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SPY PLEADS GUILTY; BACKERS A SECRET
GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO NAME NATION SAILOR WAS WORKING FOR
By Mike Blair
A sailor stationed on a top-secret nuclear attack submarine has pleaded
guilty to espionage, desertion and other charges at a U.S. military court martial in Norfolk, Va. However, in a move that has many observers scratching their heads, the government will not reveal for which country Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann of Salem, Ore. spied.
The Saudi Arabian newspaper, Al-Watan, maintains that Weinmann was spying for Israel in the biggest spy case since Jonathan Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst, was caught in 1985 providing secrets to Israel.
Weinnann’s father, Robert, said the Weinmann family is not Jewish and that their heritage is German. However, critics say Weinmann is a Jewish name and the sailor’s first name is Ariel (Hebrew for “Lion of God”), like in Ariel Sharon, the former prime minister of Israel, which is typically Jewish, also.
On Aug. 9, 2006, The Jerusalem Post cited the Al-Watan report with the intention of discrediting it.
“I can tell you definitively that is not true,” an anonymous Navy official reportedly told the Post. “This is not a case of an individual spying for Israel. . . . The Al-Watan report is erroneous.”
The Post added: “Specifically, it is alleged that while serving at or near Bahrain, Mexico, and Austria, Weinmann ‘with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, [attempted] to communicate, deliver or transmit classified CONFIDENTIAL and SECRET information relating to the national defense, to a representative, officer, agent or employee of a foreign government.’ ”
Others claim that Weinmann was spying for the Russians. However, the Navy insists that this is not true. According to sources, it appears unlikely that the U.S. government would be reluctant to reveal that Weinmann was spying for Russia.
Israel, often identified as the United States’ best ally, is another matter.
It all started when Weinmann was caught by U.S. Customs officials at Dallas International Airport with $4,000 in cash and various computer discs, containing top secret information including the fire control procedures for weapons systems on the submarine.
In court the intended recipient of the information stolen by Weinmann is called “Country X,” which the sailor describes as a country being “cordial” but with a “degree of competition” with the United States.
A military analyst said Weinmann’s assertion that he wanted to live in the country he spied for would seem to rule out China, North Korea, Iran or any of the purported enemies of the U.S. government.
“We can assume it was not Great Britain. The Navy says it wasn’t Russia. There has never been a case of anyone spying for France or modern-day Germany, so just what could the country be where Mr. Weinmann would want to spend the rest of his life?” the analyst asked.
The U.S. government is not answering.
(Issue #51, December 18, 2006)
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