I just wanted to make a quick statement on him here.
First, it is important to highlight what we may consider to be "good" or of "importance" to both the U.S. and the world. He brought to the attention of the world, the vast depth and breadth of U.S. intelligence gathering capabilities within the U.S. and abroad.
And it came as a shock. Previous to Snowdens revelations, few people had any understanding of the complex reach that U.S. intelligence agencies were capable of. Certainly no mass population knew that their every digital footprint was being recording, analyzed, and filed away.
Americans weren't necessarily shocked at being spied upon, rather they were shocked at how much they were spied upon. Every e-mail, instant message, video call, and key stroke were being recorded. Some of us weren't surprised by such spying, but were certainly surprised to hear about phone conversations being recorded, webcams that were manually activated and recorded by government agents, and basically every facet of our lives scrutinized by a dishonest and fearful government.
Such revelations were good for democracy and society. Because we the people are supposed to be the masters of our government, not the other way around. And the spying that was happening domestically, was also (and still is) occurring abroad in nearly every country around the world.
But, Snowden for all his bravado, courage, and smarts, proved himself too good to be true.
Snowden made a series of mistakes, mistakes that were intentionally you might say and were well thought of to the best of his ability, and it is these mistakes that have proven him to be less intelligent and courageous than he otherwise might be perceived.
Mistake #1:
He fled. Fleeing is for cowards, especially as a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil. He would not have been killed, but he certainly would have been prosecuted and likely served a lengthy jail sentence. Turning him into something of a martyr which would in turn give greater emphasis and influence to his intelligence leaks.
Mistake #2:
He fled to the wrong place. Whether he had hoped or expected to remain in Russia is uncertain, but fleeing there ultimately proved he had run short on logic. Russia is the one and only longtime legitimate U.S. threat and counterweight. Essentially, Russia is our rival and has been since the days of the Soviet Union. They obviously had selfish intentions with him and it would be these intentions that would help propel their expansionist agenda later.
Mistake #3:
It is very, very likely that he has more important documents than simple spying habits of U.S. government agencies. It's quite probable that he has important, classified military and national defense documents that, if in the wrong hands could pose a risk to American citizens' health and safety. Even if he didn't have such documents, the fact that a foreign government has him and his documents on U.S. spying capabilities and current operations creates a giant hole in our defense capabilities. Even worse, it is Russia that has such information. As I mentioned earlier, they are the only country which has and continues to perceive themselves and demonstrate to the world their legitimate "anti-U.S." attitude. I emphasize the word "legitimate" here because they are large enough economically, powerful enough militarily, and influential enough socially to have wide-ranging and effective measures against the U.S. and many western European countries. That is something Iran, North Korea, and even China lack.
Mistake #4:
He fled to the wrong place. Yes, I am bringing this up again because it is incredibly important. It reveals errors in his logic, and a lack of intelligence. Anyone with half a brain would know that a U.S. who is traveling through Russia with a treasure trove of U.S. classified national security documents would be at least questioned by Russian agents. At least! So if it turns out that he ultimately had no intention of staying in Russia and helping Russian authorities (which he most certainly is), then we can get to understand him a bit better by acknowledging he made a mistake, one in which he likely did not think through well at all. A very costly and stupid mistake.
Now, if he had fled to Russia with the intention of handing over the documents to Russian authorities and helping them then we have a bigger issue, or rather he does as well: a case of stupidity. He has essentially turned out what could have been an act of heroism into an act of cowardice and even more seething, an act of betrayal to his country.
Russia has just as bad a human rights record as the U.S. if not worse (arguably, worse). And those in charge of the country currently known as the Russian Federation, happened to be high ranking brass of the former empire known as the Soviet Union, whose human rights abuses outweigh nearly every country that has ever existed in the entire duration of our species on this planet. We can also surmise judging by Russia's current actions in the Ukraine, Syria, Iran, China, and their power-projections around the globe that Russia as we know it today is but an extension of the old Soviet Union thirst for power and glory.
It is very, very likely that he has more important documents than simple spying habits of U.S. government agencies. It's quite probable that he has important, classified military and national defense documents that, if in the wrong hands could pose a risk to American citizens' health and safety. Even if he didn't have such documents, the fact that a foreign government has him and his documents on U.S. spying capabilities and current operations creates a giant hole in our defense capabilities. Even worse, it is Russia that has such information. As I mentioned earlier, they are the only country which has and continues to perceive themselves and demonstrate to the world their legitimate "anti-U.S." attitude. I emphasize the word "legitimate" here because they are large enough economically, powerful enough militarily, and influential enough socially to have wide-ranging and effective measures against the U.S. and many western European countries. That is something Iran, North Korea, and even China lack.
Mistake #4:
He fled to the wrong place. Yes, I am bringing this up again because it is incredibly important. It reveals errors in his logic, and a lack of intelligence. Anyone with half a brain would know that a U.S. who is traveling through Russia with a treasure trove of U.S. classified national security documents would be at least questioned by Russian agents. At least! So if it turns out that he ultimately had no intention of staying in Russia and helping Russian authorities (which he most certainly is), then we can get to understand him a bit better by acknowledging he made a mistake, one in which he likely did not think through well at all. A very costly and stupid mistake.
Now, if he had fled to Russia with the intention of handing over the documents to Russian authorities and helping them then we have a bigger issue, or rather he does as well: a case of stupidity. He has essentially turned out what could have been an act of heroism into an act of cowardice and even more seething, an act of betrayal to his country.
Russia has just as bad a human rights record as the U.S. if not worse (arguably, worse). And those in charge of the country currently known as the Russian Federation, happened to be high ranking brass of the former empire known as the Soviet Union, whose human rights abuses outweigh nearly every country that has ever existed in the entire duration of our species on this planet. We can also surmise judging by Russia's current actions in the Ukraine, Syria, Iran, China, and their power-projections around the globe that Russia as we know it today is but an extension of the old Soviet Union thirst for power and glory.
This leads into his next mistake...
Mistake #5
Wrongly place criticism. He has consistently stated and held to the belief that the American government is bad and has overstepped its bounds with the level of spying they do. But he goes further by referring our government as "evil" and "corrupted". No doubt he's right to some extent, but then he often praises or hints to the so called "good deeds" and righteousness of the Russian Federation. By doing either, or by doing both as he is currently doing, he's essentially labeled Russia the better country. Which in terms of economics, stability, household wealth, satisfaction, healthcare, birth rate, military power, etc, he's wrong. So we must assume that he is either a) ignorant of Russian history, b) ignorant of American history, c) ignorant of both, d) he's just not as intelligent and courageous as he's hyped-up to be, or e) he's emotionally unstable from the point of view that he is unable to make a rational decision without emotional interference. Emotions have a time and place for decision making and this was not a proper time for it.
In conclusion, I believe he did a good thing by revealing the illegal spying activities of the U.S. government. But rather than accept being something of a hero, he not only fled the country, but he went to Russia of all places and from the comfort of his new Russian home, he condemns the U.S. It's irony and stupidity at it's worse. He's a traitor to his country for putting the health and safety of me, you, and all our neighbors and family at greater risk.
Mistake #5
Wrongly place criticism. He has consistently stated and held to the belief that the American government is bad and has overstepped its bounds with the level of spying they do. But he goes further by referring our government as "evil" and "corrupted". No doubt he's right to some extent, but then he often praises or hints to the so called "good deeds" and righteousness of the Russian Federation. By doing either, or by doing both as he is currently doing, he's essentially labeled Russia the better country. Which in terms of economics, stability, household wealth, satisfaction, healthcare, birth rate, military power, etc, he's wrong. So we must assume that he is either a) ignorant of Russian history, b) ignorant of American history, c) ignorant of both, d) he's just not as intelligent and courageous as he's hyped-up to be, or e) he's emotionally unstable from the point of view that he is unable to make a rational decision without emotional interference. Emotions have a time and place for decision making and this was not a proper time for it.
In conclusion, I believe he did a good thing by revealing the illegal spying activities of the U.S. government. But rather than accept being something of a hero, he not only fled the country, but he went to Russia of all places and from the comfort of his new Russian home, he condemns the U.S. It's irony and stupidity at it's worse. He's a traitor to his country for putting the health and safety of me, you, and all our neighbors and family at greater risk.
