Posted on 04/25/2014 1:39:27 PM PDT by upchuck
She is "puzzled" and found it "odd" that Snowden fled the country.
Speaking at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night, Hillary Clinton made a restrained but nonetheless damning attack against Edward Snowden.
At the event, an interviewer asked Clinton whether she thought the former National Security Agency contractor's disclosures about its domestic spying programs had any positive effects on American security policy or public discourse.
Without ever explicitly mentioning the NSA's spying programs, Clinton justified their utility in protecting the U.S. from another terrorist attack in the wake of 9/11.
"People were desperate to avoid another attack, and I saw enough intelligence as a senator from New York, and then certainly as secretary [of State], that this is a constant—there are people right this minute trying to figure out how to do harm to Americans and to other innocent people," Clinton said. "So it was a debate that needs to happen, so that we make sure that we're not infringing on Americans' privacy, which is a valued, cherished personal belief that we have. But we also had to figure out how to get the right amount of security."
As for Snowden's role in exposing the NSA programs, Clinton insinuated that she found his motives suspicious.
"When he emerged and when he absconded with all that material, I was puzzled because we have all these protections for whistle-blowers. If he were concerned and wanted to be part of the American debate, he could have been," she said. "But it struck me as—I just have to be honest with you—as sort of odd that he would flee to China, because Hong Kong is controlled by China, and that he would then go to Russia—two countries with which we have very difficult cyberrelationships, to put it mildly."
Let's take a moment to parse Clinton's language here. She didn't call Snowden a traitor, or plainly say that him leaving the country made her suspicious. In American politics, it's never good to come right out and accuse someone of wrongdoing—you can just say you're "confused" or "puzzled" by their actions. In the same way, "odd" or "strange" often serve as semantic placeholders for "bad." Just ask Rep. Paul Ryan, who abruptly ended a television interview in 2012 after an unwelcome remark about tax cuts, then told his interviewer, "That was kind of strange. You trying to stuff words in people's mouths?"
Clinton stressed the strangeness of Snowden's decision to flee to countries that have perpetrated cyberattacks against the U.S. She noted that when State Department officials would travel to Russia or China on diplomatic business, they would leave their cell phones aboard the plane with their batteries taken out. "It's not like the only government in the world doing anything is the United States," she said.
"I think turning over a lot of that material—intentionally or unintentionally—drained, gave all kinds of information, not only to big countries, but to networks and terrorist groups and the like. So I have a hard time thinking that somebody who is a champion of privacy and liberty has taken refuge in Russia, under Putin's authority."
With sarcasm creeping into her voice, Clinton implied that Snowden acted all too friendly toward Vladimir Putin, whose country has been harboring Snowden since last August.
"And then he calls in to a Putin talk show and says, 'President Putin, do you spy on people?' And President Putin says, 'Well, from one intelligence professional to another, of course not.' 'Oh, thank you so much!' I mean really. I don't know, I have a hard time following it."
It will be interesting to contrast Clinton's remarks with Sen. Rand Paul's when he speaks at Harvard University on Friday afternoon. In all likelihood, he'll rehash the same jokes he made when he spoke at Berkeley in March about the NSA listening in on his cell-phone conversations. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton has called Snowden an "imperfect messenger" for bringing the debate about privacy versus national security to the fore.
Both Hillary Clinton and Paul are trying to win over college students to their philosophy. If applause decibels are any indication, though, students favor lionizing the whistle-blower over shaming him.
Hill, yer a riot. Ya mean whistleblowers like Vince Foster?
Hillary:So I have a hard time thinking that somebody who is a champion of privacy and liberty has taken refuge in Russia, under Putin's authority.
Oh stop, please. My side is hurting from laughing so hard. Obviously, Snowden trusts Putin more than nobama. And you find this troubling? Why?
Didn’t Hillary help them in Benghazi?
More than Hillary, Huma, Obama and McCain giving
al Qaeda 20,000 MANPADs to take out 20,000 commercial
airplanes?
More than WHOEVER let in the Boston terrorists without
a passport —AFTER WARNINGS?
More than Fast&Furious?
I think not.
Expert deflection and more stealth then the billion dollar bomber. Anything to take the spotlight off her role as Sec of State.
Hey HILLARY did not protecting our embassy help terrorists?? Yea I
thought so CRICKETS!!!
So are millions od Americans terrorists?
It was their private communications which were and are being swept up by your trawling nets.
GFY
Your husband did even more Hillary!
Not unlike selling them Manpads off the books. Like in Benghazi...
Because from where I am sitting he helped Americans learn their government was spying on THEM, and the spying the NSA was doing did not even help them stop the Boston Bombers.
I've said it before... The type of data the NSA is collection is useless in bulk like that- there is not enough time and not enough resources to go through it to find anything useful
But...AFTER something happens, like say you piss of a Democrat President, they can GO BACK and look at everything you did to see what they have on you.
I’m ‘puzzled’ why our ambassador in Benghazi didn’t have the protection he needed, and I find it ‘strange’ that no one sent help when they were being killed...
I thought helping terrorists was a good thing to Marxists? This from the SOS who helped the Mooselip Brotherhood.
Pray America wakes up
No sh!t, HILLARY.
Some of them live in the White House.
What’s your point?
Your husband’s leaks helped the Chinese.
Uhhh, yeah. Snowden let them have those 400 MANPAD missiles. Uh-huh. That was a serious blunder on his part. Right, Hill?
You have to think liberalspeak here; “Terrorists” now equals American Patriots.So yes Snowden uncovered much of the truth on how much spying the U.S. government has been doing on its own citizens without probable cause or a warrant.
Edward Snowden is a Soviet Agent, just as 0bama is a Soviet Agent. Do the math. Where did 0bama’s parents meet? RUSSIAN LANGUAGE CLASS. Where did Snowden escape to? RUSSIA! And he abandoned his VERY RUSSIAN LOOKING balarina girlfriend, too!
Exactly! For the last five years the resident and his minions have been doing their damndest to aid and abet Americas enemies. And after the reign of of one communist ends we are supposed to seat another in the White House?
Going to fix this....
Hillary Clinton: Edward Snowden's Leaks Helped "Tea Party" Terrorists By Exposing Government Spying on Citizens and exposing us to look like the control freaks we are.
Isn’t it funny that the memos recently came out reguarding the clintons hate of the independent internet news sources......?
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