JERUSALEM — The U.S. Army has revoked the security clearance of a Jewish reserve officer, forcing him to give up command of an intelligence unit. The officer, Maj. Shawn Pine, claims it was only because of his close ties to Israel and reflected an inherent anti-Semitism in the U.S. intelligence community.
Pine, commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Company of Austin, Texas, holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship and is also a veteran of the Israel Defense Force’s Golani Brigade and the U.S. Army Rangers.
A specialist in counterintelligence, Pine said he was given top-secret clearance after going through a detailed background investigation and polygraph in 1991.
Born in the United States, Pine immigrated to Israel with his family at 17 in the late 1970s. He was conscripted and served in the Golani Brigade. After his discharge, he returned to America for university studies. He chose a military career and served nine years as an officer in the U.S. Army.
“It is not like my service and affiliation with Israel was kept a secret. I have always been very forthcoming in disclosing all of my interactions with Israel,” Pine said.
“As with many Americans, the events of Sept. 11 reinvigorated my sense of patriotism. But rather than try to utilize my experience and education, the U.S. intelligence community is mired in a paranoid abyss in which it perceives every Jew to be Jonathan Pollard.”
Steve Stromvall, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Reserve Command confirmed that Pine’s security clearance was revoked and he is being reassigned from his current command.
Pine claims the decision to revoke his top-secret security clearance and reassign him from his command was baseless.
Pine left active duty in 1995 and came to Israel for two years to pursued his doctorate. In that period, he was called up for a stint of reserve duty. Pine said he consulted with the military attaché at the U.S. Embassy and was informed “there was nothing that could be done, and I had to obey all Israeli laws.”
He reported for duty, and voted in the 1996 elections. When he left Israel in 1997, he did so on his Israeli passport as required by law.
Trouble started last summer when his periodic reinvestigation for security clearance came up and Pine disclosed he had been called up to reserve duty while in Israel.
“The impact on my career is total devastation,” Pine said. “It is ended.”