A final deal on Middle East peace? How about just an agreed framework to guide the negotiations? How about agreement on just one ball-busting-tough issue like borders or Jerusalem?

Egyptian authorities said Tuesday they have charged two alleged Israeli Mossad intelligence agents and two Egyptians with plotting to spot on behalf of Israel by gathering information with “the intent of damaging national interests in exchange for money and gifts and sex.”

Egypt’s public prosecutor identified the Israelis as Samuel Ben Ze’ev and David Wisemen, but it was not clear if they still are in the country, Reuters reported. The prosecutor ordered that they, along with Egyptians Ramzy Mohammed and a woman named Sahar Ibrahim, “be sent to a Cairo criminal court for spying for the interests of the state of Israel.”

Mohammed was accused of “sleeping with women who work in Israeli intelligence” and recruiting Ibrahim to spy.

Former captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit wrote in an open letter that all Israelis should demand that the United States free jailed spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard.

Israeli officials have said that the revelation over the weekend that the United States spied on at least two sitting Israeli prime ministers opens the door for Israel to demand the release of Pollard, who has served 29 years of a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

“After Israel has released terrorists with blood on their hands as a gesture to the Palestinians, a return gesture is all that is being requested,” Shalit said in his open letter. “I believe, and I think that like myself all of the People of Israel believe that the Prime Minister’s request for such a simple gesture, the release of Jonathan Pollard, is owed to us by right, and is not a favor,” he wrote.

“Please, everyone, join me, in a clear demand to our friends, the Americans: we have already freed scores of murderous terrorists with blood on their hands at your request – now it is your turn to make a gesture to us! It may even save Pollard’s life,” he wrote.

Shalit appeared to be reacting to reports, including one by Israel’s Channel 2, that Israel is linking a Pollard release to the current Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and will ask that Pollard’s release be linked to Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners. The third group of prisoners is scheduled to take place at the end of the week. Channel 10 quoted White House officials as saying that freeing Pollard is not on up for discussion

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will demand from President Barack Obama that he free Jonathan Pollard from jail as a condition for the next scheduled release of Palestinian Authority terrorists, according to Israel’s Channel 2 television.

The office of the Prime Minister has not commented on the report, which did not quote a specific source. Channel 2 also is not always accurate in some of its exclusive reports, and Channel 10 responded with a quote from the White House that there is no connection between Pollard and this past weekend’s report that  the United States spied on former Israeli prime ministers.

Israel leaders have jumped on the report to proclaim that the United States cannot justify spying on Israel while keeping Pollard behind bars. He was sentenced to life in jail for releasing classified documents, but he was not convicted for spying.

Pollard in the past has said he is adamantly opposed to being used as an excuse to free terrorists.

Ehud Barak’s apartment in the exclusive Akirov Towers. It’s an expensive neighborhood to rent in for a simple Marine guard.

The US spy scandal goes from bad to worse according to a Yediot Achronot report that says the US rented an apartment across the street from then Defense Minister Barak, apparently to spy on him.

The apartment housed a single US Marine, whom Israeli Intelligence noted in 2007 had brought in an unusually large amount of electronic equipment into his apartment. The US claims the marine was simply an embassy guard.

In light of all the spying the US has been doing on Israel, Israeli officials have been calling for the release of Jonathan Pollard.

An American fugitive living in Iran told the Christian Science Monitor that  he saw six Iranian policemen “detain” Robert Levinson  in 2007.  The account by African-American Dawud Salahuddin contradicts years of denials by Iran that it was not involved with is disappearance.

The U.S. government also has consistently claimed that Levinson traveled to an Iranian Persian Gulf island as a private citizen despite new reports that confirm that the former Jewish FBI agent was working for the CIA when he landed in Iran.

Levinson has met with Salahuddin at a hotel on the resort island of Kish to recruit him as a source, the newspaper said. Salahuddin stated that plainclothes policemen “took me away, and when I left – we were down in the lobby – Levinson was surrounded by four Iranian police.”

Salahuddin spent the night in jail, and when he returned to the hotel the next day, he was told that Levinson has been taken away in custody.

Salahuddin “believes an arrangement may have been reached with Iran to secure Levinson’s release,” according to the Monitor. “So if he shows up in a three-piece suit, clean shaven, and brand new shoes in Muscat [Oman] in the next couple of days, I won’t be the least bit surprised.”