No Comparison Between Pollard and Ames Cases

April 1, 1994

Editor Rocky Mountain News Denver, CO

Re: Jonathan J. Pollard

To The Editor:

The March 1 columns of Holger Jansen ["Russian Bear can't Bite The Hand That Feeds it"] and Gene Amole - ["Betrayal Of Country An Unforgivable Act"] make false and highly misleading comparisons between the Aldrich Ames espionage case and the case of Jonathan J. Pollard.

First, Mr. Jansen declares that "[1]like Ames, the information Pollard passed to the Israelis cost the lives of some of our Arab informants." Mr. Amole repeats the same false charge. But the government has never charged that Mr. Pollard's actions led to the deaths of U.S. agents. If there were any such evidence, the government surely would have used it during Mr. Pollard's sentencing and Mr. Pollard's subsequent appeal. However, the government has never produced any such evidence.

Second, Mr. Amole declares that "Pollard . . . is unrepentant for what he did." Again, that is simply false. Mr. Pollard has repeatedly admitted that what he did was wrong and expressed great remorse for his actions.

Third, Mr. Amole suggests that Mr. Pollard, like Mr. Ames, was in it "for the money." However, Mr. Pollard sought out the Israelis and volunteered to give, not sell classified intelligence data to Israel concerning nuclear, chemical and biological weapons being constructed by Iraq and others for use against Israel -- information that Mr. Pollard believed the U.S. was withholding from Israel in violation of a treaty. (Defense Secretary-nominee Bobby Rudy Inman has admitted publicly that he cut off Israel from promised defensive information as retaliation for Israel's destruction of Iraq's nuclear reactors.) Everyone who has studied the record objectively knows that Mr. Pollard acted as he did because he could not stand the implications of silence in the face of another Holocaust, not for money.

Fourth Mr. Jansen suggests that the Ames case, like the Pollard case, involved "friends spy(ing) on each other." But Ames allegedly aided the Soviet Union when it was an implacable enemy of the U.S.; Mr. Pollard helped one of our closest allies. Moreover, Mr. Ames has been accused of intending to injure the U.S.; Mr. Pollard was not even charged with harming or having reason to know his actions would harm the U.S.

In short, the Pollard came has nothing to do with the Ames case.

Very truly yours,
Theodore B. Olson

The writer is the attorney for Jonathan Pollard.