Overview:
Lawrence Franklin was a former Iran specialist in the US Defense Intelligence Agency. He also worked in the office of Zionist neoconservative Douglas Feith, then-US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. Franklin reported directly to Feith’s deputy, William Luti, a close associate of other Zionist neocons such as Michael Ledeen and Harold Rhode.1
Enjoying high-level connections with the Zionist neoconservative establishment, Franklin was placed in strategic positions in a bid to sway US foreign policy in Israel’s favor during the post-Cold War era.
Early Israel Connections
From the beginning of his military and intelligence career, Franklin’s name can be repeatedly linked to Israel. During his military service in the US Air Force Reserve, he was sent at least twice to the US embassy in Tel Aviv, where he reportedly underwent “military and intelligence training”.
Espionage for Israel and Subsequent Release
Franklin’s intelligence career began as an analyst in the US Defense Intelligence Agency’s Soviet Union division. However, he was transferred to the Middle East division where he learned Persian later in the 1990s. Franklin was eventually caught giving classified intelligence on Iran to an Israeli diplomat and two high ranking members of AIPAC, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman.
In 2006, Franklin was sentenced to 12 years on charges of spying for Israel. However, he was shortly released after ten months of house arrest.
James Bamford, an American author and journalist, claimed that “Rosen (an AIPAC agent), recognizing that Franklin could serve as a useful spy, immediately began plotting ways to plant him in the White House — specifically in the National Security Council, the epicenter of intelligence and national security policy. By working there, Rosen told Franklin a few days later, he would be “by the elbow of the president.”…Knowing that such a maneuver was well within AIPAC’s capabilities, Franklin asked Rosen to “put in a good word” for him. Rosen agreed.”2
Franklin’s Objectives
An analysis of Franklin’s conduct and evidence brought forward against him in court reveals that Franklin – at the behest of Israel – resorted to sabotaging US-Iran de-escalation talks after failing to drag the Bush administration into open conflict with Iran.
1: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/07/04/real-insiders
