The Fact That The US Intelligence Community So Readily Admits To Fantasies Of Killing Ed Snowden Sho

[unhappycamper]

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140116/22482625914/fact-that-us-intelligence-community-so-readily-admits-to-fantasies-killing-ed-snowden-shows-why-they-cant-be-trusted.shtml

The Fact That The US Intelligence Community So Readily Admits To Fantasies Of Killing Ed Snowden Shows Why They Can't Be Trusted
from the scary-shit dept
by Mike Masnick
Fri, Jan 17th 2014 7:54am

We've mentioned things in the past like former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden "jokingly" talking about how he'd like to put Ed Snowden on a "kill list" while simultaneously suggesting that the NSA should be a part of determining who to target. While some would dismiss this as a tasteless "joke" it seems like he's not the only one in the intelligence community with such thoughts. We just recently noted that reporter Steven Levy, who spent over two hours interviewing NSA officials, had said that they appear to have a real and passionate hatred towards Snowden.

Now, Benny Johnson, over at Buzzfeed, has been able to get a bunch of intelligence community and military officials to comment anonymously, but on the record, about how much they want to kill Snowden, often including full descriptions of how they'd do it -- and the fact that they don't see any reason to support things like basic due process. The quotes are chilling.

“In a world where I would not be restricted from killing an American, I personally would go and kill him myself,” a current NSA analyst told BuzzFeed. “A lot of people share this sentiment.”

“I would love to put a bullet in his head,” one Pentagon official, a former special forces officer, said bluntly. “I do not take pleasure in taking another human beings life, having to do it in uniform, but he is single handedly the greatest traitor in American history.”

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Gotta love the irony. Thus speaketh the traitor:

>>>>“I would love to put a bullet in his head,” one Pentagon official, a former special forces officer, said bluntly. “I do not take pleasure in taking another human beings life, having to do it in uniform, but he is single handedly the greatest traitor in American history.”>>>

Or *appreciate it*, anyway.

[bemildred]

3. The screams of outrage are very amusing.

These wannabe big-shot movie heroes, savers of society and the world, and perhaps someday, who knows?, the universe, know deep down that they are not anything of the sort.

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. There's just so MUCH in that little quote. Like this:

>>>>having to do it in uniform,>>>>

As though... if he commits the fantasized-about homicide ( i.e. the murder of Snowden) it's really ok. Among other things, it's ok because he's dressed up in a costume/disguise ( i.e. uniform) as he commits the murder.


Give me strength.

[cantbeserious]

2. Chris Hedges On The Deparivity Of American Empire And The Mendacity Of The Intelligence State

[freedom fighter jh]

9. The Social Contract Has Been Broken

The Declaration of Independence says government derives its just power from the consent of the governed. This consent forms the basis of the social contract, the agreement between government and the governed that government will protect citizens' rights and welfare and the governed will obey the law.

Our government has violated our rights consistently and for a long time. Our system provides means of protest: Petition the government, etc. But nothing seems to work. Snowden saw no other way to expose government's wrongdoing except to break the law. If you think of citizens' rights and welfare as being paramount interests and of protection of citizens' rights and welfare as being government's main job, then Snowden was morally obligated to make his knowledge of government wrongdoing public even if that meant breaking the law. Government had let down its end of the bargain so the social contract was not valid and Snowden was not obligated to abide by the law.

It takes guts to act on reasoning like that, because you know you will be pursued and a court is not likely to support you.

[jmowreader]

4. Look at it this way...

You work for a company that's 60 years old and makes a product no one else has ever been able to duplicate. If anyone ever finds out how you make this stuff, you guys are dead and buried because it's not hard or expensive to make.

Your company hires a bright young man. He works at your company three months, walks out the door and hands the recipe to your signature product to your fiercest competitor.

I think you'd want to kill him too.

[cantbeserious]

7. Whither The 4th Amendment And The Right To Privacy - Must Matter Not

eom

[tomp]

8. look at it this way...

they want to kill him because he exposed their crimes. period.

[fasttense]

10. You analogy Does NOT follow logic.

Spying is very, very easy to duplicate. Anyone can do it. I could listen to my stupid neighbor's phone calls right now. I could record them and listen to my heart's content. You even say it's not hard or expensive to make. Calling the revelation of spying a product is like calling polluted air a special gas.

So it should NOT matter that Snowden revealed spying. The only thing that prevents us all from spying on each other is our own morals, the law and the US Constitution.

[bemildred]

11. Except there is no product. It's just a racket, a protection racket, to be precise. nt

[Solly Mack]

5. kr

[Scuba]

6. I'm pretty sure "... anonymously, but on the record ..." is an oxymoron.

That said, I've little doubt that the NSA would be happy to kill Snowden and other true patriots who expose their wrongdoing.