Franklin Scandal Weighs Heavy on Neo-Cons

It is said that Franklin himself is not a Jew; however, he has many Jewish friends among his colleagues. It is not clear why Franklin spied for Israel, although it is thought that money was not a factor. What is clear though is that this scandal could deal a heavy blow to both U.S. President George W. Bush, who is running for reelection in November, and the "Neo-cons" (Neo Conservatives), who enjoy great influence in Washington with their pro-toughness stance.

The Neo-cons, also known as "Hawks", are led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and the Pentagon’s number three man, Douglas Feith, are among the allies of the Neo-cons. Among other things, the group is criticized for pushing Bush to invade Iraq.

It had previously come to light that in the Pentagon’s ‘Office of Special Plans’, in which Feith worked for a while, justifications were drawn up for occupying Iraq. One of those justifications includes the linking of overthrown Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to Al-Qaeda, a link that has never been proven. The same Neo-con circles follow the line of Israel, which wants the U.S. to take tougher actions against Iran.

The latest scandal is yet another blow to the trust of the Pentagon, which had to deal with one of its former favorites, Ahmed Chalabi, leaking information to Iran earlier this summer. The Franklin incident also puts Bush, an advocate of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, into a tight spot.

The U.S.’s Associated Press news agency reports that the scandal could cause tension in American-Israeli relations. On the other side of the Atlantic, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) comments that the incident is a deadly serious situation since Israel is a close ally to US.

While Israel vehemently denies the allegations that Franklin spied for them, Israeli officials defended that the scandal has all the markings of an anti-Bush conspiracy because of the timing.