The dark side of the ‘special relationship’
A silent battle has been raging right under our noses, a fierce underground struggle pitting the U.S. against one of its closest allies. For all its newsworthiness, the media has barely noticed the story – except when it surfaces, briefly, like a giant fin jutting above the waves. The aggressor in this war is the state of Israel, with the U.S., its sponsor and protector, playing defense. This is the dark side of the “special relationship” – a battle of spy vs. spy.
[snip]
And now a new front has been opened up in this subterranean war with the arrest of Stewart David Nozette, a top U.S. scientist who worked for the Pentagon, had access to the most closely guarded nuclear secrets, and was the lead scientist in the search for water on the moon.
Nozette’s case is interesting because of his impressive resume: he held top positions with the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and NASA, and he served on the White House National Space Council under George H.W. Bush. From 1989 until March 2006, he held “Q” clearance, which means he had access to “critical nuclear weapon design information” and vital information concerning 20 “special access programs” – secrets only a very few top government officials had knowledge of.
An FBI affidavit says that on Sept. 3, Nozette received a telephonecall from an individual purporting to be an Israeli intelligenceofficer, but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. The twodiscussed Nozette’s willingness to work for Israeli intelligence, theaffidavit said. Nozette allegedly told the agent, “Well, I should tellyou my first need is that they should figure out how to pay me … theydon’t expect me to do this for free.”
Nozettetwice passed information to the FBI agents, according to papers in thecase. In one instance, Nozette was captured on videotape allegedlyleaving a manila envelope with classified information concerning capabilities of a prototype overhead surveillance system, the court papers say.