Despite NSA's Omnipresence, State Dept. Hands Off 'Anti-Surveillance' Tech To Syrian Rebels

[n2doc]

The government, at least some part of it, is out there trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately, a very powerful and influential part of the government is currently entangled in a few decades' worth of doing the wrong thing. DJ Pangburn, writing for Vice, details the "stark irony" of the government (namely, the State Dept.) handing off "anti-surveillance" technology to Syrian rebels, as if completely unaware of the NSA's globetrotting surveillance efforts and attacks on anything that might keep data out of its hands.

Now, the US State Department, through the Office of Syrian Opposition Support (OSOS), is once again publicly touting its delivery of hardware and software solutions to Syrian rebels. In total, $25 million is being dumped into the Syrian revolution for this purpose via the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative and the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization. State Department Internet Freedom Grants are also doled out to software developers interested in helping dissidents worldwide. And, according to Time magazine, the US is even teaching dissidents communication security by way of non-profits such as the Institute for War & Peace Reporting and Freedom House...

The irony of the US government's anti-surveillance efforts in Syria, as it defends its NSA surveillance programs in the aftermath of Edward Snowden's leaks, should not be lost on anyone. But, hell, maybe we should be encouraged that at least some of the world's population should be free of Big Brother's prying eyes.

The government is too cursed with a career bureaucrat's lack of self-awareness to recognize the irony of its efforts. All that matters is that the paperwork's in order. "Snoop-proof" tech is being requisitioned with the left hand while the right hand installs backdoors before it's boxed up and shipped. The dissonance of this act would be jarring, except for the fact that the president himself claims he's getting most of his NSA info secondhand -- from the press rather than from security briefings. The government strives to be all things to all people but is prevented from rising above "useless" by the counterproductive desires of its internal masters.

more
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130909/06525624451/despite-growing-evidence-nsas-omnipresence-state-dept-hands-off-anti-surveillance-tech-to-syrian-rebels.shtml

[jsr]

1. Shielding the bad guys while treating Americans at home like enemies

[Laelth]

2. Irony, indeed. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth