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OP here. This thing is confusing the hell out of me. I go back and forth on a daily basis as to whether I think it was the NKoreans or not. One major factor in

OP here. This thing is confusing the hell out of me. I go back and forth on a daily basis as to whether I think it was the NKoreans or not. One major factor in my head that I haven't heard stated elsewhere is this: If the government says today "It was North Korea" and tomorrow a hacker group says "Lulz! It was us. Gotcha!", that makes the FBI/CIA/NSA look really, really bad. Bad enough that it would outweigh any benefits to blaming the NKors. Why would the feds go out on a limb like that if they weren't absolutely sure?

crdoconnor 12y ago
>Why would the feds go out on a limb like that if they weren't absolutely sure? Because the military is likely angling for extra funding for its 'cyberwar' divisions and they would like for that pesky torture stuff to be yesterday's news.
- fivedogit 12y ago
  Well sure, but my point is that being publicly wrong about the hack being NKor's work would outweigh everything, including changing the subject re: torture. Maybe I'm wrong about that, though.
  - click170 12y ago
    I think I disagree with you here. I can easily see the American government blaming NK because that would (and has) generate media attention and push the torture report out of the spotlight. That torture report is one of the best gifts they could have given the terrorists. They now have undeniable proof that America tortured people. Even if we put that aside, torturing people is what America prosecuted other war criminals for, and here they are flaunting their own rules. Consequently, they've lost all credibility and moral high ground. I think being wrong about blaming NK is much easier to brush off than being caught red handed violating the ethics that your own country established just decades prior. Think about it, if they're wrong about NK, everyone who suspected that is just going to go "I knew it." and everyone else will wonder how they could have blamed NK without being certain. Repercussions? None. Benefits? The People have forgotten about that whole torture thing. Win Win for the WhiteHouse.
jessaustin 12y ago
The feds are sure enough of their control of the media that they could completely discredit that sort of story. Sure, smart people could notice that a claim is accompanied by slimy purportedly-Sony emails that look just like all the other slimy Sony emails. Those smart people probably don't care to get teased off all the talking-head shows with their against-the-narrative against-the-government-experts "theories".

crdoconnor 12y ago

>Why would the feds go out on a limb like that if they weren't absolutely sure? Because the military is likely angling for extra funding for its 'cyberwar' divisions and they would like for that pesky torture stuff to be yesterday's news.

fivedogit 12y ago
Well sure, but my point is that being publicly wrong about the hack being NKor's work would outweigh everything, including changing the subject re: torture. Maybe I'm wrong about that, though.
- click170 12y ago
  I think I disagree with you here. I can easily see the American government blaming NK because that would (and has) generate media attention and push the torture report out of the spotlight. That torture report is one of the best gifts they could have given the terrorists. They now have undeniable proof that America tortured people. Even if we put that aside, torturing people is what America prosecuted other war criminals for, and here they are flaunting their own rules. Consequently, they've lost all credibility and moral high ground. I think being wrong about blaming NK is much easier to brush off than being caught red handed violating the ethics that your own country established just decades prior. Think about it, if they're wrong about NK, everyone who suspected that is just going to go "I knew it." and everyone else will wonder how they could have blamed NK without being certain. Repercussions? None. Benefits? The People have forgotten about that whole torture thing. Win Win for the WhiteHouse.

jessaustin 12y ago

The feds are sure enough of their control of the media that they could completely discredit that sort of story. Sure, smart people could notice that a claim is accompanied by slimy purportedly-Sony emails that look just like all the other slimy Sony emails. Those smart people probably don't care to get teased off all the talking-head shows with their against-the-narrative against-the-government-experts "theories".