The propaganda coup of Russia is the fault, I hate to say but must say, of the Obama administration's overzealous pursuit of whistleblowers. Whistleblowers need to be listened to. If the government wants to keep what the whistleblowers are saying out of the newspapers and out of the range of "enemy" eyes and ears, then they need to have a safe means for employees who see wrongdoing in their own government agency to speak within the agency without fear of reprisal and with the knowledge that they will not only be heard but will be treated with respect and that the problems they identify will be dealt with.
The problem here is not leaking but wrongdoing in our government.
Obama promised to change how things work in D.C. and to institute transparency.
He has not changed how anything works. And he has done all he can to make transparency impossible.
Of course, now the chickens are coming home to roost. The silencing of criticism within the government is precisely what brought down the Soviet Union. Unless we end the silencing of criticism within our government and, in particular, within our intelligence services, we will face the same fate as the Soviet Union. That combined with the rigidity of Republicans in Congress is a recipe for disaster and could spell the end of our constitutional government.
Criticism and the pointing out of weaknesses and flaws in our government at any level should be encouraged.
The problems that Snowden pointed to -- his easy access to far more information than he should have been able to obtain -- could have been turned against us and to the benefit of a person in Snowden's position at the private contractor he was working for who had less of a sense of duty and patriotism than Snowden did.
A less patriotic, less scrupulous employee at Booz Allen could have sold secrets for big bucks to private companies, individuals or even foreign interests including terrorists.
Snowden should not be vilified for coming forward. There should be a special agency or commission that generously reviews complaints and information of the kind Snowden has brought to public attention. The focus should be on improving government, not punishing the people who observe flaws in how our government works.
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