Pollard

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• Pollard given Israeli citizenship
• Former CIA chief: A 'presidential decision'
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In an effort to nudge the Israelis toward a peace agreement with the Palestinians, President Bill Clinton has agreed to reexamine the case of Jonathan Pollard, a U.S. citizen given a life prison term in 1987 for giving American military secrets to Israel.

But while Clinton insists he only agreed to look once again at whether to release Pollard and made no commitment to let him go, reaction in law enforcement and intelligence circles in Washington has been swift -- and largely negative.

diGenova

One former CIA official tells CNN that he and his colleagues are "shocked" that Clinton would even consider letting Pollard go. And the man who prosecuted Pollard, former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova, said it would send a "terrible signal."

"It means that there is actually a reward if you spy for an ally," he said. "No American citizen has ever been turned over to the country for whom he spied."

Some key congressional Republicans, too, weighed in against releasing Pollard.

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Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, said he was "completely opposed" to linking Pollard's release to the peace process.

"Mr. Pollard committed very serious crimes against the United States, and it is appropriate that he be punished for them," Shelby said in a letter to Clinton.

"Releasing Mr. Pollard would put vital U.S. interests at risk and send the message that we are not serious about punishing espionage," said Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska, a senior Republican on the House International Relations Committee.

Pollard given Israeli citizenship

Naveh visits Pollard in May at the federal prison in North Carolina

Pollard was a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy when he was arrested in 1985 on charges that he provided secrets to the Israelis. He pleaded guilty to one count of espionage and was sentenced to life in prison.

The Israeli government recently acknowledged for the first time that Pollard was its spy. He has been granted Israeli citizenship. In May, Israeli Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh visited Pollard at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, where he is serving his sentence.

But while he is considered a patriot by the Israeli government, Pollard has been turned down for clemency three times -- twice by Clinton and once by Clinton's predecessor, George Bush. The latest denial, in July 1996, came after Attorney General Janet Reno strongly recommended against setting him free.

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Asked Friday if he would have problems with Pollard being released as part of a broader Middle East peace deal, Bush said, "I would ... just on the face of it."

The Israelis have been trying to get Pollard released "for a long, long time," Bush said. "But this is the first time I've heard of this ... (as) part of some trade."

Former CIA chief: A 'presidential decision'

However, former CIA director James Woolsey said that in the give and take of diplomacy, trade-offs are sometimes made for the greater good.

"It has to be looked at in the context of whether this interim agreement is a valuable agreement and if releasing Pollard ... contributes to it," Woolsey said. "That's a presidential decision. That's why the president makes the big bucks."

Michael Hudson, a professor of international relations at Georgetown University, argued the success of the agreement would be tarnished if Pollard's release was part of it.

In an interview with CNN, Pollard's wife, Esther, said her husband has been punished enough.

"My husband is serving the longest and harshest sentence in the history of the United States of sharing intelligence with an ally," she said. "Thank God, if President Clinton is willing to do this, he is restoring the principle of equal justice in the United States."

David Ensor and Reuters contributed to this report.