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The Logic of Logic 101
By William C. Carlotti, Torrington and Vermont
According to Mr. Peyser’s presentation of the matter [What I Learned in Logic 101; August 3, 2001], his college course in Logic 101 taught him: "If you don’t have a good argument, then call the other person a name." So, following the teachings of his learned professor, Mr. Peyser writes: "If Israel were militarily weakened … there would be a bloodbath. Is this what you want?" [If You Don’t Have Logic, July 12] Mr. Peyser has not exactly called Mr. LeHoskey and Mr. Accetta a name, but it is obvious that by merely asking his rhetorical question he has raised the bar of insult to the unconscionable implication that they are advocating a "bloodbath."
It appears that the logic of Logic 101 is to shift the ground away from the issue of Israeli (United States) policies with regard to the inhabitants of occupied Palestine by vilifying those who oppose such policies. As a matter of fact, the vilification of those who oppose the Israeli (United States) policies in occupied Palestine has become the central part of the pattern and practice of the zealots in defense of the most heinous Israeli behavior. That said, the following is to continue my response to Mr. Peyser’s rationalization of Jonathan Pollard’s spying activities.
The Pollard affair is only a single instance of the extensive Israeli spying that has been going on in the United States. Even prior to 9/11, Fox News reports, as many as 140 Israelis were detained or arrested in a secretive, sprawling investigation into espionage by Israelis in the United States. Documents obtained from numerous government agencies, which are part of a working group that’s been compiling evidence of the spying, detail hundreds of incidents in cities and towns across the country that investigators say "may well be an organized intelligence gathering activity." According to the Fox News report: "Documents say they ‘targeted and penetrated military bases’ [as well as] the DEA, the FBI and dozens of government facilities, and even secret offices and unlisted private homes of law enforcement and intelligence personnel. The majority of those questioned ‘stated they served in military intelligence, electronic surveillance intercept and/or explosive ordinance units.’"
As part of the investigation into 9/11, some 60 additional Israelis were detained. There have also been reports that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, sent representatives to the U.S. before 9/11 to warn that a major attack was imminent, but the report was nonspecific and general; investigators believe that Mossad may have been protecting "sources and methods" that may have been operating the U.S. In this light it is interesting that Amdocs, Ltd., a publicly traded Israeli company, generates the computerized records and billing data (including credit checks for obtaining phone service) for nearly every phone call made in America, including all the phone bills, phone records, and related credit checks. It is a likely probability, since Fox News reports that nearly every phone call record and billing is computerized by Amdocs, that the records of all of the citizens (and newspapers) of Torrington and Winsted (including Ralph Nader) and, probably, the phone bills and phone records of the 9/11 hijackers (if they had phones) are part of this computerized data bank. The matter of Israeli companies’ access to the phone records of United States citizens does not, however, end there.
A second company, Comvers Infosys, which is a subsidiary of an Israeli-run private telecommunications firm with offices throughout the United States, provides wiretapping equipment for law enforcement. According to Fox News: "Comvers Infosys works closely with the Israeli government and, under a series of subsidies for special programs, gets reimbursed for up to 50% of its research and development costs by the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade … Custom computers and software, made by companies like Comvers, are tied into the nation’s elaborate network of switchers and routers to intercept, record and store the wiretapped calls, and at the same time transmit them to investigators. The manufacturers have continuing access to the computers so they can service them and keep them free of glitches." It is the FBI’s office in Quantico, Virginia that has been awarding the contracts to these firms and buying the equipment. Fox News reported that "a handful of former U.S. law enforcement officials involved in awarding Comvers contracts over the years now work for the company. Numerous sources say some of those individuals were asked to leave government service under what knowledgeable sources have called ‘troublesome circumstances’ that remain under review within the Justice Department."
After Fox News began reporting on the arrests, detaining of Israelis and the investigations into Israeli companies situated in the heart of the private communications amongst United States citizens—and even amongst its public officials, law enforcement personnel, and media personnel—the Israeli Embassy in Washington denied any spying against or in the United States.
They also have a bridge for sale.
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