Edward Snowden (1983 - )

Tue Jun 21, 1983

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Image: Edward Snowden speaks about the NSA leaks in an interview with reporter Glenn Greenwald at the hotel The Mira Hong Kong. [Wikipedia]

Edward Snowden, born on this day in 1983, is an American whistleblower who leaked highly classified information from the NSA in 2013 when he was working as a CIA employee, exposing multiple governments’ widespread surveillance programs.

Snowden’s disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments, prompting a cultural discussion about national security and individual privacy.

In 2013, the United States Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden of two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property, revoking his passport. Two days later, he flew into a Moscow Airport, where Russian authorities noted that his U.S. passport had been canceled, and he could not leave the airport terminal for over one month.

Russia later granted Snowden the right of asylum with an initial visa for residence for one year, and he continues to reside there on extension today.

“Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give to an American.”

- Edward Snowden

  • pjwestin@lemmy.world
    21·
    7 hours ago

    Your extraordinary claim that Russia isn’t treating Snowden the same as they do any other US citizen is “just because”. That is an extraordinary claim with a laughable explanation.

    No, my claim is they’re not treating him badly because treating him badly would help the U.S. government. If Alexei Navalny had come to the U.S., don’t you think we would have granted him Asylum?

    Acting like he went to China (a rival to the US) because China is just super trustworthy. Again, a laughable explanation completely out of touch with reality. But hey, if Snowden said it it must be true.

    Again, Snowden went to Hong Kong. I don’t have the time or interest to explain Hong Kong’s history as a British Colony or the, “one country, two systems,” principal, but the short explanation is that Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous region with a pro-democracy government that often clashes with the PRC.

    Snowden was a spy.

    He really wasn’t. He had one assignment in Geneva, where he mostly did cybersecurity work. He had one field mission to recruit a Swiss Banker, and he was not good at it. Calling him a spy is like calling a medical examiner a cop; they work together, but they’re not the same job.

    Also, if you think Snowden was a Russian spy, don’t you think anyone in the government would be eager to prove that? But the opposite happened. The FBI concluded that Snowden probably worked alone. NSA chief Michael Rogers came to the same conclusion. No one thinks he was a Russian spy except a small group of intelligence pundits and hacks.

    • UsernameHere@lemy.lolEnglish
      12·
      6 hours ago

      If Alexei Navalny had come to the U.S., don’t you think we would have granted him Asylum?

      Is Alexei Navalny a member of multiple Russian intelligence agencies? Nope.

      Does the US have a history of locking up anyone from athletes, reporters, teachers, etc? Nope.

      So there is no reason to believe he would have the same outcome as Snowden.

      He had one assignment in Geneva, where he mostly did cybersecurity work. He had one field mission to recruit a Swiss Banker, and he was not good at it.

      Why do you think you know the inner workings of intelligence agencies? I shouldn’t have to tell you that they are known for sharing as little as possible. It is their job.

      Also, if you think Snowden was a Russian spy, don’t you think anyone in the government would be eager to prove that?

      He’s literally on the run to escape espionage charges…

      Both the US and UK have very clearly accused him of being a spy…