U.S. Nuke Sub Sailor Spying For Israel? (Updated)

The Jerusalem Post has a report today which, if true, will doubtless create a stir in the current diplomatic climate - that a sailor from the nuclear attack sub USS Albuquerque (SSN 706) has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel.

A US Navy sailor, Ariel J. Weinmann, is suspected of spying for Israel and has been held in prison for four months, according to an article published Monday in the Saudi daily Al-Watan. It reported that Weinmann is being held at a military base in Virginia on suspicion of espionage and desertion.

According to the navy, Weinmann was apprehended on March 26 "after it was learned that he had been listed as a deserter by his command." Though initial information released by the navy makes no mention of it, Al-Watan reported that he was returning from an undisclosed "foreign country." American sources close to the Defense Department told Al-Watan that Israel was the country in question.

That this comes originally from a Saudi newspaper, given the current situation in the Middle east, makes me a bit doubtful of the timing. Still, if true it is going to put a lot of influential people's noses out of joint here in the U.S. and will doubtless reignite debates about the influence of organisations such as AIPAC as well as questions about the dual loyalties of servicemen who love their religion more than their nation.

Update Time magazine has a very different take on the story, saying that if any classified materials were passed - and its a pretty big if - the recipient is liklier to be Russia than Israel.

Have a read of both and see what you think. Is it the Jerusalem Post living up to its reputation of a Murdoch tabloid rag which prints crap sooner than it prints the tamer truth?