Which Was Worse? Snowden’s Revelations or Cheney’s?
January 27, 2014

 
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The latest big-reveal by self-proclaimed “whistle-blower” Edward Snowden over the weekend was the fact that the U.S. government has been using/abusing its electronic surveillance capabilities… intended to protect Americans from terrorism… for “industrial espionage” purposes, providing Corporate America with high-tech secrets from foreign corporations. Set aside for a moment the distasteful notion that we are abusing a massive government anti-terrorism program to profit mega-corporations, because I have a feeling we’re not the only ones. Instead, consider this: Which was more harmful to National Security? Revelations by Snowden about the misuse of the NSA for corporate profit, or members of the Bush White House endangering national security (and likely the lives of numerous agents & informants) just to punish their political enemies? I’m serious. In any sane world, which should be more deserving of outrage? It’s a thought that struck me while listening to the Sunday talk shows yesterday, wondering, “Is Snowden a foreign spy?”, “Did he get help from the Russians?” “Should he be given clemency in exchange for stopping the leaks? Talking heads breathlessly covered Snowden’s latest interview from Russia with a German reporter, where he revealed… with a smile on his face no less… that the American government has been using the NSA to spy on some of the world’s biggest corporations.

Anyone who read my piece three weeks ago questioning the legitimacy of Snowden’s labeling himself as a “whistle-blower” knows I’m no fan of his. Hey, I’m as glad as anyone that this information about abuses of government power is getting out, and hopefully positive changes will come from it. But Snowden’s a glory-hound that decided to take it upon himself to expose rumored government spying on American citizens (remember, we ALREADY KNEW about warrantless wiretapping since the Bush Administration) and who sought out a high-security job with the specific intent of stealing top secret information without actually knowing if abuses he suspected were taking place were in fact taking place. On top of all that, he is deciding for himself what we do or do not deserve to know. He’s unwilling to face justice the way any legitimate reporter or true “whistle-blower” would because he knows he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. So let’s be clear that what I write today should in no way be misconstrued as in defense of Edward Snowden. My point is that, compared to what The Bush White House… and Dick Cheney in particular… revealed about our National Security apparatus in the name of partisan politics was FAR worse with FAR greater National Security implications, resulting in little-to-no outrage on the right (in fact, ranging from indifference to outright support.)

I first detailed the Valery Plame case following the conviction of Vice President Cheney’s Chief of Staff, “Scooter” Libby, in 2007. Libby was convicted of “Obstruction of Justice” for not only refusing to reveal who instructed him to leak the true identity of “Ambassador Wilson’s wife”, but for deliberately misleading investigators attempting to figure it out on their own. Libby should have gone to jail, but President Bush commuted Libby’s sentence because he felt losing his law license and paying a stiff fine were punishment enough for destroying a high-value intelligence asset whose job it was was to monitor Iran’s nuclear program, obliterating any future value of the secret CIA front-company she worked for (“Brewster/Jennings”) that took decades to establish, and endangering not only her life but the lives of every employee that ever worked for the CIA front and any foreign asset known to have associated with them. All of it, gone (and placed in grave danger) in the blink of an eye.

And why did they do it? To undermine the credibility of the guy that exposed their lie about an “Iraqi nuclear program” as justification for war. (And whether or not the Bush Administration also leaked the name of alQaeda informant “Noor Khan” three months before the November election just to score some cheap political points with the voters, we may never know.)

Now compare that to Edward’s Snowden’s yawn-inducing revelation that the government is (still) spying on American citizens and abusing its power to benefit Big Business (that STILL contributed heavily to the Romney campaign.) Now you tell me, which revelation was more damaging to National Security and deserving of more outrage?

 


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January 27, 2014 · Admin Mugsy · No Comments - Add
Posted in: Crime, National Security, Politics, Scandals

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