Well, lookee here. Lawrence Franklin is guilty.

Pentagon analyst says he didn't mean to harm U.S.

Oh yeah, Larry. That makes all the difference in the world.

You probably don't remember the good old days, kiddies, but once upon a time we used to execute traitors.

What was that, kiddies? Sorry, but I'm having a tough time hearing you over the voices of all the neo-cons apologizing at the top of their lungs for accusing everyone of anti-Semitism, anti-Jewishism, (All [Well, not all, of course. For the sake of argument, I'll leave it at that.] Jews are semites, kiddies, but not all semites are Jews.) and anti-Israelism.

Ha ha! That last one was a joke, of course.

Lawrence A. Franklin, 58, a policy analyst whose expertise included Iran and Iraq, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three felony counts as part of a plea bargain. In exchange, federal prosecutors dropped three other felony charges.

Franklin said he leaked the classified information because he was frustrated with a U.S. government policy, which he did not specify.

"It was never my intent to harm the United States, not even for a second," said Franklin, who faces up to 25 years in prison at his sentencing Jan. 20. He would likely serve less time if U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III follows sentencing guidelines.

Franklin said during the plea hearing that he leaked classified information to two members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He said he hoped the two would provide the information to contacts of theirs on the National Security Council and possibly get the policy changed.

The council comprises top government officials who advise and assist the president on national security and foreign policies.

An unusual exchange occurred late in the hearing, when Franklin objected to one of the government's allegations. Prosecutors told the judge that a one-page document faxed by Franklin to an AIPAC lobbyist was among the classified information he disclosed.

Franklin disputed that, and started to explain that the document was an unclassified "list of murders the Iranian government ..." before he was cut off by prosecutors who said he was about to disclose classified information in open court.

The judge agreed to place that small portion of the court transcript under seal.

Franklin also admitted giving classified information to Naor Gilon, a political officer at the Israeli embassy, but said information that he received from Gilon was more valuable.

"I knew in my heart that his government had this information," Franklin said. "He gave me far more information than I gave him."

In court documents, prosecutors did not mention Gilon by name, but said he and Franklin discussed classified information on numerous occasions, including information about a weapons test conducted by a Middle Eastern country.

The chairman of the Israeli parliament's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee said Israel had not known about Franklin's actions.

"I say very clearly that Israel is not spying in the United States or against the United States," Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio on Thursday.