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Netanyahu Aide Says U.S. Mistakenly Bars Him

[AP/Washington Post] Aron Heller - Uzi Arad, prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's choice for national security adviser, said Wednesday that he has been denied an entry visa to the U.S. for the past two years because U.S. authorities erroneously tied him to Lawrence A. Franklin, a former Defense Department official who pleaded guilty to providing classified defense information to two pro-Israel lobbyists. Arad confirmed that he had discussed Iran with Franklin in 2004, but insisted the meeting was "superficial" and had nothing to do with the charges against Franklin. "We had coffee and we talked about the agenda of the day - nothing classified, nothing secret, nothing related to espionage," Arad said Wednesday. "If I was not a Mossad employee in the past, they would not have noticed me." Arad served in the Mossad for 25 years, becoming Director of Intelligence. He then became the founding head of the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, where he established the annual Herzliya Conference on Israeli national security.
2009-03-19 06:00:00
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