Levinson was a spy not a hostage.

The family of the former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007, has acknowledged he was working as a "spy" for a rogue CIA operation and accused the CIA, FBI and the Obama administration of "betraying" him by not doing enough to gain his release. I would think that anyone working as a “spy” for any country would understand the risk. Levinson was an FBI Agent specializing in organized crime in the U.S. before his retirement and it is said he was a skilled and meticulous FBI agent.  

Anyone who has read my blog knows that I am not a fan of Obama, but I have mixed emotions about the Robert Levinson hostage (spy) case and do not know how much Obama could have done or could do to secure Levinson’s release – if he is still alive. I think it is utter nonsense for some to claim Obama is not interested in the case because Levinson is Jewish.

It was originally reported Levinson was looking into a cigarette smuggling ring for a client of the security consultancy business he had run since leaving the FBI ten years earlier.

Iran denies any involvement in the hostage taking of Levinson and it has been rumored he was being held in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.  Washington having no evidence of who is holding Levinson, where he is or who holds the key to negotiating his release has not been able to make progress on the case.

The first photographs and video emerged of former FBI-agent Robert Levinson in late 2010. In the video he looked thin, but said he had been treated well by his captors and was badly in need of medicine for his diabetes.  He appealed to the United States government to “answer the requests of the group” holding him. There has since been no evidence that he is still alive.

David McGee, a family lawyer and spokesperson for the Levinson family said, “The CIA and the FBI betrayed Levinson as it tried to hide the fact that he had a long-term relationship with the CIA, spying on Iran's nuclear program and on the terror group Hezbollah in the rogue operation.” Isn’t that normal procedure and you are told that before you take such an assignment. I was in Intelligence Service during the Vietnam conflict and we knew if we were captured in Laos the U.S. Government would deny any knowledge of our being there. You volunteer for those types of assignments you are not forced to take them.

American intelligence officials suspect the Iranian government, specifically its intelligence services, is behind the production of the 2010 images released by the Levinson family as well as a "proof of life" video. Ray Takeyh, a former State Department senior advisor on Iran, told ABC News he believes the Iranian leadership knows where Levinson is.

Dawud Salahuddin an American fugitive was the last person to see missing secret CIA operative Robert Levinson alive in Iran, but he has denied being involved in his mysterious disappearance. Dawud Salahuddin is a suspect in connection with a 1980 murder. Salahuddin fled the United States after the shooting in Maryland of an Iranian exile and he later confessed to the killing and justified the killing by claiming it was a 'jihad’ killing. He also met with Mr. Levinson's family in Iran and claimed to have met with the missing man, but denied knowing anything about his disappearance. I cannot help but believe the meeting between Levinson and Salahuddin has something to do with Levinson's disappearance. It is difficult for me to trust anything Salahuddin would say.  

The CIA paid Levinson's family $2.5 million to pre-empt a revealing lawsuit, and the agency rewrote its rules restricting how analysts can work with outsiders. I do not know if the truth will ever be known by the public and I don’t know if it should be known by the public. The truth could endanger the lives of others. It was obviously worth $2.5 million dollars to keep the facts from coming out. 

Behind closed doors, three veteran analysts were forced out of the agency and seven others were disciplined. The CIA claimed they did not know that Jablonski, one of the three veteran analysts forced out, was paying Levinson to do work for the CIA which was a violation of CIA rules. She should have notified her boss that she had put him on the payroll and they claim she did not.  I would think those forced out and disciplines were simply scapegoats.

Some in the U.S. government believe he is dead. But in the absence of evidence either way, the government holds out hope that he is alive and the FBI says it remains committed to bringing him home.

I believe he is dead and Iran cannot shed any light on the case without admitting to their involvement. What would be the purpose for Iran to continue to hold him now since the truth is known he was a “spy”. How long do you think a person in bad health, as Levinson claimed he was in 2010 live? He has diabetes, was in need of his medication, he has probably has had no lab work or monitoring of his sugar and been eating the wrong food. I am a diabetic and I know what happens when I do not take my insulin at the right time, watch my sugar intake and eat snacks and meals as I am supposed to.

I have a problem calling Mr. Levinson a hostage. He was a spy for the United States and according to international law Iran had every right to arrest him, imprison him and even execute him. My definition of a hostage is a person taken against their will and held for no legal reason. Regardless of the reason a person volunteers for a government top secret job be it the adrenalin rush, money or patriotism you commit to taking the risk of being caught. You understand for national security reasons your government may not admit you work for them. I feel sorry for the Levinson family, but I do not blame Obama or agencies of the U.S. government.