Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance
GUARDIAN ^ | Sunday 9 June 2013 14.27 EDT | Glenn Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill and Laura Poitras in Hong Kong

Posted on 06/09/2013 11:41:17 AM PDT by sunmars

The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.

The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he said.

Snowden will go down in history as one of America's most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world's most secretive organisations – the NSA.

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government
KEYWORDS: 0bamariggingamerica; 4amendment; 4thamendment; benghazi; boozallen; dell; edwardsnowden; fastandfurious; impeachnow; irs; nsa; nsaleak; obamarigging; prism; snowden; threatmatrix; whistleblower
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 101-120121-140141-160 ... 341-358 next last
To: Personal Responsibility
Still, doing this is very brave. He is fully aware of how much danger he is in.

Maybe that's why he did it.

121 posted on 06/09/2013 1:41:29 PM PDT by Styria
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 119 | View Replies]

To: Gen.Blather
Not quite.

One is directed to inform the chain of command, or if the chain of command is compromised, the IG or a congressman with direct oversight authority.

If, as seems obvious in this case, the depth and breadth of the illegal activity is actively being covered up by oversight elements at all levels of government...

Snowden will probably have company in self-imposed-exile soon.
The drips and leaks recently haven't all come from him.

Was the NSA data used by this administration for partisan political purposes?
Think about that.

122 posted on 06/09/2013 1:41:57 PM PDT by sarasmom (The obvious takes longer to discover for the obtuse.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

He stated in the tape he had “ lists of all operatives undercover and not undercover”. That my friend is his bargaining chip, he probably made multiple copies and they are hidden with a true trusted individuals knowing their locales.

He thought this out, trust me...


123 posted on 06/09/2013 1:42:01 PM PDT by seeker41 (Take back your country before it is too late-STOP islamic expansion in the USA remove zero)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: CMB_polarization

I hope the US grants him immunity to expose abuses in the system


The system is in place because the Govt wants it in place. Why would they offer him immunity to expose abuses? They see those abuses as tools.


124 posted on 06/09/2013 1:42:35 PM PDT by Personal Responsibility (In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act - Orwell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: InterceptPoint

Yes. Police work.

What Obama has done is take authorities eyes off of the real terrorists.

Since 1960 the overwhelming majority of terrorist acts, like 98%, have been committed by men between the age of 15 and 55 years of age who are ALL Muslim.

BHO2 has, instead, turned the surveillance around and focused on conservative Christians and Jews while at the same time facilitating the entry of Muslims into the U.S.A.

BHO2 must leave, now.


125 posted on 06/09/2013 1:42:38 PM PDT by SatinDoll (NATURAL BORN CITZEN: BORN IN THE USA OF CITIZEN PARENTS.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: annalex

He’s a nutcase and I hope he shares a cell with Manning.


126 posted on 06/09/2013 1:42:52 PM PDT by eddie willers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: USNBandit

Not that there are more than 5 of those.

__________________________

I am not sure one can tell who is trustworthy there.


127 posted on 06/09/2013 1:44:50 PM PDT by Chickensoup (200 million unarmed " people killed in the 20th century by Leftist Totalitarian Fascists)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: InterceptPoint
It may be useful to examine his political leanings to determine his agenda, but the real focus should be on what he has revealed (including supporting TS documents) and whether his allegations are true or not.

My initial reaction to such cases would be to call this guy a traitor. However, the enormity and scale of this intrusion on the privacy of American citizens and the fact that it comes as a revelation not only to us but even to many of our elected representatives indicates to me that this needs a public hearing and dialogue.

128 posted on 06/09/2013 1:44:56 PM PDT by kabar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: SatinDoll

“Yes, Police work.” (in Boston bombing case)

Those are the words Rand Paul used this morning on Fox. (might be a hint at what 3rd party Snowden supported).


129 posted on 06/09/2013 1:46:29 PM PDT by bunster
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 125 | View Replies]

To: Personal Responsibility
Still, doing this is very brave. He is fully aware of how much danger he is in.

If he is what he says he is, he does not understand the "financial oligarchy" that controls governments.

Which fits in with young Libertarians; they don't know about the big boys behind the scenes. They are distracted from the truth about the Fed, for example, by Ron Paul's calls to audit, etc.

It's good, of course, that this guy blew the whistle, but he does not know the real powers he is up against.

Hint: the WH occupant is just a stooge for them; nothing really has anything to do with the occupant, he simply does what he is told. Once the occupant is out of office, the next occupant - whether Democrat OR Republican - will work for the same people.

The real capitals of the world are NYC and London, and the real leaders of the world are off in their estates in the country.
130 posted on 06/09/2013 1:46:55 PM PDT by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 119 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

The Guardian is left wing in the traditional sense - leftist values. That puts them immeasurably ahead of the American mainstream media who are left wing in the sense of being in the tank for Obama with no interest in facts or values. I’m please to see that the Guardian still has real journalists. As for the leaker, I hope that if he is married, is wife is ready to hear the worst innuendo that can be constructed from facts (with some of those invented). Is there a beautiful woman he has called/texted enough times to raise questions? Has he visited a questionable website ever? Any financial irregularities, real or close enough that a little added fiction can make him seem corrupt. This guy is about to experience the power of the US government wielded by pure evil. He has my sympathy - and my admiration.


131 posted on 06/09/2013 1:47:16 PM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: A Navy Vet
If the Repubs (even RINOs) have just one cojone each to run ads that stipulate all these scandals, they will take the Senate and increase the House in the mid-terms. Obambi will be just a figurehead and then we could rebuild our Constitutional Republic, even with all the "gimmes" out there

Actually, that is my biggest worry with 0bama. Give him that brickwall and he goes full on dictator. I keep saying it ....he is a community organizer and there is about half this country that has been bamboozled by this guy. He's issuing Executive Orders like silly now, give him a Republican Congress to demonize and we just might have our tree of liberty getting watered. It is my humble opinion, we need 0bama out of office before 2014 elections.

132 posted on 06/09/2013 1:48:11 PM PDT by EBH (The government that sits in Washington, D.C. is not the United States government.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: Gen.Blather

Obama killed the law. Now one only has to obey the laws they agree with.


133 posted on 06/09/2013 1:48:32 PM PDT by Paladin2 (;-))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 90 | View Replies]

To: squarebarb

“Yes but you can impeach any government official. Including the heads of the IRS, Dep’t of Education, any of them. come on Repubs, get at it!”

I wish they would. We need to see some high level prosecutions and impeachment, if only to see where the trail leads.

But they won’t. They’ll rattle the swords and make us think that they have us covered. DC has become a cabal of elites where they protect each other and send us the bill. I hope I’m 100% wrong on this.

The dude that spilled the beans appears to have something that many in DC lack, a strong belief in a system that where the citizens should have rights protected. They’ll turn him into an ogre.


134 posted on 06/09/2013 1:49:40 PM PDT by apoliticalone (When banksters want what you own they'll use eminent domain. But first they want your firearms.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Gen.Blather

Congress doesn’t,t follow the law.


135 posted on 06/09/2013 1:50:07 PM PDT by Paladin2 (;-))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]

To: bunster

How the Israelis do it seems to keep internal terrorism down. But I guess that means “profiling”, which is supposedly a bigger evil that terrorism.


136 posted on 06/09/2013 1:55:29 PM PDT by SatinDoll (NATURAL BORN CITZEN: BORN IN THE USA OF CITIZEN PARENTS.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 129 | View Replies]

To: petitfour

Here’s why I believe it’s orchestrated by the Obama WH.

You recall the attempted terrorist attack in NYC on May 1, 2010?

It’s the one that prior to the attempted bombing the Obama WH and all of it’s agencies including the IRS, the entire dem. party, all left wing organizations, and the entire left wing news media began orchestrating news stories of how the TEA Party was just a bunch of right wing extremist, racist, ultra violent, Tim McVeigh wanna bees out to overthrow the govt of the US.

With the attempted bombing on May 1 all the left jumped for joy that their talking points about the TEA Party were correct because the bomb was a fertilizer bomb just like Tim McVeigh used.

There is one of three possibilities.

1. The dems and their operatives orchestrated the talking points/news for the attack to blame it on the TEA Party.

2. The terrorist simply picked up on the dems talking points and planned the attack based on the dems talking points.

3. It’s all just a big coincidence the terrorist attack matched the dems talking points.

All just a big coincidence? Not likely, so that leaves us with #1 dems planned the attack to blame the TEA Party or #2 terrorist simply picked up on the dems talking point/news and planned the attack.

Let’s look at the “spontaneous” lie with Benghazi.

It’s nothing more than “the terrorist are so in tune with the news the terrorist can pick up on a news story and plan a terrorist attack around it in a matter of minutes”. Choice #2 and the “spontaneous” lie are for all practical purposes one and the same.

That leaves us with choice #1.

The dems planned the attack to blame the TEA Party, then they planned the attack in Benghazi to create the “spontaneous” lie to try and make people believe the terrorist are simply picking up on the news and planning attacks around the news.

Notice how many people, both right and left, are now saying the NSA gathering phone records are necessary to fight terrorism?

This convenient scandal is creating a lie that the Obama adm. is fighting terrorism when in fact they are collaborating with the terrorist.


137 posted on 06/09/2013 1:58:05 PM PDT by IMR 4350
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 103 | View Replies]

To: apoliticalone

I’ve noticed for quite some time that “core Constitutional principles” seem to be lacking in everyone involved in government, even Republicans.

Even if the government turned over tomorrow, and was 100% GOP, the problems of Big Government would still be with us.


138 posted on 06/09/2013 1:58:20 PM PDT by SatinDoll (NATURAL BORN CITZEN: BORN IN THE USA OF CITIZEN PARENTS.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 134 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

None of this adds up in my mind. Unless he has a sizeable inheritance behind him, for how long can a 29 year old expect to remain holed up in a Hong Kong hotel?


139 posted on 06/09/2013 2:00:22 PM PDT by fso301
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kabar
It may be useful to examine his political leanings to determine his agenda, but the real focus should be on what he has revealed (including supporting TS documents) and whether his allegations are true or not.

My initial reaction to such cases would be to call this guy a traitor. However, the enormity and scale of this intrusion on the privacy of American citizens and the fact that it comes as a revelation not only to us but even to many of our elected representatives indicates to me that this needs a public hearing and dialogue.

Hard to argue with any of that.

As to the political beliefs of Snowden I would point out that my experience is that Libs tend to stretch the truth to make their point. Or, as is the case with Obama and many in his Administration, they just lie to your face. The Right Wingers, Libertarians and we Freepers may be mistaken at times but you are generally going to get the straight scoop from them. I for one am not going to take everything that Snowden tells us at face value. Let's see how it plays out.

140 posted on 06/09/2013 2:07:10 PM PDT by InterceptPoint (If I had a tag line this is where you would find it)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 128 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 101-120121-140141-160 ... 341-358 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson