@@ Pentagon: Jews own us @@
Arash
September 5, 2004
Policy Wonk in Spy Probe
Pentagon colleagues recall Larry Franklin, suspected of passing information
to Israel, as a 'journeyman analyst' often buried in papers.
By Mark Mazzetti
WASHINGTON - For two decades as an intelligence analyst and policy wonk at
the Pentagon, Larry Franklin built his career tracking threats.
He monitored the collapse of the Soviet Union and became obsessed with the
growing threat of Middle East terrorism that came in its wake. He spent long
hours behind piles of papers and books in Pentagon cubicles. And in foreign
capitals and Washington restaurants, he met with diplomats and dissidents to
exchange information, gather intelligence and trade gossip.
It is during one of those meetings, however, that U.S. officials question
whether Franklin may have crossed a line by allegedly passing a classified
document about U.S. policy on Iran to members of a pro-Israel lobbying
group, who in turn may have given it to Israeli officials in Washington.
With this, the once anonymous Washington bureaucrat - described by
colleagues, friends and critics as diligent and thoughtful yet often
unreliable and disorganized - became involved in a long-running FBI probe
into Israeli espionage in the nation's capital.
FBI officials have not sought charges, but sources have indicated the scope
of the investigation includes a top diplomat at the Israeli embassy;
high-ranking executives of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC), a powerful and respected lobbying organization; and the Pentagon
office in which Franklin works as an Iran analyst.
Unlike convicted 1980s spy Jonathan Jay Pollard, who worked as a Navy
analyst, Franklin is not suspected of being a paid agent.
Franklin has not responded to requests for interviews. Pentagon officials
said he remained a full employee of the Defense Department.
The classified document that officials said might have been handed over was
a draft version of a national security presidential directive, or NSPD, on
Iran. When signed by the president, an NSPD is a formal statement of U.S.
policy toward a specific country.
At the time of Franklin's alleged encounter with the Israelis, however,
senior U.S. officials in Washington were still debating the draft document.
In recent days, FBI officials have said that such a document in Israeli
hands could have given the country improper influence in the U.S. debate
over Iran - a country Israeli officials consider to be a major threat.
Many U.S. officials familiar with the investigation said there was little
hard evidence that Franklin intended to commit espionage and no hint that he
was paid for whatever his role might have been. There was more evidence,
they said, that Franklin might have foolishly handed over the document
without understanding the gravity of his actions.
In addition, current and former officials said that the draft document,
which originated at the Pentagon's Near East and South Asian Affairs, or
NESA, office where Franklin worked - yet which was not drafted by Franklin -
contained little in the way of sensitive secrets that had not been reported
by the media already.
"It was sort of like a lengthy op-ed, arguing what U.S. policy toward Iran
should be," said a former Pentagon official familiar with the contents of
the document.
At the same time, the former official said the draft NSPD advocated measures
the U.S. could take to help destabilize the regime in Tehran, such as more
radio transmissions to the country and bolstering U.S. contacts with Iranian
dissidents.
The document argued that the U.S. practice of diplomatic engagement with
officials in Tehran was essentially a failure. During the early months of
2003, when the document was being drafted, White House and State Department
officials had been meeting secretly with Iranian diplomats in Geneva, an
effort to improve lines of communication between the two nations.
After more than two years of debate among top U.S. officials, an NSPD on
Iran has yet to be agreed upon by top officials and signed by the president.
According to documents released by the Pentagon, Franklin joined the Army as
an active duty soldier in 1969, transferring to the reserves in February
1972. He switched services nearly a decade later, joining the Air Force
Reserve as a captain in 1981 with a specialty in intelligence.
While working at the Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, Franklin became an
expert in Soviet counterespionage. As the Soviet threat receded with the end
of the Cold War, Franklin began studying Farsi and refashioned himself an
Iran expert.
He was promoted to colonel in May 2000. Colleagues said that he fulfilled
many of his annual two-week military commitments by serving as a defense
attache at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
During the late 1980s, as Iran continued to fight a war with Iraq over
disputed territory, Franklin worked on Middle East affairs in the
intelligence shop of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, providing the chiefs of
each branch of the U.S. military with intelligence analysis on worldwide
threats.
Franklin's colleagues from that time said his work didn't stand out in
either a positive or negative way.
"He was not a guy you thought was going to be a major figure in DIA," said
Patrick Lang, who as Defense intelligence officer for Middle East affairs
during the 1980s was Franklin's supervisor. "He was kind of a journeyman
analyst."
Often buried behind huge stacks of documents, Franklin reminded many of his
former colleagues of an absent-minded professor.
"We'd always put Larry in a room by himself or in a corner, to protect
people from the avalanche of paper that might fall on their heads," said one
former colleague.
"He could use a computer - slowly, typing with one finger. But more often, a
computer was merely a good place to deposit yellow sticky notes."
After the Bush administration came into office, Franklin left the
intelligence sphere in summer 2001 and moved into a policy office that soon
would become one of the most influential departments in the U.S. government.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the NESA office was the Pentagon's lead civilian
department for planning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as helping
to formulate U.S. policy toward countries such as Iran and Syria.
Ideologically, Franklin was aligned with superiors at the Pentagon's policy
office, in particular Douglas J. Feith, the undersecretary of Defense who
runs the office, and William J. Luti, the head of NESA, who answers to
Feith. Franklin shared their belief in the need for regime change in Iraq, a
hard-line stance against Iran and unwavering support for Israel.
Franklin met often with Israeli officials in Washington during his time at
NESA, taking a particular interest in how Israel has dealt with terrorists.
Franklin's specialty was Iran. But he became one of the office's primary
analysts working on the plans for the Iraq war and its aftermath. During
2002 and early 2003, he traveled to Turkey and Britain to meet with
dissident Iraqi groups hoping to play a role in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.
During this period, however, he slowly fell out of favor with top Pentagon
Iraq hawks such as Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz. Sources said
that Franklin often brought Iraqi dissidents to Wolfowitz's office who
turned out to be of little value for the war-planning effort.
"Frankly, he didn't work under deadline and he failed to produce anything of
interest," said one former Pentagon official who worked with Franklin. "Some
of his contacts were a waste of time."
Franklin's influence within NESA continued to wane over the last year, some
U.S. officials said, explaining that he clashed often with Luti.
Yet friends and colleagues remain puzzled about how Franklin could be under
investigation.
If he was a spy, he certainly had access to information that would be far
more valuable to a foreign government than a draft U.S. policy position
toward Iran, they said.
Besides, there are few officials in Washington working in national security
affairs who haven't worked closely with Israel at some point during their
career, some colleagues added.
"When you work in the Pentagon for 20 years, you get to know the Israelis,"
said one former colleague of Franklin. "And the Israelis get to know you."