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>The character assassination of Snowden Well nobody forced him to repeat Russian propaganda in late 2021 and early 2022 that "Russia was totally not going to i

by 0xDEF 3y ago

>The character assassination of Snowden Well nobody forced him to repeat Russian propaganda in late 2021 and early 2022 that "Russia was totally not going to invade".

5e92cb50239222b 3y ago
I think most of that happened well before 2021. And he may well have believed they were not going to invade — I totally believed that, because the alternative was just too depressing. Most of my friends, relatives and acquaintances (Russian-speaking, but not in Russia) were of a similar opinion.
- reducesuffering 3y ago
  He claimed it just a week before the invasion! https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=en https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=...
  - Cthulhu_ 3y ago
    He doesn't claim anything, he just didn't believe it at that point. He literally says "If there's an invasion tomorrow, dunk on me because I have been spectacularly wrong." He admits that he could be wrong beforehand!
koerze 3y ago
You have first hand knowledge of whether he was coerced or not?
Sharlin 3y ago
In late 2021 and early 2022 almost everybody, including most European heads of state, believed Russia was just bluffing and wasn't going to invade (because they correctly thought it would be incredibly irrational).
- reducesuffering 3y ago
  Then maybe you should start putting a bit more trust on the people giving you accurate information predictions, like the US State dept. and people like Dmitri Alperovitch https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1473362460673515527 https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1473362460673515527 , and less trust on Russian state propaganda spreaders like Snowden, https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=en https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=....
  - GhostWhisperer 3y ago
    grandparent is probably not a head of state
  - bigbillheck 3y ago
    I've been fooled once too often by the US State Department to believe them on anything important.
phatfish 3y ago
I agree he repeats Russian propaganda and it's sad. It diminishes his previously clear and rational portrayal of what he knew of the NSA. It was clear that Russia lining their tanks up on the border and stress testing the Ukrainian response to an invasion was not going to be a bluff. Why give your enemy the chance at trial run? This was the message from US and UK intelligence and they were right. I understand why he does it though, he is in Russia and if someone takes a dislike to him he will be dead. He would also feel justifiably "wronged" by the US, and i understand why he would not want to repeat US messaging, but maybe don't keep quite about the Russian "messaging" as well. At least he is not as crazy as Kim Dotcom, another Twitter "celebrity" with a taste for Russian propaganda who has been wronged by the US.
- 93po 3y ago
  How often does the US put military equipment on the borders of countries like Russia and China without invading? All the time
  - clucas 3y ago
    What are you talking about? Can you provide one example of the US doing a buildup on the Russian or Chinese border that was even a quarter the size of the Russian buildup ahead of their full-scale invasion?
    - 93po 3y ago
      At literally any given time, including right now, the US has a wide combination of aircraft carriers and submarines and other vessels in striking distance and with enough nuclear arms to flatten the entirety of China. It terms of destructive power it’s significantly higher than what Russia has built up
      - clucas 3y ago
        I think this situation is different from hundreds of thousands of troops and thousands of pieces of armor and artillery being moved to the border over the course of a couple months.
hn1986 3y ago
He hasn't even acknowledged his part in spreading the obvious propaganda. Nor does he seem to care about US democracy considering he's been silent on Jan 6 Trump insurrection

by 0xDEF 3y ago

>The character assassination of Snowden Well nobody forced him to repeat Russian propaganda in late 2021 and early 2022 that "Russia was totally not going to invade".

5e92cb50239222b 3y ago

I think most of that happened well before 2021. And he may well have believed they were not going to invade — I totally believed that, because the alternative was just too depressing. Most of my friends, relatives and acquaintances (Russian-speaking, but not in Russia) were of a similar opinion.

reducesuffering 3y ago
He claimed it just a week before the invasion! https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=en https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=...
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  He doesn't claim anything, he just didn't believe it at that point. He literally says "If there's an invasion tomorrow, dunk on me because I have been spectacularly wrong." He admits that he could be wrong beforehand!

koerze 3y ago

You have first hand knowledge of whether he was coerced or not?

Sharlin 3y ago

In late 2021 and early 2022 almost everybody, including most European heads of state, believed Russia was just bluffing and wasn't going to invade (because they correctly thought it would be incredibly irrational).

reducesuffering 3y ago
Then maybe you should start putting a bit more trust on the people giving you accurate information predictions, like the US State dept. and people like Dmitri Alperovitch https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1473362460673515527 https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1473362460673515527 , and less trust on Russian state propaganda spreaders like Snowden, https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=en https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1493646431743356931?lang=....
- GhostWhisperer 3y ago
  grandparent is probably not a head of state
- bigbillheck 3y ago
  I've been fooled once too often by the US State Department to believe them on anything important.

phatfish 3y ago

I agree he repeats Russian propaganda and it's sad. It diminishes his previously clear and rational portrayal of what he knew of the NSA. It was clear that Russia lining their tanks up on the border and stress testing the Ukrainian response to an invasion was not going to be a bluff. Why give your enemy the chance at trial run? This was the message from US and UK intelligence and they were right. I understand why he does it though, he is in Russia and if someone takes a dislike to him he will be dead. He would also feel justifiably "wronged" by the US, and i understand why he would not want to repeat US messaging, but maybe don't keep quite about the Russian "messaging" as well. At least he is not as crazy as Kim Dotcom, another Twitter "celebrity" with a taste for Russian propaganda who has been wronged by the US.

93po 3y ago
How often does the US put military equipment on the borders of countries like Russia and China without invading? All the time
- clucas 3y ago
  What are you talking about? Can you provide one example of the US doing a buildup on the Russian or Chinese border that was even a quarter the size of the Russian buildup ahead of their full-scale invasion?
  - 93po 3y ago
    At literally any given time, including right now, the US has a wide combination of aircraft carriers and submarines and other vessels in striking distance and with enough nuclear arms to flatten the entirety of China. It terms of destructive power it’s significantly higher than what Russia has built up
    - clucas 3y ago
      I think this situation is different from hundreds of thousands of troops and thousands of pieces of armor and artillery being moved to the border over the course of a couple months.

hn1986 3y ago

He hasn't even acknowledged his part in spreading the obvious propaganda. Nor does he seem to care about US democracy considering he's been silent on Jan 6 Trump insurrection