Edward Snowden’s Dubious Heroism

Posted on | June 10, 2013 | 87 Comments

Lindsay Mills is a dancer, acrobat and blogger:

“My world has opened and closed all at once. Leaving me lost at sea without a compass. . . . But at the moment all I can feel is alone. . . . As I type this on my tear-streaked keyboard I’m reflecting on all the faces that have graced my path.”

Until quite recently, she also hoped and expected to become Mrs. Edward Snowden, but without warning, he decided to abscond abroad and release the secrets he had been paid to keep:

Federal agents this afternoon visited the Pennsylvania home of Edward Snowden’s father and stepmother, just hours after the 29-year-old NSA whistleblower checked out of his plush Hong Kong hotel and went on the run from U.S. and Chinese authorities.
Two men, identifying themselves as FBI agents, dropped in on Lonnie Snowden, 52, and his wife Karen Snowden, 48, at their property in Upper Macungie Township, as the couple were still ‘digesting and processing’ the news about their son.

The explanations offered by Edward Snowden just don’t add up. They are rationalizations or excuses, more than explanations. And while there are people who desperately want Snowden to be the hero of this story, I think it’s not really going to work out that way, because Snowden appears to be a deeply flawed personality.

Michael Moynihan is one of the few people who isn’t joining in the rush to beatify Saint Edward of Whistleblower.

OK, that makes me and you, Mike.

We know why the Left loves Snowden: Because they hate America.

Anyone who damages U.S. prestige and undermines America’s national security, they love. You know . . . like Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, vast swaths of the Right seem to be following this syllogism: The NSA revelations are good, because they’re bad for Obama, and therefore Snowden must be hailed as heroic. But where’s the political payoff in that calculus? I think the celebration of Snowden is unnecessary to blaming Obama for this mess, and I suspect Obama will manage to evade the blame.

My Twitter timeline is crowded with hostile characters ranting about the Fourth Amendment in a tone reminiscent of 9/11 Truthers ranting about how fire can’t melt steel: “Inside job!”

Chill out. You think this guy is going to (a) burn the entire U.S. intelligence community and (b) have no dirt for the entire U.S. intelligence community to dig up and leak out?

Within 48 hours, “sources close to the investigation” will bring out damaging material about Snowden, and meanwhile, reporters will be quoting Snowden’s former colleagues to the effect that, since being diagnosed with epilepsy last year, this guy has been acting weird. He was, let’s say . . . depressed. Emotionally unstable. A kook, really.

Charles Krauthammer, on the other hand, is not a kook:

Category: Military

Comments

87 Responses to “Edward Snowden’s Dubious Heroism”

sybilll
June 11th, 2013 @ 12:08 am

Shooting the messenger. ~Sigh
John Duncan
June 11th, 2013 @ 12:12 am

Krauthammer used to support Walter Mondale. He is a treasonous snake masquerading as a conservative. A fake. A traitor. He is not a Republican. Edward is a hero and patriot.
JeffS
June 11th, 2013 @ 12:33 am

Krauthammer makes sense. But that assumes one trusts the government not to abuse the system. And that there are mechanisms to address those abuses.

The first assumption would have been a reach 30 years ago. I recall when Clinton proposed a backdoor commercial encryption technology back in the mid 1990’s, kept by the government for use only as necessary, and with a warrant.

I also recall the gales of laughter over the concept. These days, it’s tremors of fear, thanks to the abuses of the IRS, EPA, DOJ, and other Federal agencies.

As for the mechanisms….first, one has to know there are abuses. Hard to find out if the program is secret, which means it’s a “chicken or egg” question. With justifiable trust, a secret program is not an issue. Without trust….well, just go read the news these days.

Second, we are witnessing open abuse of unclassified programs…..and the accused agencies are blowing off their Constitutional oversight, i.e., Congress. And Congress is unwilling to shut down sacred government activities, which they could do, theoretically, thanks to the power of the purse inherent to the Constitution.

So, like I said, Krauthammer makes sense. If you accept those assumptions.
juneslili
June 11th, 2013 @ 12:57 am

Wouldn’t it be better to focus more on the message rather than the messenger? I love America. I have nothing against Snowden, and I don’t plan on making him my hero. But don’t we have a right to know if our rights are being infringed upon? Most of all, considering the track record of going after the whistleblowers in this administration maybe Snowden felt he didn’t have much choice. I hope we keep investigating, (the message) and our rights–what’s left of them anyway.
Christopher Blake Carlton
June 11th, 2013 @ 2:05 am

The program itself is very concerning. More concerning is why a dunce like Snowden had the clearance to pull this information. Sounds like espionage to me. Snowden, after collecting over half a million dollars as a contractor, finally sees the error of his ways and runs into the arms of the Chinese intelligence service in hong kong. and let’s be clear, this isn’t the Hong Kong of Milton friedmans free to choose. But are any of us surprised by these revelations. This man, Snowden was paid handsomely to keep the governments secrets. He didnt. Prosecute him. Discretion is the better part of valor.

The policy debate is important, but lets not lionize a man who enriched himself at the teat of government and then sold out her secrets.
. Perhaps we should lionize Obama himself for selling out a secret Israeli airbase. Bad for our national security interests, but a good political cudgel.
Evi L. Bloggerlady
June 11th, 2013 @ 2:39 am

Snowden is a coward and betrayed the trust of his office. If he were a man of principle, he would act and then stand for his act. He did not.

Updated link
Evi L. Bloggerlady
June 11th, 2013 @ 2:43 am

Nonsense. Edward Snowden was an Obama supporter upset Obama was not more of his liking. But that alone is mostly irrelevant. Liberal or conservative, the man betrayed his office, disclosed secrets, then ran like a coward.
Evi L. Bloggerlady
June 11th, 2013 @ 2:45 am

That is exactly right. Snowden is a coward and may be mentally unhinged. That the program he disclosed is wrong does not change that what Snowden did was wrong.
AnonymousDrivel
June 11th, 2013 @ 2:50 am

Snowden performed a valuable service for America considering the context of a current government that has gone wildly astray. I don’t trust it. Do you? Given that, it’s time we determine just how much liberty for “safety” we’re willing to concede. The checks on government reach are not working. We need to reevaluate even on the odd chance that lives might be lost if we don’t yield to what could be government whim or “good intentions”.

More people died last week in Chicago alone due to gun violence than have been killed since 9/11 from domestic terror. Has PRISM or other dragnet stopped multitudes of terrorist attacks? No. As I understand it, the administration states in its defense that one attack was thwarted. Now, if that is not a lie (and are we really in a position to trust our government on its numbers?), think about that number: ONE. Moreover more than one successful terrorist attack has happened during the same frame. The idea that Constitutional rights should be dramatically reduced or ignored “if it can just save one life” (and that’s not a strawman as I’ve heard it stated) is, if not dubious, dangerous as we would inevitably slide down the slippery slope.

Is Snowden a hero? Time may tell; but he has done something to force us to decide exactly what kind of people we want to be. I find that terribly useful and righteous at this moment in history where the path our nation travels is diverging. This goes way beyond just Obama and more to the future we are constructing, a future that will be indelibly forced upon our heirs.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 5:59 am

IF those were the actual facts, I would be more in agreement. BUT they are not, in fact Snowden has only made a great deal of general allegations unsupported by any substance. Where is the illegality?

Perhaps you believe DiFi and Mike Rogers are in a conspiracy with Big Brother?
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:02 am

We need to be ever vigilant, and ensure our oversight mechanisms are sufficient to the task. That three-month employees and unstable personalities like Manning get such high clearance is a red flag.

The discussion about the proper scope and depth of NSA authority and practice should be ongoing – but it is now being allowed to distract from the real criminal scandals at IRS, EPA, DOJ, HHS, and State – that we know of, so far.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:05 am

IF he were a whistle-blower with evidence of illegality, he would enjoy legal protections here and Congress would be his sanctuary. Every reporter in town would be begging to air his story.

BUT he didn’t pick up the phone and do that, NOR has he provided any evidence of illegality. AND he leaked his story to a serial liar in the British press and immediately boarded a flight to the tender embrace of the Red Chinese.

Some hero you picked there!
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:11 am

This is the shiny squirrel in the corner with multicolored glitter and a roadrunner horn, pulling attention away from actual illegal practices already exposed.

SUCKERS. Obama will “invite that conversation” over security measures, and keep his criminal activities off the front pages and the front burners.

Stacy had the quote of the year yesterday: “I’m more afraid of the Department of Education than the NSA.” And rightly so.

Seriously, how many vacuum cleaners and sets of encyclopedia do you people own? Do you have knives that will cut through an aluminum can? Do you turn red if someone suggests fire can melt steel?
Pablo
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:11 am

If you’re more concerned with Snowden than you are with PRISM, you’re doing it wrong.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:12 am

Exactly.

We should hang the traitorous Fluke.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:13 am

“Edward” is it? On a first-name basis? Methinks Lindsay Mills missed more than a neurotic traitor in her fiance.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:14 am

He ran like a Chinese agent, really.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:16 am

The mechanisms need constant tweaking, and we are remiss in neglecting that aspect.

But that doesn’t make one freaky kid with no evidence of anything front page news. Not many IRS or EPA stories leading lately, are there?
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:17 am

If you think a three-month employee should be able to “out” the entire security apparatus because his 29 year old inner child spoke to him, you’re probably working for the Chinese too.
Pablo
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:19 am

So, the Chinese hired him at Booz? Interesting.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:24 am

HUH? That has no relation to what I said. But libertarians tend to have low comprehensive skills.
Pablo
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:30 am

The people who decided Snowden should have access to the information he did are the people who hired him. Which, you seem convinced, must be Chinese.
Wombat_socho
June 11th, 2013 @ 6:41 am

You throw all the ex-Democrats out of the party, there ain’t gonna be a lot of us left, bubba.
Adjoran
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:02 am

The people he ran to after spilling the beans run Hong Kong. Here’s a clue: people misrepresent themselves to get security clearances all the time, and they fool the government as well as private contractors.
Pablo
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:08 am

Glenn Greenwald runs Hong Kong? Interesting.
John Duncan
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:13 am

He was NOT an Obama supporter. He supported Republican Ron Paul.
John Duncan
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:15 am

We could do without ex-Democrats like Krauthammer and Kristol posing as conservative leaders. They’re not.
John Duncan
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:16 am

How is he coward? He’s running from a criminal regime ran by Obama. We should applaud him.
John Duncan
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:17 am

The people in the NSA are the ones who betrayed their oath of office (Fourth Amendment). Edward has alerted us to treasonous domestic enemies.
gastorgrab
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:17 am

To Krauthammer’s point that “the police have guns”, and that leaves the possibility that guns can be abused, is moot because ‘We The People’ also have guns.
John Duncan
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:19 am

Charles doesn’t believe in the 2nd amendment. He’d rather you not have those guns. Only the government can have them…

You can tell he’s a former Dem and phony.
gastorgrab
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:23 am

Why are our intelligence services so reckless?

– Why are companies who have contracts for top secret programs allowed to hire Chinese nationals to work on them? Why are those employees allowed to simply walk out of their place of employment, get on a plane, and fly back to Beijing?

– Why do low-level employees like Snowden have access to extremely damaging US intelligence in the first place?

– Why is the Justice Department trying to cover up sexual assaults by US diplomats in other countries instead of removing those people from those positions? Doesn’t their behavior make it possible for them to be targets of blackmail?
gastorgrab
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:26 am

I think that everyone with a childhood was once a Democrat.

But then they grew up. Some of them anyway.
Pablo
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:42 am

If he didn’t release any facts, how did he damage national security? If the program he exposed doesn’t exist, why was it declassified?

The illegality is in the violation of the Fourth Amendment. General warrants are unconstitutional. Snowden is all but irrelevant.
Bob Belvedere
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:57 am

And use the kind of noose that doesn’t immediately snap the neck.
Bob Belvedere
June 11th, 2013 @ 7:58 am

Indeed, I was a Democrat until the tender age of seven before I saw the light and became a Republican in 1968.
AnonymousDrivel
June 11th, 2013 @ 8:08 am

Snowden would enjoy guaranteed legal protections from THIS Congress, THIS administration, THIS government? You have that much faith in the legal apparatus given its rogue behavior as practiced today? Are you not watching the news? “Every” reporter would be begging to air the story? From a collection of sycophants who are desperate as an institution to protect Obama on pretty much every thing? How could Snowden be certain that this was the one time where proven trends were set on their heads as an inversion of all previous behaviors?

Snowden knew enough to know that he was guaranteed nothing with regard to legal protections on whistleblowing. We have become a nation of men, not laws. The administration would successfully throw the kitchen sink at him and Congress is not the group of patriots dedicated to seeing the truth will out much as we might imagine it would. It’s a divided collection of political animals angling for their own fortunes who would readily dump a pawn if politically expedient. Then the likes of Snowden would sit in prison buried and hidden under an overstepping bureaucracy whose mission under current regimes is to halt critics and silence them. Snowden’s real hope would then to be to count on the media to spread his word and keep him free, a schizophrenic lot at best until the next election comes and it’s time to elect Hillary at which point his demonization begins in earnest.

As to the flight to Hong Kong, a pretty wise choice given that it might be the
only country willing to stand up to the US when things get real. At this point I don’t think Snowden to be a commie traitor as much as a guy looking to reveal a highly questionable act on our government’s part and buying some time to guarantee word gets out before he is muzzled.

So, again, time will tell if he is a hero; but Snowden’s play seems legitimate and rational to me much as he’ll be smeared as “stupid”, “traitorous”, “cowardly”, or whatever. I’m glad to be aware now that our government is scouring and hoarding private data about me and my family and may use it against me if it finds it useful, legally or not, with virtually no protective apparatus to keep it under control. Damn glad to know it, actually, and not because I’m a terrorist but because I’m still a free citizen. This revelation seems like a plan to keep me so; so yes, Snowden has still performed a service the degree to which depends purely on what checks are ultimately imposed on a rogue government.
Bob Belvedere
June 11th, 2013 @ 8:10 am

Snowden is relevant if we believe in The Rule Of Law.
Bob Belvedere
June 11th, 2013 @ 8:11 am

THIS.
Da Tech Guy On DaRadio Blog » Blog Archive » Why do I see #Freekate when I read #teamsnowden?
June 11th, 2013 @ 9:34 am

[…] McCain has also noticed the same kind of pushback as he’s been less willing to give Mr. Snowden […]
Pablo
June 11th, 2013 @ 9:35 am

Not as relevant as PRISM is. Not even as relevant as whoever outed Shakil Afridi.

The Fourth Amendment > NSA secrecy.
Shawny
June 11th, 2013 @ 9:43 am

We know that the IRS thing was a carefully planned “leak”, just like the Patraeus infidelity story they knew about for over a year. Why are we so sure Snowden isn’t more of the same distraction? http://www.repubx.com/post/2013/06/10/OOPS-The-Stickers-on-Edward-Snowden’s-Laptop-(Soros-funded-organization).aspx
I’m not so sure this isn’t a set up. I’m also damned sure that if Dianne Feinstein and Lindsay Graham both agree that this guy should be hung…….it sure isn’t a side I’m willingly waltzing over to without a lot more information. Granted, this guy ain’t no Breitbart……but he’s still alive to talk for now. There are laws which protect whistleblowers but they don’t do crap when the rules of law are routinely being broken and the DOJ is a hostile asshole. That being said, I’m going to go with Obama/Biden being much more of a threat to our national security and our men in uniform, much more traitorous than this stupid kid. If the only damned way we’re going to get any truth or transparency about what’s going on is whistleblowers;…….then you know how to whistle, don’t you?
richard mcenroe
June 11th, 2013 @ 10:58 am

The biggest argument in Snowden’s favor is that John Boehner condemns him. He
richard mcenroe
June 11th, 2013 @ 11:00 am

Bowden may be a flakea and a weasel but he is a flake that exposed serious wrongdoing, He’s the enemy of our enemy, and that may not make him a friend, but it makes him useful, and a
richard mcenroe
June 11th, 2013 @ 11:04 am

Has the NSA denied gathering metadata? Have the “Accidental” taps of innocent Americans’ phones and internet activity been disproven? Has the invasion of our troops’ marital privacy by bored apparatchiks been rebutted?
richard mcenroe
June 11th, 2013 @ 11:06 am

“you’re probably working for the Chinese too.”…Oh, please.
bet0001970
June 11th, 2013 @ 11:08 am

Wait a minute…so are you saying that anyone who has the temerity to complain about 4th Amendment violations by our government is akin to a 9/11 truther now? Did you really just go there, Stacy?

You’re being thoroughly excoriated by your own readers, so you’re response is to compare them to 9/11 truthers?

Oh Stacy…that’s just bad form.
Edward Snowden, the NSA, PRISM and All That | The Necropolitan Sentinel
June 11th, 2013 @ 12:03 pm

[…] I don't have enough information about Mr. Snowden to make any call about him, or his motives. As Ace and others have noted, it's not a good thing that he fled to Hong Kong, and some of his claims appear not to stand up to scrutiny. He's has violated the Espionage Act. It's an open question, at this point, whether his actions rise to the level of treason. I know what Snowden's expressed motives are, but I'm not sure that he's quite as square about what they are even to himself as he represents. Like other people, I'm baffled how he would have secured through BAH the kind of clearances that would have made him as aware of these programs as he claims to be, and equally baffled over how he was able to extract the documents that he's given to Glenn Greenwald. Recently, I finished reading The Informant, about Mark Whitacre, who blew the whistle on ADM's price fixing schemes, corporate espionage and other abuse. A man of many lies and deceptions, even as he was cooperating with the FBI, he continued to run kickback and fraud scams that landed him in the slammer despite that cooperation, and continued telling lies, some of them very puzzling to his handlers, as he helped them gather evidence. I think Stacy's right, and that we're likely to find out an awful lot of unflattering things about our whistleblower. […]
The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Vladimir Putin: Friend of Liberty?
June 11th, 2013 @ 12:24 pm

[…] the NSA surveillance program as pure evil Big Brother “spying” on Americans or to embrace the leaker Edward Snowden as a patriotic hero. Certainly, this is a weird situation when House Speaker John Boehner is citing President Obama […]
Edward Snowden's 'Smoking Hot' Girlfriend - Lowering the Boom
June 11th, 2013 @ 12:56 pm

[…] Snowden is truly heroic for revealing the NSA stuff. It’s obviously not for personal gain. (I don’t endorse that view, either, but Mr. McCain would agree that the subject is perfect material for Rule […]