General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Remember when Obama said the NSA wasn’t “actually abusing” its powers? He was wrong. [View all]Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)Let's say I have an old fashioned wind up watch. It stops working, and you ask me the time. I don't realize that the watch is broken, and read it out for you. I have provided you with the best information I have which is in error. I am wrong. Later I will discover my watch has stopped, and presumably take action to correct the problem.
On the other hand, let's say my watch is working just fine, and I tell you the wrong time. In that instance, I have knowingly provided erroneous information. That is a lie.
Now, what we are supposed to believe is that the President doesn't know what is going on with the NSA. His statement would have been vetted, that is to say checked by the NSA before he made it. That is a common practice, the department that is affected by the statement is checked with.
So we have two possible options. Either the NSA lied to President Obama, obviously they would know what they were up to, and Obama was mistaken in saying something he thought was true. However, the obvious problem with that is once President Obama learned his own department lied to him, would he continue to support and keep James Clapper on? If you were my subordinate, and you served at my pleasure, and you let me go out and make untrue statements, you wouldn't resign, you'd be fired publicly and with great fanfare as an example to others.
Possible explanation number two. President Obama decided to continue the fiction under the impression that no one would ever disprove his statement. Much like Eisenhower put forth the fiction that Gary Powers was not spying, and was not over the Soviet Union when his plane went down. The truth made him look very bad later. Not just for the spying, but for the lie.
The follow on actions of number one do not suggest that is the situation we find ourselves in.