by R. Cort Kirkwood
Israel is a major national security threat to the United States, a recent report from the Defense Intelligence Agency says.
Disclosed by NBC News, the agency has raised its espionage threat level from Israel to “critical.” The Israelis are spying on U.S. diplomats who are negotiating with Iran to end the senseless war the United States began at Israel’s behest. The Israelis are also spying on other top officials, including those in the Defense Department.
Israel’s latest treachery is nothing new. A few years ago, Israeli spies were caught attempting to plant listening devices at Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters. And famously, American traitor Jonathan Pollard spied for Israel in the mid 1980s, turning over secrets to Israel that likely went to the Soviet Union.
Of late, Israel’s espionage campaign has become “unhinged,” an official told The New York Times.
The revelations about Israel’s spying follow a U.S. House Committee’s passing a measure, conceived by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to integrate the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
NBC Report
“Two U.S. officials” and “one former official,” the network reported, said Israel is increasing its espionage operations.
“The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency in recent weeks issued the new counterintelligence threat assessment amid rising tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the way forward in the war with Iran, the officials said,” NBC reported:
They said the DIA posted an internal message, viewed by one of the current officials, that raised the level for Israel to “critical.”
The designation stems from concerns within the Pentagon that Israel is making a particular effort to surveil top U.S. officials to get information on the Trump administration’s internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East, the officials said.
The DIA assessment includes a seven-page document and features a chart, according to one of the current U.S. officials. The document says the assessment of Israel is that its ability to conduct human espionage and technical collection is at a “critical level,” according to the official.