I understand the suspicion and disapproval of blanket surveillance methods when used within the US. I don't understand the widespread view that Snowden's actions were, in any way, noble or heroic. He had many options for raising his concerns, through established reporting channels, via his elected representatives or, if all else failed, through the press, that did not involve dedicating considerable effort to harvesting enormous quantities of classified information from multiple systems that he found he could access, fleeing the country when his actions were discovered, and then subsequently releasing of far more of that information than was needed to raise the alarm on the surveillance issue. Those releases look much more like attempts to curry favor with foreign governments and to try to leverage a better deal for himself.
I'd go so far as to suggest that he may have simply played the "whistleblower" card retrospectively to try to obfuscate and justify his previous actions, but either way, he chose the wrong path well before he disclosed the existence of those programs.
I understand the suspicion and disapproval of blanket surveillance methods when used within the US. I don't understand the widespread view that Snowden's actions were, in any way, noble or heroic. He had many options for raising his concerns, through established reporting channels, via his elected representatives or, if all else failed, through the press, that did not involve dedicating considerable effort to harvesting enormous quantities of classified information from multiple systems that he found he could access, fleeing the country when his actions were discovered, and then subsequently releasing of far more of that information than was needed to raise the alarm on the surveillance issue. Those releases look much more like attempts to curry favor with foreign governments and to try to leverage a better deal for himself.
I'd go so far as to suggest that he may have simply played the "whistleblower" card retrospectively to try to obfuscate and justify his previous actions, but either way, he chose the wrong path well before he disclosed the existence of those programs.
Once everyone hops on the outrage train, there's no getting off.
I have to ask why you dodged that question, because this is the crux of the matter for many people who, while they may have misgivings about some of the NSA activities that he shed light on, regard his wholesale release of unrelated classified matter as a serious crime.
Snowden was careful about the information he released, unlike another recent case in which the person ended up in prison for a very long time. That other case revealed names and other information that placed people and operations at risk.
Technically, of course what Snowden did was in violation of existing law. The real question is, how does one change the unconstitutional acts of a branch of government when it's "illegal" to even speak of these acts? He did the right thing and I daresay he was the "one-in-a-billion" person willing to do so.
Snowden was careful about the information he released, unlike another recent case in which the person ended up in prison for a very long time. That other case revealed names and other information that placed people and operations at risk.
Technically, of course what Snowden did was in violation of existing law. The real question is, how does one change the unconstitutional acts of a branch of government when it's "illegal" to even speak of these acts? He did the right thing and I daresay he was the "one-in-a-billion" person willing to do so.
But what about the disclosures that were not related to constitutional transgressions of the gov't? Similarly, if someone shoots and kills two people, is he/she off the hook because one of the two shooting victims was a murderer?
If The Washington Post is only willing to post one of 44 slides from Snowden's disclosures, there's clearly material in there that will harm the US. Then he flees to China and Russia? You think they harbor(ed) him because he was a desperate refugee, out of the kindness of their hearts?
I'm willing to completely ignore the disclosure of the domestic NSA programs. It's the other stuff that is criminal and weakens the US.
Comments
Crickets.
Crickets.
I understand the suspicion and disapproval of blanket surveillance methods when used within the US. I don't understand the widespread view that Snowden's actions were, in any way, noble or heroic. He had many options for raising his concerns, through established reporting channels, via his elected representatives or, if all else failed, through the press, that did not involve dedicating considerable effort to harvesting enormous quantities of classified information from multiple systems that he found he could access, fleeing the country when his actions were discovered, and then subsequently releasing of far more of that information than was needed to raise the alarm on the surveillance issue. Those releases look much more like attempts to curry favor with foreign governments and to try to leverage a better deal for himself.
I'd go so far as to suggest that he may have simply played the "whistleblower" card retrospectively to try to obfuscate and justify his previous actions, but either way, he chose the wrong path well before he disclosed the existence of those programs.
I understand the suspicion and disapproval of blanket surveillance methods when used within the US. I don't understand the widespread view that Snowden's actions were, in any way, noble or heroic. He had many options for raising his concerns, through established reporting channels, via his elected representatives or, if all else failed, through the press, that did not involve dedicating considerable effort to harvesting enormous quantities of classified information from multiple systems that he found he could access, fleeing the country when his actions were discovered, and then subsequently releasing of far more of that information than was needed to raise the alarm on the surveillance issue. Those releases look much more like attempts to curry favor with foreign governments and to try to leverage a better deal for himself.
I'd go so far as to suggest that he may have simply played the "whistleblower" card retrospectively to try to obfuscate and justify his previous actions, but either way, he chose the wrong path well before he disclosed the existence of those programs.
Once everyone hops on the outrage train, there's no getting off.
Snowden was careful about the information he released, unlike another recent case in which the person ended up in prison for a very long time. That other case revealed names and other information that placed people and operations at risk.
Technically, of course what Snowden did was in violation of existing law. The real question is, how does one change the unconstitutional acts of a branch of government when it's "illegal" to even speak of these acts? He did the right thing and I daresay he was the "one-in-a-billion" person willing to do so.
Snowden was careful about the information he released, unlike another recent case in which the person ended up in prison for a very long time. That other case revealed names and other information that placed people and operations at risk.
Technically, of course what Snowden did was in violation of existing law. The real question is, how does one change the unconstitutional acts of a branch of government when it's "illegal" to even speak of these acts? He did the right thing and I daresay he was the "one-in-a-billion" person willing to do so.
But what about the disclosures that were not related to constitutional transgressions of the gov't? Similarly, if someone shoots and kills two people, is he/she off the hook because one of the two shooting victims was a murderer?
If The Washington Post is only willing to post one of 44 slides from Snowden's disclosures, there's clearly material in there that will harm the US. Then he flees to China and Russia? You think they harbor(ed) him because he was a desperate refugee, out of the kindness of their hearts?
I'm willing to completely ignore the disclosure of the domestic NSA programs. It's the other stuff that is criminal and weakens the US.