Edward Snowden makes me proud of my country, and the people that fight for it. But he also makes me ashamed of my Government and the people that hide behind it.
This.
Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
41–50 of 222 posts
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#42"Further, no intelligence service - not even our own - has the capacity to compromise the secrets I continue to protect. While it has not been reported in the media, one of my specializations was to teach our people at DIA how to keep such information from being compromised even in the highest threat counter-intelligence environments (i.e. China). You may rest easy knowing I cannot be coerced into revealing that info…
No worries, SP-117 is extremely effective. FSB or any other intelligence service have ways to make people talk. Such naïveté.
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#43Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Either way, if he really wants the focus back on the documents, he should probably write fewer letters about his beliefs, his security, and his personal situation.
I totally disagree on slowing down his writing. think about the federalist papers for a second. Someone needed to wrote them to convince a nation about our beloved constitution. Since all eyes are on Snowden, he has the best ability to sway many minds about what he believes and what I believe to be right.
Shouldn't the interpretation of our Constitution be left to the Supreme Court? I mean, the Constitution explicitly grants the Court those powers.
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#45The most interesting part of this is the following paragraphs from Snowden: Further, no intelligence service - not even our own - has the capacity to compromise the secrets I continue to protect. While it has not been reported in the media, one of my specializations was to teach our people at DIA how to keep such information from being compromised even in the highest threat counter-intelligence environments (i.e. Chi…
I read this to mean that he has taken steps to limit the specific data he knows. So even if he has or had access to documents, he hasnt tried to memorize anything that could be damaging. Meaning they cant force him to reveal information he "doesn't know"
Can we assume that if he is the part of the secret key then if somebody does something bad with him we will lose all the secret docs?
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#46"Further, no intelligence service - not even our own - has the capacity to compromise the secrets I continue to protect. While it has not been reported in the media, one of my specializations was to teach our people at DIA how to keep such information from being compromised even in the highest threat counter-intelligence environments (i.e. China). You may rest easy knowing I cannot be coerced into revealing that info…
I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Either way, if he really wants the focus back on the documents, he should probably write fewer letters about his beliefs, his security, and his personal situation.
I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder.
This is my take too. If he had had more knowledge about the historical background of the other countries he has visited, and especially if he had STRONG knowledge of another language, he might view the position of the United States in these matters a bit differently, and might resolve the trade-offs about what to disclose and what to keep secret quite a bit differently. On my part, as I have said in another HN comment, I would take Snowden's claims more seriously in general if he were on United States soil preparing to face trial for his alleged wrongdoing, ready to bring forward any defenses he thinks he has to possible criminal charges. Right now, part of what Snowden is saying with ghostwriting help from Wikileaks is not making sense.
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#47"Further, no intelligence service - not even our own - has the capacity to compromise the secrets I continue to protect. While it has not been reported in the media, one of my specializations was to teach our people at DIA how to keep such information from being compromised even in the highest threat counter-intelligence environments (i.e. China). You may rest easy knowing I cannot be coerced into revealing that info…
>You may rest easy knowing I cannot be coerced into revealing that information, even under torture.
I have several close friends and family members who have been to SERE(Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape) School. One of the first things you learn, is that EVERYBODY talks when they are being tortured. Forget all of the nonsense you see in movies and television shows. If Putin wants to know what Edward Snowden knows, he will.
Even if they don't choose to go the direct physical route by inflicting pain, there are other ways. Sleep deprivation and near-starvation cause your mental state to degrade rapidly. Eventually, no matter how strong willed you may think you are, you are going to start talking.
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#48Can anyone provide some concrete examples about how the NSA, using the tools that many of us would rather they not, "keeps us safe"?
Are there specific incidents that have been avoided (that wouldn't have otherwise)? Is it just that we are generally "safer"?
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#49Completely off-topic, but oh-my-god if the Guardian mobile website doesn't look so much better on a desktop browser than their non-mobile website... I thought they'd had a redesign for a moment.
Wow, it's night and day. One is a clean usable site where I can clearly read a column of text for which this page exists. The other is a junked up ad/link/box mess and I have no idea what I'm looking at.
And one makes the Guardian considerably more money than the other. It's not a mystery.
Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey
#50"Further, no intelligence service - not even our own - has the capacity to compromise the secrets I continue to protect. While it has not been reported in the media, one of my specializations was to teach our people at DIA how to keep such information from being compromised even in the highest threat counter-intelligence environments (i.e. China). You may rest easy knowing I cannot be coerced into revealing that info…
To offer an opposing view: I cannot be coerced into revealing that information, even under torture. That is a huge claim. I do not imagine that his training involved being tortured to make sure. If he's wrong, there could be dire consequences for the US. You might even say his ego is writing checks his body can't cash.
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