WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The FBI is investigating if Pentagon officials leaked classified data to Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Meanwhile, U.S. counterintelligence agents say Israel routinely conducts espionage against its closest ally.
It has been known for weeks, the Washington Post reported Friday, the FBI was investigating whether Lawrence A. Franklin, a Middle East analyst for the Pentagon, had passed a draft presidential directive on Iran to AIPAC, a powerful lobbying group with close ties to Israel.
But now senior U.S. officials confirm the FBI investigation extends to other Pentagon personnel disposed to help both Israel and Chalabi, the former Iraqi dissident who was long a Pentagon favorite but has lately fallen out of favor.
AIPAC and Israel's government, however, deny any wrongdoing, a response that some U.S. intelligence officials dismiss as laughable, the Los Angeles Times said.
"There is a huge, aggressive, ongoing set of Israeli activities directed against the United States," said a former intelligence official who was familiar with the latest FBI inquiry and who recently left government.
"Anybody who worked in counterintelligence in a professional capacity will tell you the Israelis are among the most aggressive and active countries targeting the United States."
