What did Edward Snowden get wrong? Everything

[Zorro]

Edward Snowden is now out of his limbo at Moscow's airport, presumably ensconced in some Russian dacha, wondering what the next phase of his young life will bring. Having spent 30 years in the intelligence business, I fervently hope the food is lousy, the winter is cold, and the Internet access is awful. But I worry less about what happens to this one man and more about the damage Snowden has done — and could still do — to America's long-term ability to strike the right balance between privacy and security.

Ever since Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, leaked top-secret material about its surveillance programs, he and the U.S. government have locked horns about the nature of those programs.

But those following the Snowden saga should understand two key points. First, though many things need to be kept secret in today's dangerous world, the line between "secret" and "not secret" is fuzzy rather than stark, and if the goal is security, the harsh truth is that we should often err toward more secrets rather than fewer. Second, despite the grumbling from Snowden and his admirers, the U.S. government truly does make strenuous efforts not to violate privacy, not just because it respects privacy (which it does), but because it simply doesn't have the time to read irrelevant emails or listen in on conversations unconnected to possible plots against American civilians.

Incidents like the Snowden affair put my former colleagues in the intelligence community in an impossible position. Yes, the official explanations about the virtues of data-collection efforts can sound self-justifying and vague. But they're still right. I know firsthand that Gen. Keith Alexander, the NSA director, is telling the truth when he talks about plots that have been preempted and attacks that have been foiled because of intelligence his agency collected. I know because I was on the inside, I have long held security clearances, and I participated in many of the activities he describes.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-0811-liepman-snowden-and-classified-informat-20130811,0,2610260.story

[Cooley Hurd]

1. The author is FROM within the NSA...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Counterterrorism_Center
Principal Deputy Directors
Arthur M. Cummings (2004–05)
Kevin R. Brock (2005–07)
Michael E. Leiter (2007–08)
Geoff O'Connell (2008–2011)
Andrew Liepman (2011–2012)
Nicholas J. Rasmussen (2012–Present)

...therefore he cannot be taken at his word, since he is duty-bound to lie about the program.

[Zorro]

2. He is someone who knows what he is talking about

[Cooley Hurd]

3. He is someone who has a motive for cover-up.

[Moral Compass]

4. Great that this garbage was ignored by DU

I was afraid I'd see a pile on and hundreds of responses. Instead this self-justifying, vague essay was simply seen as what it is and ignored. Kudos.

[Zorro]

5. Yet you did not ignore it

[JayhawkSD]

6. Nor did he give it the support you hoped for. n/t

[Zorro]

8. I think it's an illuminating read on the needs and the conflicts of the data collection process

written by an expert.

Do you think the government should be engaged in ferreting out terrorists? If so, I'm interested in hearing your plan on how to do so. Please explain.

[alarimer]

9. You and your colleagues are criminals

Just admit that you don't like civil liberties and be done with it.

[Zorro]

10. I trust President Obama's and Al Franken's assessments

over loudmouthed know-nothings that offer no alternatives.

[usGovOwesUs3Trillion]

11. Then why is he free, and everyone debating exactly what he wanted us to?

Sounds like he got the important things right anyway.

[Katashi_itto]

12. Citing Snowden, the FISA court orders the government to declassify more of its secret opinions

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023667285#post11

[ehcross]

13. Americans should revise their concept of security. 9/11 is long gone. But Al Kaeda is still around.

The tragic events on 9/11 created the need for substantially enhancing security at U.S. transit points and elsewhere. So far so good. But the root cause is still there, dormant, as all tragedies are. Now the U.S. lost an extremely valuable asset, only to have Edward Snowden exposing to the world the very secrets he helped develop that would guarantee America's security. Vulnerability is again a frightening reality.

Snowden became a hero to enemies of the U.S. but, frighteningly also to way too many Americans. The press is full of Americans praising Edward Snowden as a patriot and exposing to our enemies the sad reality of a profoundly divided America.

Odd events like the debt-ceiling debate are cause for major concern to Americans and to the world. This is a first to the great majority of Americans.

[Ash_F]

14. "strike the right balance between privacy and security"!!!

"Why can't I hold in all this apologia" - Andrew Liepman

[treestar]

15. The emphasis

Unfortunately, during the Snowden affair, many news outlets have spent more time examining ways the government could abuse the information it has access to while giving scant mention to the lengths to which the intelligence community goes to protect privacy. We have spent enormous amounts of time and effort figuring out how to disaggregate the important specks from the overwhelming bulk of irrelevant data.

That is true, nothing was ever said during this "debate" about what the goals and purpose actually was.