General Michael Hayden, former director of both the CIA and NSA, offers an accurate perspective on Edward Snowden.
I'm often questioned on this; usually in the context of “but, . . . but, . . . Snowden exposed massive, illegal spying on Americans and our allies.” I’ll let the eloquent and well-respected General Hayden speak to the truth of the matter:
Snowden is a rat
For the hundreds of thousands of documents Snowden stole, he didn’t see fit to keep one, not one, piece of evidence that he ever tried to bring his concerns to his superiors. Not one memo. Not one email. Not one record of a phone call or meeting. How could that “master” thief be so clever and smart, but “forget” the one element that could justify (in his mind) his actions?
Snowden never raised his supposed concerns with his superiors. Oliver Stone, and other Snowden boosters, also conveniently ignore that there are a number of legal mechanisms for addressing such concerns by an employee. Snowden could have, but didn’t, go to the NSA Inspector General or Booze Allen’s IG. There is even a mechanism for a concerned employee to raise issues with the congressional oversight committees in a secure facility. Snowden made no attempt to avail himself of any of these proper and legal channels.
As General Hayden points out, Snowden’s misguided admirers are essentially advocating allowing an immature, low- or mid-level contractor employee, who has limited, narrow perspectives and experience on programs, oversight, and the laws, to negate large, expensive, and legal programs that have been approved, encouraged, and funded by congress and the Executive branch, with the approval, review, and oversight of the FISA court.
Zero Hedge: (
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-0...mp-nbc-reports )
Quote:
There are “a lot of reasons” that would “make sense” for Russia to take such a step, Morell wrote in his column in the Cipher Brief. The former CIA acting chief believes that “the Russian president needs a relationship with the incoming US president where the US overlooks Moscow’s anti-democratic activities at home and destabilizing activities abroad.”
Moreover, “gifting” Snowden could also become a good way “to poke his [Putin’s] finger in the eye of his adversary Barack Obama,” Morell added.
In addition, “this would give President Putin one of the things he desires the most – being seen at home and abroad as an equal of the US.”