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> why are we treating a prisoner like this? Is it helping something? Yes. It is deterring whistleblowers. The government has an interest in spying and torturin
by barry-cotter 4y ago
> why are we treating a prisoner like this? Is it helping something?
Yes. It is deterring whistleblowers. The government has an interest in spying and torturing people who expose how they do that deters whistleblowing.
> In the annals of national security, the Obama administration will long be remembered for its unprecedented crackdown on whistleblowers. Since 2009, it has employed the World War I–era Espionage Act a record six times to prosecute government officials suspected of leaking classified information. The latest example is John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer serving a thirty-month term in federal prison for publicly identifying an intelligence operative involved in torture. It’s a pattern: the whistleblowers are punished, sometimes severely, while the perpetrators of the crimes they expose remain free.
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/obamas-crackdown-whistleblowers/ https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/obamas-crackdown-w...
- rob74 4y agoNot sure if I would classify Schulte as a "whistleblower" - the CIA is an espionage agency, and the stuff he leaked contains details on how the CIA performs electronic espionage, i.e. how it does its job. So AFAIK it's not as if he exposed some illegal activity on the CIA's side?
- alfiedotwtf 4y ago> it's not as if he exposed some illegal activity on the CIA's side? Lol. So you're saying their espionage is legal?
- procgen 4y agoEspionage makes the world more predictable, and hence less dangerous.
- dmantis 4y agoHacking people and steal their data is pretty much illegal, especially if done on non-US (or other in case of other spyers) soil. There is no difference between some drug cartel mercenary and CIA agent from both legal and moral perspective of any other country citizen, and humanity and human rights are much more important than business of any particular country. At least mercenaries do that for some real value, and not some vague abstract and undefined bullshit like "national interests". Whistleblowers of any spy agencies as well organised crime organisations are heroes, if their whistles help to defend humanity from each of those criminals.
- dontrip 4y agoAgreed, and the other thing to keep in mind is that he leaked all this stuff because of a personal grievance, not to expose any sort of wrongdoing. Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning had similarly corrupt motives, despite popular but misguided opinion that they are noble whistleblowers of government evil.