General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It's A Darn Good Thing All Those Snowden Revelations Came To Nothing... [View all]neffernin
(275 posts)Our worldwide credibility is taking a hit:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/politics/white-house-stopped-wiretaps/
It is possible that media is using this to advantage themselves, not the public:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324823804579014611497378326
Our intelligence is being put at risk:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/officials-alert-foreign-services-that-snowden-has-documents-on-their-cooperation-with-us/2013/10/24/930ea85c-3b3e-11e3-a94f-b58017bfee6c_story.html
This hurts Obama's credibility:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57598928/nsa-abuses-contradict-obama-and-congressional-claims-of-oversight/
Snowden is using the information as collateral:
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/greenwald-backs-calls-for-snowden-to-testify-in-germany-1.1577038
In an ideological world, yes, Snowden releases information and our government quickly and easily fixes the problem of the NSA collecting too much information. That being said, in the real world, the only way they will collect intel to protect against the dangers of this world is by collecting as much information that is humanly possible. They have datacenters capable of holding data storage that is beyond comprehension.
Now, we should not be living in a society of fear Ex: Taking off shoes at the airport is a scam because the one person who tried to use that as an act of terrorism failed miserably. Ex: Having to worry about the government intercepting your Facebook messages via NSA surveillance.
But at the same time Edward Snowden is a computer guy. He's that guy who helps you add the spacing you want on your word document at work. He isn't a spy. In no way does he know about all of what he took and released to the press (much of it was classified higher than he had normal access to, and far beyond his scope of expertise). There's no way of knowing he hasn't released some if not all of this information to Russia, or China. There's no way for us to know if some of that information isn't detailed information about the protection of the president, or other government leaders. If it was just letting people know some of what was going on with the NSA, Snowden wouldn't be in Russia right now. He isn't the first who has alerted people to this though he is the first to alert in such detail.
He can be your hero, but he isn't mine. He isn't a villain/traitor to me either, but I can't really agree with what was done in no way shape or form as what he did was not clear headed or done with any idea of the full implications.