Seven former U.S. secretaries of defense urged President Clinton to reject Israel’s request to free Jonathan Pollard. “Notwithstanding our strong support for Israel, we believe that granting clemency to Mr. Pollard would encourage those who would harm our country,” said the letter to Clinton, which was signed by Frank Carlucci, Richard Cheney, Melvin Laird, Elliot Richardson, Donald Rumsfeld, James Schlesinger and Caspar Weinberger. As part of the October Wye peace accords, Clinton agreed to review Pollard’s life sentence, imposed for spying on the United States for Israel.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.