Snowden didn't take an "oath of secrecy"

[MineralMan]

93. That may well be true. However, the

agreement he signed, if it is anything like the several I signed, lays out the restrictions on disclosure of classified information to unauthorized people or foreign governments. It also specifies that there are criminal penalties for such disclosures. The agreements I signed also included clauses regarding perjury and served as a written oath to be signed.

Both the USAF, in which I served, and the NSA, where I worked for a time while in the USAF, had lots of forms that had to be signed. All of them had information about the penalties for failing to honor the terms of the agreements. Anyone could refuse to sign those forms. The result of doing so was a loss of security clearance and ability to access or work with classified materials.

We also got training in what our responsibilities were if we found issues in classified information that indicated violations of the law. There was a clear policy laid out for reporting such issues, including multiple levels of reporting if we felt that the appropriate action was not taken after reporting to a lower level. At the highest level, any of us could report what we found to any member of Congress without fear of prosecution. It was expected that the chain of reporting be followed, but the Congressional level was there for anyone who felt it necessary.

Snowden chose to violate the terms of the agreements he signed. That was his decision. Whether it was the right decision or not is open to discussion. That he violated the terms, however, is not open for discussion, since he clearly did just that. He recognizes that he is in violation of those security agreements, which is why he is in Russia and not here in the United States. If he returns here, he will face possible prosecution under the laws that were disclosed in those agreements. So far, he has chosen not to return to the United States. That is his choice.