That all major intelligence agencies engage in acquiring information on critical capabilities, both national security and industrial, is not the issue. Such activities are not acknowledged in country-to-country dealings. Snowden not only did so at an awkward time (immediately ahead of a top-level U.S.-China meeting), he also disclosed the method used (damaging U.S. intelligence capabilities). None of this had anything to do with domestic surveillance of U.S. citizens.
When is it NOT an awkward time to out the US spying on it's own citizens, it's allies etc?
I have yet to run across any politically aware person (assuming foreign intelligence is also politically aware) who didn't know about the methods via previous discussion and debates surrounding the patriot act and the need for warrantless searches of phone and electronic communications data. There was nothing surprising there. The ONLY bit we didn't know about, and indeed were told was not happening, was the collection of data concerning US citizens.
Please link to any information that he provided specific details of our intel methods that were not publicly available through congressional records, defense news outlets (eg:Janes360). Even the widespread gathering of data (intel) on US citizens was reported on, but officially denied by officials (lied). Get that? There is nothing that Snowden has revealed that hasn't been revealed again and again and again. He just did it in such a way as to get the attention of the public. That's the only difference.
Here are some related articles from the archives...
The NYT’s predictable revelation: new FISA law enabled massive abuses - Salon.com 2009 - passed on leaked revelations of brand new NSA domestic spying abuses, ones enabled by the 2008 FISA law. The article reports that the spying abuses are “significant and systemic“; involve improper interception of “significant amounts” of the emails and telephone calls of Americans, including purely domestic communications; and that, under Bush (prior to the new FISA...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/us/16nsa.html?_r=2&hp& 4/2009 The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.
As for more specific information such as that supplied to Chinese media sounds specific, yet in reality there are only so many ways to hack a system, all he did was describe what path any hack has to use to get to the front door. He did not reveal the techniques used from that point on. That's where the magic happens, so to speak. As for revealing specific targets... they were national telecoms... those telecoms already knew they were being hacked.
The only thing Snowden has done up to this point is to remove the ability of the US to deny it's actions against our constitutionally protected rights. Yet, we already knew that too..
Everyone knew that the FISA bill which Congressional Democrats passed — and which George Bush and Dick Cheney celebrated — would enable these surveillance abuses. That was the purpose of the law: to gut the safeguards in place since the 1978 passage of FISA, destroy the crux of the oversight regime over executive surveillance of Americans, and enable and empower unchecked government spying activities. This was not an unintended and unforeseeable consequence of that bill. To the contrary, it was crystal clear that by gutting FISA’s safeguards, the Democratic Congress was making these abuses inevitable.
Here is what it comes down to for me...
In every case involving citizen v gov't, the benefit of doubt will always go with the citizen, my fellow American and suspicion/vigilance of the motives of gov't as a matter of patriotism.
No gov't in the history of human civilization could be trusted with power, the less of it they have, the safer the people and their rights are. This is not ideology, this is a historically constant fact... and why innocent until PROVEN guilty is a necessary and wise cornerstone of our national foundation.
The human condition does not change, has not changed in 12 millennia where power, greed and ambition are concerned. Tyranny ALWAYS seeks power. It is WHY we have broad protections against gov't overstep. IF Snowden has indeed supplied specific tactics and methods to undemocratic rivals, then he should be tried... if he broke laws passing classified documents to support his claim of domestic spying, he should be tried... but until that time, I stand united with my fellow citizens as a patriot against a gov't that has shown itself over the course of four decades to be increasingly incompetent, corrupted, deceitful and given to pushing against those intentionally broad protections of our rights.
Lastly, the gov't derives it's power FROM The People... not through the vote, but through the consent of The People to BE governed. These are not political leaders, they are public servants. The ONLY patriotic position (IMHO) is to support a fair and open trial with a seriously vigilant eye towards any gov't claim. But to demonize him and declare his motives as anything but what HE says they were... to pronounce him guilty or more likely of guilt than this mockery of a gov't we have...?
Lastly, three quick thoughts..
I don't need my gov't to spend half a trillion dollars a year protecting me from terrorists and economic competitors for world resources when I'm 1000 times more likely to be killed by an american with a gun (pro gun btw) and have my skilled job sent overseas by big capital.
If our best and brightest can't figure out how to target communications without impacting our rights, they're doing it wrong...
If our gov't is so interested in what we are doing and saying in private, shouldn't we return the favor?
eace
