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Edward Snowden is asking the US president to pardon him based on the morality of his action.
Well, here is a completely opposite view from the other side, so to speak:
http://observer.com/2016/09/were-losing-the-war-against-terrorism/
"Since 9/11, NSA has been the backbone of the Western intelligence alliance against terrorism. Its signals intelligence is responsible for the strong majority of successful counterterrorism operations in the West. More than three-quarters of the time, NSA or one of its close partner Anglosphere spy partners like Britain's GCHQ, develops a lead on a terror cell which is passed to the FBI and others for action which crushes that cell before it kills. If NSA loses the ability to do this, innocent people in many countries will die.
Unfortunately, there's mounting evidence that NSA's edge over the terrorists is waning. It's impossible not to notice that jihadist emphasis on communications security and encryption, which is now gaining ground, began in 2013. That, of course, is when Edward Snowden, an NSA IT contractor, stole something like 1.7 million classified documents from his employer, shared them with outsiders, then defected to Moscow."
"However, our precious edge in the SpyWar is waning fast. We are no longer winning. We're about to hear a great deal of unwarranted praise of Ed Snowden thanks to the hagiographic movie about him by Oliver Stone that's to be released this week. Don't be fooled. Snowden is no hero. In truth, he and his journalist helpers have aided terrorists in important ways. Snowden and his co-conspirators have blood on their hands—and perhaps much more blood soon thanks to their aid to the genocidal maniacs of ISIS."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Francis on Thursday September 15 2016, @06:26AM
Pretty much. We're losing the war with terrorists because we view it as a war. The only possible way of winning is to stop bombing brown people and just provide aid to groups engaged in peaceful activities.
Or better yet, just leave well enough alone and let things sort themselves out. We've had the better part of 50 years of incompetent small dick diplomacy that has had consequences that are still working their way through. Every time we get involved in a bullshit war that has nothing to do with us or arm rebels we just add more chaos that has to work itself out.
At this point, we've more than adequately proven that continually meddling in the affairs of sovereign states and trying to make things go our way backfires most of the time. Perhaps it's time we stopped sending troops into places and tried just supplying humanitarian aid with no strings attached?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @02:27PM
What do you mean "backfire?" There was an article on the other site yesterday about GCHQ pushing for a Great Firewall of the UK. Look at all the pork that's gone to drone manufacturers and the F-35, not to mention the security theater at airports.
The EU is crumbling due to Muslim migration, and a US presidential candidate who's polling pretty well is running mostly on the idea that they should shut down all immigration of Muslims. Just think of the jobs program that border wall will create.
If you're a lizard and don't really care about human lives beyond keeping them happy enough that they don't organize against you (and do something crazy like elect a democratic socialist or a libertarian), you would say it's been quite successful.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Thursday September 15 2016, @03:20PM
"NSA has been the backbone of the Western intelligence alliance against terrorism"
Just a bullshit thesis. A lie that makes the liar proud of himself and his worldview, based on hubris and delusional self-aggrandizement.
"Well we can't show you evidence proving this claim, because revealing these secrets would further damage the mission that is saving us all from mortal danger and threatens national existence."
Always the pearl-clutching security patriotism of the liar.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 5, Informative) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Thursday September 15 2016, @03:30PM
Islamic Jihadi Immigrants 2
US Far-Right Terrorists 5
All "Islamic Jihadi" Terrorist including Americans 9
Armed Toddlers 21
Lightning 31
Lawnmowers 69
Being Hit By A Bus 264
Falling Out Of Bed 737
Being Shot By Another American 11,737
SAVE US, NSA!
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @03:45PM
Citation needed.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Thursday September 15 2016, @06:25PM
https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14322269_10153993404713380_4334703221756919234_n.jpg?oh=5f12ad68953324fc4e8ba3aadeab6381&oe=587A4D26 [fbcdn.net]
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday September 15 2016, @03:56PM
Congrats, I'm too scared to go to sleep now.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by DavePolaschek on Thursday September 15 2016, @05:51PM
I initially read that as "Falling out of a 737" and wondered how I had missed THAT news story.
(Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Thursday September 15 2016, @06:22PM
Interesting that the next item is 11,737.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 16 2016, @12:11PM
Remember that 73.7% of statistics you read on the internet are made up.
(Score: 2) by srobert on Thursday September 15 2016, @11:03PM
I think somewhere between lightning and lawmowers is being stung to death by bees. Seems like we should wage war on bees and wasps before jihadis if we want to save more lives.
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Thursday September 15 2016, @11:50PM
Arguably, we are already wiping them out through our use of pesticides and the like. I don't think it will be too long before we REALLY start to feel the impact of their vastly diminishing numbers.
(Score: 2) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Thursday September 15 2016, @06:27PM
Another ideological non-term, identifying someone who smokes their breakfast.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday September 15 2016, @11:23PM
It looks to me like the US needs to keep these wars going because it is so lucrative.
Here are a couple of links which show America's various wars:
Lots of murdering of native people here [wikipedia.org]
I haven't checked this [infowars.com]but it looks about right to me.
If the country's major industry is killing people, you get pretty good at it. Creating your own market is what every business likes to do, so arming a bunch of people you can then go and fight is a good strategy, so is making people so angry they attack you.
This is what the US does.
Here is a list of some governments toppled. [globalresearch.ca]
Some of those were democratically elected.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Bot on Thursday September 15 2016, @05:54PM
The only good way to deal with terrorism is to consider it normal crime. Find the perpetrators and fuck everybody who helped, directly or indirectly. You let the family of Bin Laden depart after 9/11? that means obstruction of justice, go behind bars. When whatever political decision is made because of terrorism, somebody will have profited from it.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Friday September 16 2016, @10:03AM
So your answer to Was Operation Neptune Spear (in which Bin Laden was killed) justified? would be an uncompromising Definitely not, then?
The difference between ordinary crime and terrorism is that terrorism is far closer to an enemy-of-the-state situation than to, say, robbery.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @10:57PM
>The only possible way of winning is to stop bombing brown people and just provide aid to groups engaged in peaceful activities
Tell it to France and Belgium, who do everything in their power to bring in more Muslims, pay them welfare to stay, and appease any and all of their demands. They still get bombed and shot up.
(Score: 2) by Post-Nihilist on Saturday September 17 2016, @04:47AM
Maybe if Gaddafi and Saddam were still keeping the lid over those infuriated islamists, maybe, France would not have been cowardly bombed. And maybe if did not armed a bunch of blood thirsty Afghanis to fight against the Soviets maybe 9/11 would have been an ordinary day. But alas we cannot change the past.... However we could maybe stop seeding our future ennemies, maybe?
Be like us, be different, be a nihilist!!!