Now two "journalists" have piped up with a stupidly dangerous proposition
Andrew Ross Sorkin
A prominent business journalist suggested Monday that The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald should be arrested for reporting on leaks detailing top secret surveillance programs run by the National Security Agency
David Gregory
"To the extent that you have aided and abetted Snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn't you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?"
Of course some politicians have not only jumped but have had carnal knowledge of the shark; that is to be expected these days.
Rep Steve King
What he said: Not only did [Guardian reporter/blogger Glenn Greenwald] disclose this information, he said he has names of CIA agents and assets around the world and threatening to disclose that... I think [prosecuting reporters] should be very targeted and very selective and a rare exception. In this case, when you have someone who discloses secrets like this and threatens to release more, yes, there has to be legal action taken against him
Shoot! I said shoot the goddamned messenger.
Persecute the unbelievers...sorry.
Of course what is lost in all of this whining and screaming about Greenwald and Snowden is that outsourcing national security left a hole a mile wide when it came to keeping the programs secret. The bigger and more obtrusive these programs become the leakier they in turn will become.
They ignore the seriously bad legislation of the past decade because, because Bengh...Snowden, that has lead to this discrediting of the US around the world.
Allowing secret courts to define secret precedent to implement secret programs stinks to high heaven no matter how loudly people scream "but, but it is all legal" there happens to be a more fundamental question.
It it right or wrong in a supposed democracy.
Oh but China does it!
Yep, let's become China...nay even..Russia!.
I remember something along the lines of
-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government
I would regard spying on its own people breeches this rule. To be able to give consent then the people need to know the extent of such programs, i.e transparency.
I would also argue that running such programs in fact endangers the US from counter measures, even from friendly governments.
The danger of harboring secrets is that once discovered; they risk losing the trust of all.
Then again when you declare preemptive wars
Torture
Pardon the torturers
What is a little cyber-warfare going to do to your already stained reputation?
Dear lord, I need some Monty Python
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