Reprinted from The Washington Times, March 4, 1998
Administration officials
mum on Iraqi spy report
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Clinton administration officials expressed concern yesterday that details of U.S. military plans to attack Iraq were passed to Baghdad by a spy several weeks ago during the height of the crisis over weapons inspections.
"Obviously, if information were passed from the Pentagon or from somebody who had access to Pentagon information to a foreign country, particularly an enemy country, we would be concerned," said Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon. "And the FBI certainly would be concerned."
He declined to confirm a report yesterday in The Washington Times about the spy and referred questions
-- Continued from Front Page -- about counterintelligence activities to the FBI.
White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry, asked about the report, said, "That would be a matter of utmost seriousness, and I decline further comment."
On Capitol Hill, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh ducked a question from a senator about whether the FBI is investigating the spy, who gave Iraq information about a much-publicized U.S. plan to conduct bombing raids and missile attacks.
"I don't have a full response at this time," Mr. Freeh said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican and a member of the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees, said he plans to look into whether an Iraqi spy obtained Pentagon data.
"We know that the Iraqis have been very good at obtaining intelligence on the inspections," Mr. Kyl said in an interview. "What I'm surprised at is that they might have also been able to penetrate our government enough to have information about a military action."
Mr. Freeh said Assistant Director John Lewis, head of the FBI's national security division, "has not been able to validate" The Times' story.
The FBI is consulting with "other agencies" to learn more, Mr. Freeh said in response to questions posed by Sen. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire Republican and chairman of the subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the judiciary and related agencies.
Mr. Gregg said the report on the spy was "fairly disconcerting" because it indicates that an Iraqi spy may have penetrated the Pentagon at some level.
"We have not been able to verify that and I will certainly get you an update as soon as I can," Mr. Freeh said.
Mr. Gregg said later he views the matter "very seriously" and expects the FBI to provide him with more information about the case in the near future.
After the hearing, Mr. Freeh declined to answer a question seeking elaboration about the matter.
FBI spokesman Frank Scafidi said later: "We can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation."
U.S. intelligence officials told The Times that early last month, information was sent to top U.S. counterintelligence officials at the FBI and CIA that a spy had passed information to a senior Iraqi intelligence official in Baghdad that a U.S. attack was imminent and would involve five days of raids with U.S. "smart" weapons.
The information was obtained from someone with regular access to the Pentagon, the officials said.
Details about the spying obtained by U.S. spy agencies included the last name of a "U.S. person," intelligence jargon for an American citizen or resident alien, who was in contact with Salah al-Hadithi, head of the Americas desk of the Iraqi intelligence service and the official in charge of operations directed against the United States, officials with access to intelligence said.
According to the officials, a group in Chicago wanted to meet with the Iraqi intelligence official in either Iraq or Jordan to pass along unspecified information.
Officials said it was not known whether sensitive Pentagon information was passed to Iraq, because so many details about U.S. military plans have appeared in the press and that speculation about an attack was widespread.
No other details of the spy or the group were disclosed.
Mr. Bacon said that if Iraq had paid money to such an agent, "it doesn't seem like a good investment to me."
"It was information that was published in the front page of every newspaper in the country starting in February and it was also information that turned out to be wrong," he said.
Mr. Bacon said he has no idea whether Iraq paid a spy for information, only that the information reportedly passed seemed of little value.
Mr. Kyl said it is true there was much public and press speculation about a U.S. attack in late January and early February.
But he also said there may have been other information passed to Iraq that was not known, and therefore the matter is a national security concern.Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
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