The Latest on Edward Snowden via Glenn Greenwald

by Robert Wilkinson

Here’s another story that was blacked out by US media. It seems a former Republican Senator thinks Edward Snowden did the right thing “in exposing what I regard as massive violation of the United States constitution.”

Thanks to Glenn Greenwald’s article in the Guardian UK reprinted in Readersupportednews.org titled “Former GOP Senator Supports Snowden” we read that Gordon Humphrey of NH emailed Snowden. Here’s part of the email:

Provided you have not leaked information that would put in harm’s way any intelligence agent, I believe you have done the right thing in exposing what I regard as massive violation of the United States Constitution.

Having served in the United States Senate for twelve years as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, the Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee, I think I have a good grounding to reach my conclusion.

I wish you well in your efforts to secure asylum and encourage you to persevere.

Greenwald emailed Humphrey to make sure it was legit. He got this back:

Yes. It was I who sent the email message to Edward Snowden, thanking him for exposing astonishing violations of the US Constitution and encouraging him to persevere in the search for asylum.

To my knowledge, Mr. Snowden has disclosed only the existence of a program and not details that would place any person in harm's way. I regard him as a courageous whistle-blower.

I object to the monumentally disproportionate campaign being waged by the U.S. Government against Edward Snowden, while no effort is being made to identify, remove from office and bring to justice those officials who have abused power, seriously and repeatedly violating the Constitution of the United States and the rights of millions of unsuspecting citizens.

Americans concerned about the growing arrogance of our government and its increasingly menacing nature should be working to help Mr. Snowden find asylum.

Here’s part of how Snowden responded:

Thank you for your words of support. I only wish more of our lawmakers shared your principles - the actions I've taken would not have been necessary.

The media has distorted my actions and intentions to distract from the substance of Constitutional violations and instead focus on personalities. It seems they believe every modern narrative requires a bad guy. Perhaps it does. Perhaps, in such times, loving one's country means being hated by its government.

… My intention, which I outlined when this began, is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them. I remain committed to that. Though reporters and officials may never believe it, I have not provided any information that would harm our people - agent or not - and I have no intention to do so.

Further, no intelligence service - not even our own - has the capacity to compromise the secrets I continue to protect. While it has not been reported in the media, one of my specializations was to teach our people at DIA how to keep such information from being compromised even in the highest threat counter-intelligence environments (i.e. China).

You may rest easy knowing I cannot be coerced into revealing that information, even under torture.

Funny how the government and media have turned the narrative away from their unconstitutional and therefore illegal surveillance of US citizens into one where Snowden is allegedly a traitor who has compromised our overseas intelligence. Of course, setting aside what Dick Cheney’s office did to Valerie Plame, Snowden so far seems not to have compromised anything overseas except our ability to spy on our allies with impunity, which seems to have royally pissed off some of them.

I’m sure most of you had no idea that a former Republican Senator who served on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was solidly behind what Edward Snowden did. The curtain has certainly been pulled away from the men in the shadows who are intent on spreading perpetual mistrust, suspicion, and war, whether low level or high, cold or hot.

The manipulators of empire stand naked, and they just can’t stand it. So where are all the other Senators and Representatives who allegedly love our country and have sworn to uphold the Constitution? Where are their voices? It may just be that they’re all as venal as most of us believe they are.

© Copyright 2013 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Sherry]

This is awesome information.
Lets all forward the news here so more people will wake up.

Edward Snowden is a courageous, idealistic man who wants to save our integrity by waking us up to what we should find intolerable

[Robert]

Hi Sherry - Well, some part of our government is off the rails. They are not managing the business of the UNITED states very well. If the whole world is under surveillance, then something's wrong. Especially when a young man with a curious education has unlimited access to anything he wants. That in itself shows that our "intelligence" apparatus has jumped the shark.

[Jo Garceau]

The tragedy of all this is that we the public knew in 2001 with the passage of the Patriot Act, etc, in the buildup to the "war", that the NSA was monitoring phone calls, reading our email,tracking our movements about the country, spying on us all. Why has it taken us so long to wake up? Being a former politician used to public exposure, during the year of the buildup to war, I was shockingly anxious...I carefully monitored all my emails, all my phone calls...so that I wouldn't say something that would catch the eye/ear of the NSA.

I love my country, but I had a tangible fear for two years or more. Why is all this finally just becoming known to the public? Probably because we no longer fear terrorists like we did then...

[Robert]

Hi Jo - Well, the nation got wake up calls in November 1963, April 1968, June 1968, and May 1970. Since then, between the Trilaterals, Reagan fronting for King George the Elder, Big Bill accelerating the sellout to the corporatists, and then the Neocon disaster, we're in so deep that most wouldn't know where to turn, what to do, who to trust, or what to think.

The masses have been fed a cocktail of fear and the usual bromides, distractions, fogs and subjunctive scenarios, and so believe that war is peace, fear brings safety, and material satiation brings fulfillment. I said and wrote plenty in my political blogs during the "Reign of Color-coded Terror" from 2001-2006, with its blue letters, renditions, and God knows what else. Even if you find and speak the truth, they just don't care. This thought form has been carefully woven over the decades, and now the public has no idea just how high the temperature of the lobster pot has been raised.

[Jo Garceau]

A man who thinks like me! Thanks, Robert.

[Debbie]

it is unfortunately a behaviour of an unstable mind to take what someone is saying and distract to a wrong word use or how loud they are saying it etc in an attempt to avoid their own responsibilities or fault. A most sociopathic behaviou,sadly ;/

It is similar down under, not as the haves in our country and rest of the world has been led to believe through the promotion of a bull shit balloon, soon I sense, to burst.

[Garden]

Keep shining a light of protection over this brave young man! Thank you Robert for using a well-traveled to blog to help bring the truth to the front pages of search engines! Thank you thank you thank you Mr. Snowden, sir!