Aug. 10, 2006 --   Rumsfeld and Israeli spy Larry Franklin reported to have been very
close.

Larry Franklin, the Pentagon Office of Special Plans Iran and Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA) analyst and reserve Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who was temporarily posted at the
U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, served as a virtual personal liaison for Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld, according to U.S. intelligence sources who have spoken to WMR. Franklin,
who pleaded guilty to passing classified information, including CIA Sensitive
Compartmented Information (SCI), to two America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
officials who passed the information to an Israeli embassy Mossad agent, was sentenced to
twelve years and seven months in prison and a $10,000 fine in January. The two AIPAC
employees, Steven Rosen and Keith Weisman, were indicted for illegally receiving
classified information. Franklin and other neo-con cell members -- Harold Rhode and
Michael Ledeen -- conducted secret negotiations with the knowledge of Rumsfeld and
Pentagon policy chief Douglas Feith -- with the Iranian government through the offices of
Iran-Contra co-conspirator Manucher Ghorbanifar.  According to U.S. State Department
sources, Rhode is also very close to Iranian neo-con ally and Iraqi oil industry majordomo
Ahmad Chalabi and that the relationship is said to be more than merely professional.

Although the Pentagon quickly distanced itself from Franklin after his arrest and
revelations of the AIPAC-Mossad espionage program, U.S. intelligence sources report that
Franklin accompanied Rumsfeld on his May 1, 2003 and February 26, 2004 trips to Kabul,
Afghanistan and acted as his personal Pushto and Dari interpreter with Afghan officials.
The sources claim that Franklin had a collegial photograph taken of himself with Rumsfeld
and Afghan President Hamid Karzai during the Afghan visit. Franklin also speaks Farsi,
Urdu, Arabic, and Hebrew. Franklin boasted to his colleagues that he learned the languages
from his Pakistani, Afghan, and Iranian colleagues and bosses while working as a tax cab
driver in New York City.

 

Convicted Israeli spy Larry Franklin (l.) and Donald Rumsfeld (r.) reported by U.S.
intelligence officers to have been "extremely close."

U.S. intelligence officials also revealed that Franklin repeatedly attempted to recruit
other U.S. intelligence personnel to work in a "NOC" or "non official cover program."
Later, it was discovered the "NOC" program was not American but Israeli.

The fact that Franklin was so close to Rumsfeld, whose coterie of advisers has been very
small and largely non-inclusive of uniformed military personnel, makes Rumsfeld a prime
suspect in the AIPAC espionage case and a possible severe national security risk.

Aug. 9, 2006 -- UPDATED 8/10. A U.S. Navy sailor is reportedly under investigation by Navy
authorities with spying for Israel and desertion. On July 29/30, WMR reported on the
largely forgotten last Israeli spy in the military, Lt. Col. Jeremiah Matysse, an
intelligence officer in Texas who deserted to Israel but was returned to the U.S. in 2000.

Navy Fire Control Technician Petty Officer Third Class Ariel J. Weinmann, who served on
board the USS Albuquerque (SSN-706), a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine, was
detained by federal authorities at Dallas-Fort Worth airport after returning from Mexico
City and while en route to Vancouver, British Columbia. Weinmann was listed as a deserter
in July 2005. He is now being held in the Norfolk Naval Station brig under maximum
security. Navy authorities have been reluctant to release the name of the country involved
in the espionage case. The Middle East newspaper Al Watan, is reporting that the country
in question is Israel. The Jerusalem Post is referring to the Al Watan story in today's
edition. The Norfolk media is suggesting a Russian connection to the case. However, as
noted in this editor's book, "Jaded Tasks," there are strong connections between Israeli
intelligence and the global Russian-Ukrainian Mafia.

Reported Israeli spy aboard USS Albuquerque (SSN-706) being held in brig in Norfolk. May
have passed classified Tomahawk cruise missile information to Israel prior to military
attack on Iran.

Weinmann allegedly met his intelligence handlers and passed them classified information in
three locations: Manama, Bahrain; Vienna, Austria; and Mexico City. Because of his rating,
Weinmann would have had access to classified information on the Tomahawk cruise missile
system. The Albuquerque is also capable of conducting signals intelligence operations and
covertly inserting U.S. Navy commandos into coastal areas.

Weinmann enlisted in the Navy in July 2003. The classified data was contained on a Navy
laptop computer that Weinmann took with him when he deserted. It is possible that the
computer contained an encryption chip that permitted Weinmann and his handlers to continue
to access classified Navy information online. The laptop computer was not returned and
Weinmann was charged with theft and destruction of government property because Weinmann
allegedly smashed the computer's hard drive with a sledgehammer while he was in Vienna.

U.S. intelligence sources suspect Navy is covering up Ariel J. Weinmann's Israeli
espionage connections. Claim if Russia was involved, that information would have been
released when suspect was first arrested in March.

Israel's intelligence interest in the Tomahawk is significant. Currently, the Israeli Navy
has three German-built Dolphin class diesel electric submarines that are Popeye Turbo
cruise missile capable. Israel's submarine deployment strategy is to keep one submarine on
standby in Haifa (now likely deployed due to Hezbollah rocket attacks), one in the Red Sea
and supported out of an Israeli support base in the Dahlak Archipelago in Eritrea, and one
in the Persian Gulf that is on standby for an attack on Iran.