Is Edward Snowden a 'good guy' whistle blower or a 'bad guy' traitor to the U.S.

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   suzettenaplesposted 10 years ago

   Is Edward Snowden a 'good guy' whistle blower or a 'bad guy' traitor to the U.S.?  Explain
   
   Recently, Edward Snowden, a IT computer worker for a government contract company (Booz Allen) leaked information from the NSA to the press/media about how we are being spied on by our government through phone records, e-mail and internet use.  Is he a hero or a traitor?

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   KFushaposted 10 years ago

   I wouldn't call him either. Edward Snowden is nothing more than a concerned American citizen who witnessed too much wrong-doing and couldn't keep quiet any longer. He felt a moral obligation to speak up against what he perceived as injustice. Personally, I am very grateful that individuals such as Snowden and Manning exist.
   
   Collecting personal information from millions of Americans without a warrant or the presence of probable cause is a direct violation of the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. Unfortunately, the Constitution seems to have become sort of "negotiable" in Washington. The NSA declared today that they will continue their mass surveillance program.
   
   "One nation, under surveillance, with liberty and justice for some..."

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3. 63

   CrescentSkiesposted 10 years ago

   I don't know but I'm very suspicious of him.
   First off, he went to hong kong (which is controlled by our number one enemy in the cyberterrorism and hacking field, China) for sanctuary due to their...how did he put it..."support of free speech"? Hong kong may be a little bit better off than the rest of china but free speech does not exist truly in ANY area of a communist dictatorship.
   Second, he seeks asylum in Russia (another nation that has the potential to gain a significant advantage should he sell information to them) which also has a terribly low amount of free speech. Whether Russia calls itself a democracy or not, Putin is a dictator and human scum in general and free speech can never exist in a country such as that.
   Finally he seeks asylum in Ecuador which is, by history, fairly unfriendly with the United States.
   It's like he's choosing countries that have a lot to gain from info against us instead of countries that just promote free speech. Besides instead of using the proper routes to report any malpractice he's jeopardized what could have been an important counter-terrorism operation (which everyone now knows about and can create countermeasures for).
   But let's ignore this for a second. If he really is an innocent whistleblower, why would he not even attempt to report this supposed malpractice through proper channels? He was too scared? Of what, if the proper channels were used the NSA wouldn't even know he was reporting just that there was an investigation (government departments tend to be competitive and loathe to share information with each other for reasons unknown to humans...ps they aren't human).
   If I had any say on it though, whether he's innocent or not I personally want him dead. He knows way too much to live outside our nation's borders and I'd rather have him dead (innocent or not) than have any of our nation's info in the hands of a threat like China or Russia. Once the external threat is dealt with I can start worrying about the internal ones of whether NSA really did anything wrong or not.

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   Larry Wallposted 10 years ago

   I agree with CrescentSkies and KFusha to a great extent. Snowde was a contractor. He could had quit. He could had told his story here and probably been protected by the Whistleblower Act as long as he did not reveal the methods the government is allegedly using to gather information. I use the word allegedly because I have no first-hand knowledge and as far as i know, nothing has been confirmed.
   
   Snowden choice of countries to seek asylum has not impressed me. It raises concerns about his ultimate loyalty to his native country. Also, I suspect he knew what he was getting into when he took the job.

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      lone77starposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Choice of countries when Obama has a Kill List with Americans on it? Come on, Larry. Go to a country allied in crime, and you could easily end up dead, renditioned or suicided.
      
      I'm loyal to the Constitution -- not to a criminal government.

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      Larry Wallposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      lone77star, sometimes I agree with you and sometimes you bother me. I do not believe Obama has a kill list. It is true, if Snowden went to one of our allies, he would be extradited back to the U.S. That is the way the law works. Snowden had options.

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5. 74

   lone77starposted 10 years ago

   I don't know a lot about the case, but if Snowden revealed crimes that the government has been committing, then he is a hero, and the NSA is a batch of traitors.
   
   Obama is a traitor because he swore to defend the Constitution, but has repeatedly trashed it by signing legislation that has continually shred it and the Bill of Rights. Obama was caught saying that the prisoners in Guantanamo should be kept there indefinitely, even if found innocent! Treason! He ordered military officers to answer a question -- Would you obey the president if he ordered you to fire on civilians? Those who answered "No," were immediately dismissed for defending the Constitution over illegal orders from the president.
   
   Anyone who thinks this leads to a good, "American" ending are likely naive, deluded and full of Normalcy Bias.
   
   There have been lots of whistleblowers in recent years who have been attacked by the government. A leadership that depends on secrecy to hide their crimes under a banner of "National Security" is not worth supporting.
   
   Americans fought a war against that kind of tyranny. Perhaps it's time for another revolution. Corporate Party has taken our government away from us, stolen it with lobbyists' dollars.

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   danfranchposted 10 years ago

   the problem guys is you see this as "the good americans vs the rest of the world". We all are humans and nobody has the right to take the rol of the "leader of freedom" like Superman. Just think on Guantanamo, Irak, Vietnam and all the "wrongs" of the USA through history...stop the brain washing!
   and lets try to live as an only human race

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