Posted on 06/09/2013 11:41:17 AM PDT by sunmars
The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.
The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he said.
Snowden will go down in history as one of America's most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world's most secretive organisations – the NSA.
In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Interesting interview. He says he’s doing it to restore Democracy in America.. in opposition of “turn-key tyranny”. He’s an engaging person. I have a difficult time endorsing anyone who violates their oath of their security clearances, but it sounds like the NSA was digging into people’s personal lives on a whim. We know 0bama ordered the IRS and DOJ to target Republicans, so why would we think the NSA wasn’t?
Twitter is afire with the story.
https://twitter.com/search?q=%22Edward%20Snowden%22&src=tren
I just heard about this American hero stepping up and accepting responsibility for his actions - He reminds me of Ayn Rand’s fictional hero, Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, who blows up a public housing project late at night and without injury - in order to protest government officials who changed his plans in violation of an agreement he made with them.
In the book, Howard Roark makes no effort to escape and waits near the ruins for the police to arrest him. At the trial he tells the jury of his reasons for the extreme action he took against the State. The jury finds him not guilty.
In my humble opinion, this may not be a fictional ending in the case at issue.
In 2008, what about 2012?
I’m still holding to a percentage of ‘we’re being snowed (no pun intended’ here.
In spite of this guy’s explanation.
I just find it interesting that we (the US) didn’t have to keep a dossier on every single citizen prior to the immigration act of 1965 for ‘public safety’.
So said the guards at Buchenwald. No one has an obligation to follow illegal orders. This man is Jason Bourne incarnate.
My FIRST THOUGHT!!!!!!
bttt
This guy is going to bring down a lot of people... not just Obama, but I’m willing to bet a lot in Congress too. This story is going to be one huge event. I just hope he lives long enough to finish the task... I give him about 50/50 odds of surviving the summer.
“Is there any way the House could grant him some sort of immunity from prosecution?”
The intelligence oversight committee had to know all about this. This was not done in a vacuum. Our elected officials knew. So, this guy is an out and out traitor. It is not for individuals to decide what government secrets should be revealed or kept secret. If he was briefed then he signed the official secrets act. He will share a cell with Jonathan Pollard. (You could argue that what both Pollard and this guy did was good. But the thing is, it violated the law. Pollard has been in prison for decades for revealing Iraq’s nuclear program to Israel. Israel bombed the reactor. One would argue that was a good thing. But, the leak was still a violation of the agreement Pollard signed.)
More double pings. Sorry.
Storing ALL communications makes perfect sense. You get suspicious about a dude THEN go back and see what’s up. Makes perfect sense. But.. Is that Constitutional? Is the Internet ‘web ring’ public or private? Should we endorse someone who violated their security clearance oaths? I’ve got mixed feelings about this whole thing. One thing is for sure; Big Brother is here.
Horseshit. No one has an obligation to follow illegal orders. See Nuremberg.
Was George Washington a traitor?
What about Thomas Jefferson?
Ben Franklin?
Lech Walesa?
If he were ‘off’d’, wouldn’t that be kind of obvious that it was a hit, given the high profile nature of this story now?
As of right now, I’m not buying his story.
I think you are 100% correct.
We’re being snowed.
“Horseshit. No one has an obligation to follow illegal orders. See Nuremberg.”
Individuals on classified projects are not permitted to make any evaluations. For one thing, they have insufficient information to do so. These projects were approved and funded by the Congress. Congress is (or is supposed to be) regularly briefed. It is Congress that makes the legality determination. Not individuals.
Bears repeating . . .
So said the guards at Buchenwald in their own defense.
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