-Caveat Lector- http://www.foxnews.com/national/0925/d_ap_0925_105.sml Thirty-two State Department officials were stripped of clearances 3.40 p.m. ET (1953 GMT) September 25, 2000 By Barry Schweid, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) � The State Department has suspended the security clearances of five employees for violations of security policies this year, spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday. Another 27 employees had their security clearances suspended for other reasons in the last 18 months or two years, Boucher said. The disclosure followed announcement over the weekend that Martin Indyk, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, was under FBI and State Department investigation for suspected security violations. Indyk has lost his security clearance and no longer can participate in Mideast diplomacy. "He's highly regarded for his contributions,'' Boucher said Monday. "Obviously, the fact that he doesn't have a security clearance, and therefore is not able to participate in the deliberations, makes things more difficult, because he has been an important member of the team.'' Boucher said there was no indication of espionage and "there has been no indication that any intelligence information has been compromised. This is a question of security procedures that have not been followed.'' Boucher provided no details of the other cases. He said he did not know which employees had been reinstated, but said he assumed some had been. Last week, Sen. Rod Grams, R-Minn., dropped a hold he had placed on seven career foreign service officers who had been nominated for ambassadorships. They had accumulated about 100 security violations. The violations reportedly included leaving safes open and removing classified documents from embassies. Indyk was an important channel to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who requested his return to Tel Aviv for a second tour. In between, Indyk headed the State Department's Near East bureau. In both positions, and earlier as the head of the Middle East desk at the White House, he helped shape U.S. policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In a speech this month in Jerusalem he said Israel and the Palestinians should share the Holy City. The first American ambassador stripped of his security clearances, Indyk was sidelined as U.S. mediation to break a deadlock between Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat entered another critical stage. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were due to resume talks here on Wednesday. The deadlock centers on the future of Jerusalem and other issues such as the disposition of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees who claim Israel expelled them. Indyk said in a statement this weekend: "I regret that my trying to do the best possible job under very difficult conditions has led to the temporary suspension of my security clearances. Jeopardizing the national security interests of the U.S. is absolutely abhorrent to me, and I would never do anything to compromise those interests.'' He expressed gratitude that the State Department "agreed with my firm conviction that no classified information has been compromised.'' -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ________________________________________________________ 1stUp.com - Free the Web Get your free Internet access at http://www.1stUp.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
