Point is he took classified intelligence documents to China, then Russia. He never says anything bad about Russian political leaders and he occasionally says very good things about Russian political leaders. His disclosures also frequently seem to cause strife among NATO allies.
What you said is that if you think Snowden is a foreign agent, then "you've fallen victim to baseless whisper campaigns." What I'm saying is that there is a very suspicious (though not conclusive) pattern in his behavior. You don't need any "whisper campaigns" to see it. There is plenty of room to doubt his motivations.
What I find so hilarious about all of this is that China and Russia have been SO AGGRESSIVE in their use of technological capability to effect a spying apparatus in the USA and on our assets abroad.
What exactly are you saying his "motivations" were?
It actually makes far less sense that Snowden would publicly praise the countries for which he is secretly spying. It makes more sense that he was making those comments as a matter of expediency (he was seeking asylum, after all).
And, say what you will, but the man is not without intelligence. The irony and impact of making those statements about Russia as a U.S. citizen in that situation was not lost on him.
But all of this a sideshow and a red herring. So, let's just say Snowden was a spy. Let's also say he was a member of al Qaeda.
Now, about those revelations regarding our government's activities...
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Point is he took classified intelligence documents to China, then Russia. He never says anything bad about Russian political leaders and he occasionally says very good things about Russian political leaders. His disclosures also frequently seem to cause strife among NATO allies.
What you said is that if you think Snowden is a foreign agent, then "you've fallen victim to baseless whisper campaigns." What I'm saying is that there is a very suspicious (though not conclusive) pattern in his behavior. You don't need any "whisper campaigns" to see it. There is plenty of room to doubt his motivations.
The same is true for any embassy courier. If he's not providing the decryption passphrases, who cares?
That's only because "US spying on Russia/China/etc." was a given and hardly a surprise.
LOL. How about China/Russia spying on US?
What I find so hilarious about all of this is that China and Russia have been SO AGGRESSIVE in their use of technological capability to effect a spying apparatus in the USA and on our assets abroad.
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-07/news/mn-175_1_new-emb...
I think people often think that regular laws and customs are at play in the world of state vs. state. The truth is FAR more complicated.
Statecraft is big boy rules.
What exactly are you saying his "motivations" were?
It actually makes far less sense that Snowden would publicly praise the countries for which he is secretly spying. It makes more sense that he was making those comments as a matter of expediency (he was seeking asylum, after all).
And, say what you will, but the man is not without intelligence. The irony and impact of making those statements about Russia as a U.S. citizen in that situation was not lost on him.
But all of this a sideshow and a red herring. So, let's just say Snowden was a spy. Let's also say he was a member of al Qaeda.
Now, about those revelations regarding our government's activities...