Grant Smith

Grant F. Smith is the author of the new book Divert! NUMEC, Zalman Shapiro and the diversion of U.S. weapons-grade uranium into the Israeli nuclear weapons program. He is director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, D.C.

Americans Pay Dearly to Maintain Israel’s Nuclear Secrets

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has just stopped its $170 million nuclear waste dump cleanup at a former Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) site in Pennsylvania. In the early 1960s, NUMEC established a plutonium facility in Parks Township — disposing of waste in a large field adjacent to the plant. NUMEC’s waste … Continue reading “Americans Pay Dearly to Maintain Israel’s Nuclear Secrets”

Does AIPAC Have Only Two Major Donors?

A large congressional delegation is heading for Israel. During three weeks of recess, 55 Republicans and 26 Democrats will enjoy “educational” trips funded by the American Israel Education Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit located in the same Washington, D.C., building as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Absent AIPAC’s influence on pro-Israel campaign contributors, members … Continue reading “Does AIPAC Have Only Two Major Donors?”

AIPAC Pushes Hard for War With Iran

Former AIPAC staffer Keith Weissman, indicted in 2005 under the Espionage Act alongside colleague Steven J. Rosen and Defense Department employee Col. Lawrence Franklin, is desperately worried. In a lengthy, rambling monologue delivered to independent reporter Robert Dreyfuss, Weissman breaks a long silence to declare he’s “concerned that if a confrontation between the United States, … Continue reading “AIPAC Pushes Hard for War With Iran”

AIPAC Pushes Hard for War With Iran

Former AIPAC staffer Keith Weissman, indicted in 2005 under the Espionage Act alongside colleague Steven J. Rosen and Defense Department employee Col. Lawrence Franklin, is desperately worried. In a lengthy, rambling monologue delivered to independent reporter Robert Dreyfuss, Weissman breaks a long silence to declare he’s “concerned that if a confrontation between the United States, … Continue reading “AIPAC Pushes Hard for War With Iran”

Obama vs. Reagan on AIPAC

Politico reports that President Barack Obama may attend the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) gathering in Washington, D.C. According to documents released last week by the National Archives, President Ronald Reagan had a more appropriate answer to invitations [.pdf] and party pressure to attend AIPAC’s gathering on May 15, 1988—”No, thanks” [.pdf]. Until … Continue reading “Obama vs. Reagan on AIPAC”

Pollard Espionage Ring Still Unfolding

Almost one year ago Victor Gilinsky and Roger J. Mattson penned the stunning article “Revisiting the NUMEC Affair” in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. It describes how in the 1960s Israeli agents and their U.S. collaborators stole highly enriched uranium from the Pennsylvania NUMEC plant for Israel’s first atomic weapons. The two former Nuclear Regulatory … Continue reading “Pollard Espionage Ring Still Unfolding”

AIPAC Protests Disclosure of Its Secret Files

On Dec. 23, 2010, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee filed a 53-page motion [.pdf] asking Judge Eric Christian to sanction former employee Steven J. Rosen over the illicit possession and release of sensitive internal AIPAC documents. Rosen’s $20 million defamation suit against his former employer seeks compensation for derogatory public statements AIPAC made to … Continue reading “AIPAC Protests Disclosure of Its Secret Files”