Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor

[Killswitch]

The guy who leaked the N.S.A. documents. He shopped them around for the highest bidder by the way and while he wants to claim I did it for America yada yada yada the first thing he does is run to the Chinese for safety.

Hero? Or Traitor?


http://news.yahoo.com/nsa-contractor-risks-steep-jail-time-data-leak-102058950.html

 

[Busybody]

Traitor

 

[unregistered]

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Hero.

 

[Busybody]

Hero.

wrong

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

wrong

Then shit needs to be exposed. Its kinda like looking up your cousins skirt, wrong in one sense, and good in another.

 

[Killswitch]

Then shit needs to be exposed. Its kinda like looking up your cousins skirt, wrong in one sense, and good in another.

Where do you draw the line then.

Do you want to be the arbiter?

Whats your take on loyalty?

You know they've been collecting this data since the late sixties, right?

 

[unregistered]

 

[richard_daily]

Traitor

Signing your posts again?

 

[Busybody]

Where do you draw the line then.

Do you want to be the arbiter?

Whats your take on loyalty?

You know they've been collecting this data since the late sixties, right?

I agree

 

[Phelia]

Then shit needs to be exposed. Its kinda like looking up your cousins skirt, wrong in one sense, and good in another.

He should hire you for his defense team!

Oh, JBJ. You are a gift.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Every son of a bitch who ever betrayed their country had lofty goals; many thought Alger Hiss and Ethel and Julius Rosenberg had lofty goals too. Truth is James the man signed a national security non-disclosure statement, and took an oath. No matter the reasons, he violated that trust. I do agree the enemy thinks he's a hero though.

That was Speer's argument: He swore an oath to Hitler and was obligated to do his duty to the best of his ability. And he spent 20 years in prison for doing what he was supposed to do.

Its like the Jap who sunk the INDIANAPOLIS, at the Captains court-martial the Jap was the Navys chief witness against the captain. The Jap killed hundreds of sailors, and was the Navys pet.

So help me out, where do we draw the line?

I usta violate court orders cuz the judges were ding-bats. I usually come down on the side of who's ox is getting gored?

 

[Killswitch]

Fox reported we have an extradition agreement with China. Ooops.

lol

There is no formal extradition treaty but they do "work together" on criminal matters.

Interesting to see what China does here.

 

[Busybody]

That was Speer's argument: He swore an oath to Hitler and was obligated to do his duty to the best of his ability. And he spent 20 years in prison for doing what he was supposed to do.

?

to me

that is LAUDABLE

 

[unregistered]

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I think we draw the line at the oath, it has to have real meaning to all in government, and to all who work in the defense of the nation, or we'll lose it all. Though Snowden had lofty goals, and though it might lead to positive reforms, there's no denying that our national interests, our security, and that of our allies might have been compromised, issues we've spent billions to protect. I say try him, find him guilty, stand him up against the firing wall, give him one last quality smoke (no exploding cigar), and bring the squad to the ready...and either by hand signal or verbal command, carry out the sentence.

OK I agree with the oath bizness, now wheres the protection for the oathee?

When the sarge dropped me off the truck and told me to shoot whatever comes down that trail, I did. Fortunately it wasn't a child.

 

[Killswitch]

That line is way the fuck up the chart from basic espionage for profit and whatever other ideological issues this punk has James.

Nicely played though.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

That line is way the fuck up the chart from basic espionage for profit and whatever other ideological issues this punk has James.

Nicely played though.

I don't care to respect an oath the other party violates when it suits their agenda.

 

[unregistered]

 

[unregistered]

 

[Busybody]

this is interesting

FROM A BLOG



"If the NSA leak is a bid by Obama to gain sympathy, it's working."


Says Meade, just now. (Note to Althouse blog outsiders: Meade is my husband. He doesn't blog. He's a commenter. Sometimes he comments in the comments here, sometimes over at Isthmus, and sometimes not on the Internet at all, but on what we call the Neighborhoodnet, at least in the summer, when the windows are open and voices carry.)

We've been speculating about Obama's possible complicity in leaking the NSA story. To participate in this conspiracy theorizing — come on, you know you want to — you need to come up with reasons why Obama and his people would see a benefit to his political interests in releasing this story. We know that in the post-Benghazi period, the administration has dropped scandals on top of scandals. The IRS scandal was dumped on top of Benghazi, distractingly.

But letting out a national security secret? That's something that should never have come out, as opposed to something that was going to come out eventually (where the decision would be when — not whether — to let it out).

But the NSA program is also different in that — unlike Benghazi, IRS, etc. — it wasn't a screwup. It was quite intentional, and it's something they can and will defend. We're not going to hear the usual statements about doing a thorough investigation into how something like that could have happened and the need, going forward, to insure that it never happens again. It's an opportunity to talk about competence. This scandal/"scandal" requires us to focus on the most serious duty of government — national security — and a program that is carefully planned and implemented and (apparently) completely legal.

Now, libertarians and lefties are enraged, and we've been hearing a lot from them in the last few days. Consider whether this is just what Obama wants. Get Rand Paul over there with Glenn Greenwald and his crowd. Let them blow off steam. Meanwhile, the moderates, including many moderate conservatives, are gravitating toward Obama. The left and right extreme are peeling off together, going to their happy place where the fear of foreign terrorists goes numb when Our Own Government threatens Our Liberty.

But the vast middle is coalescing... around Obama... just as planned.

Discuss!

 

[RobDownSouth]

Glenn Beck, of all people, calls out wishy-washy Senator Ted Hitler-Cruz

TED CRUZ FREEZES WHEN ASKED IF SNOWDEN IS A TRAITOR

Cruz "thinks" laws may have been broken and he "thinks" laws should be upheld.

On the other hand, Cruz opined "I think Mr. Snowden has done a considerable public service".

I haven't seen such a freeze-up in public since Dubya's little My Pet Goat episode.

The Vettebigot has scheduled an emergency consultation with Breitbart for appropriate talking points.

 

[Colonel Hogan]

Common criminal who should be prosecuted for violation of numerous national security laws, but hardly a traitor of the likes of Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen, Ronald Pelton and Jonathan Pollard.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Where do you draw the line then.

Do you want to be the arbiter?

Whats your take on loyalty?

You know they've been collecting this data since the late sixties, right?

I really hope you're not saying the gov. has been snooping into emails since the Sixties.

As for Snowden, was he a leaker or a whistle blower? If all he did was to blow the whistle on abuses and unconstitutional actions by the gov., he is a hero. Do you really think it's alright for the NSA, with nothing remotely like a warrant, to latch onto personal and private communications? I get quite a few emails from outside the country. They are pretty innocuous, but I don't want them to be snooped into.

As for oaths and saying "I was just following orders," that was not a valid defense at Nuremburg, nor has it ever been considered a valid defense anywhere. Unlawful orders, and that seems to be what we have here, need not be obeyed.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor

Is there any need to choose?