Clinton’s Pollard Strategy

Deputy Attorney General Philip Heymann is drafting a list of compromise options for President Clinton in the case of JONATHAN POLLARD, the American spy for Israel serving a life term in prison. The Israelis want Pollard freed; the FBI, CIA and Pentagon bitterly oppose this. One option is a commutation of Pollard’s sentence to 20 or 30 years, making him eligible for parole in a few months. The list may only be a game so Clinton can reassure Israel he considered every alternative — it’s unlikely that Clinton will free Pollard, now or later.