« Previous · Home · Next »
Is it Treason?
By Townie 76
Sic Semper Tyrannis has been running a serious of articles on the Representative Jane Harman affair, for those who have not been following this rather sordid affair, Representative Harman was wiretapped talking with representatives of foreign intelligence service in which they sought her influence in matters of interest to their nation in return they would try to influence her selection as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
The real Harman story is about Israel intelligence operations directed against the United States which have brought about the systematic corruption of the America’s political system by a foreign power aided and abetted by friends strategically placed throughout the government and the media. Just imagine if Harman had obtained either senior intelligence position that she sought. She would have had access to every sort of top secret intelligence possessed by the US government and would have been in a good position to influence policy. From the Israeli perspective, she would have been their spy, a highly placed agent of influence who could also provide every bit of sensitive intelligence in the CIA cupboard. The apparent fact that she agreed to help an agent of a foreign government and was to be rewarded with advancement makes her something like Kim Philby, the British spy of the 1960s who progressed through his own system while secretly working for another country, Russia. Philby was a whole lot smarter, but the essential betrayal was the same. Those who argue that Israel is no Cold War Russia miss the point, as the national interests of the U.S. and Israel are far from identical, particularly after a series of right-wing governments in Tel Aviv has culminated in the current monstrosity of Netanyahu-Lieberman.
From a link on Sic Semper Tyrannis, here is a perspective found on Antiwar.com, while I do not necessarily agree with the sentiments of the Blog name, I found the arguments interesting. I would recommend that everyone concerned with National Security read as much as they can about the "Harman" affair as it may become major political news. Representative Jane Harman is one of the California Liberals who is held up by many on the left as being purer than Caesar's wife, yet it would appear she may not be the virgin she pretends to be. The question I have does Harman's action constitute Treason or it simply a case of helping a friendly nation?
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://op-for.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2137
Comments
Logan Act?
dan's right. this is disgraceful, to put it mildly.
From the Constitution:
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."
Since Harman was not levying war against us, adhering to our enemies or giving them aid and comfort, I'd say this does not rise to the level of treason.
What it is is another disgraceful example of one of our elected officials engaging in a quid pro quo for her own benefit at the expense of we the people. I would argue that it is certainly grounds for impeachment as well as criminal charges, but not treason.
Now, if we wanted to amend the Constitution to include this conduct under treason, I would be very OK with that notion.
I agree with all of the above, at the very least she needs to go! She is there to serve her country (persumbly the U.S.) not herself.
After looking at the charges, I think jumping to charges of treason in this case reflects more anti-Semitism than anything else. By all means, lock her up for corruption or bribery or whatever the crime actually is.
But treason? Everyone here is worldly enough to know that all our allies spy on us and do stuff like this, and we do the same to them. That's what "diplomacy" really is. But when Israel and AIPAC are involved, then you start screaming "treason!" The double-standard is pretty obvious.
Wasn't Pollard locked up for passing naval secrets to Isreal? The concern then, and now, is not that Israel will use the information to plot against us. The real concern is that, just like the US, the state of Israel pursues its own self-interest. It's not unreasonable to think that Israel might be willing to trade secrets from and/or influence with the US to garner an advantage with a 3rd party power. That was a problem with Pollard and naval secrets, and it's a problem now with foreign influence-peddling.
As mentioned above, treason is a high bar, that probably won't be met here. (Good call, too, about the Logan Act.)
A Representative has no business dealing directly with a foreign intelligence service. The House needs to investigate this, hard, fast, and publicly. I'm sure Nancy Pelosi will be thrilled to go after a fellow CA liberal.
...holding my breath...
Hello Ben:
Where does your accusation of anti-Semitic accusation come from?
To trump your ace, I merely reply, what would happen to a member of the Israeli government that was caught doing the same thing.
Democrat Harman was caught on wiretap tape offering to keep 2 SPIES against the United States, who happened to be Israeli. They were being charged criminally and she offerred to intervene with US Justice if they helped her become chair of the House intelligence committee.
And then Republican AG Gonzalez intervened with the Justice Department prosecution of Harman, as blackmail/extortion for her helping him with congressional hearing on warrantless wiretaps against the Bill of Rights of the US Citizens to help Republican George Bush...
Now, do I really have to be called an anti-semite because I don't like the idea my rights and liberties being traded away in a quid pro quo arrangement to let someone who was aiding and abetting spies of any affiliation, off the hook?
If there was a same or similar breach of loyalty by an Israeli Government official in aiding or abetting an american spy, the reaction would be far more vigorous than has occurred here.
And I think it is great that we have an ally in the world that generally takes care of its own defense so we don't have to expend American lives to defend them. The 6 day war comes to mind. Thank God that we have an ally to provide a balance of power in the Mid East.
All that having been said, tell me again how my position is anti-Semitic.
My expectation that US Elected officials are steadfastly loyal to America is no different than any Israeli Citizen's expectation is that their politicians are steadfastly loyal to Israel.
Respectfully,
The Cynical Patriot
if you want to buy here is some good Website
for another you can see this any more
Post a comment
Potential comment conditions listed here. Oh, and you may use basic HTML for formatting.
Whenever an agent of the government agrees to do anything for a foreign power with the goal of personally gaining something, I call that treason.
I know this is a high standard and we should expect no less.
I am personally sympathetic with Israel, however the country involved could be the UK, France, Germany, China, Russia, Mexico or Canada...it doesn't matter. Treason is treason.