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US Lawmakers Want Sanctions On Any Country Taking In Snowden
An anonymous reader points out this story about the latest effort by the U.S. to get Edward Snowden back in the country. "A U.S. Senate panel voted unanimously on Thursday to seek trade or other sanctions against Russia or any other country that offers asylum to former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has been holed up for weeks at a Moscow airport.
The 30-member Senate Appropriations Committee adopted by consensus an amendment to a spending bill that would direct Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with congressional committees to come up with sanctions against any country that takes Snowden in."
So we know that the NSA lied to Congress and about half of the representatives want to stop the spying that Snowden told us about. That would seem to make the implication that Congress has realized that the few people who actually seem to care are in the majority against it. So Snowden shouldn't be that big a fish. We have federal laws against illegal immigration but the feds have decided not to put any effort into enforcement since it isn't popular. We have federal laws against marajuana, but with states making it legal, the feds have decided not to put any effort into enforcement. Now we have one guy and enforcement isn't popular, but yet they're making a big deal of enforcement?
On the one hand, I kinda get it, you have to enforce the laws to keep your secrets safe. On the other hand they're doing that already and have made it impossible for Snowden to return to the US without likely imprisonment. Isn't that more than enough? I'm surprised they'd do something to harm international relations over it.
Is it possible that Snowden has more information they're afraid that he'll turn over to another government? If he does, what could it be to be worth this witchhunt? It reminds me of Assuange which became a much bigger witchhunt than it seemed to warrant. I'm beginning to think that there must be some really ugly skeletons in the closet if Congress is this worried about people spilling secrets.
No shit. I hope most of South America bands together and gives the US the finger. If the US sanctions one country, every one should sanction the US back. The existence of Snowden is 100% the fault of the US (for violating rights and for not controlling security). But the only way they can hide their human rights abuses is to attack another country.
i think most americans would agree with you that the US government is retarded... in our declaration of independence, it stated we had a DUTY to rebel against a government that strips us of our rights. and here they are trying to punish someone who was fulfilling his DUTY as an american.
Except he sent encrypted thumb drives to undisclosed number of journalists by personal courier all over the world.
If he dies or gets disabled or locked up and can't convincingly communicate with any number of other undisclosed fail safes, these people will all contact the journalists or otherwise publicly publish the encryption keys.
Then all hell breaks loose.
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It is yet to be seen how effective an insurance program it is, as it also provides incentives to any nation who dislikes the US to kill him simply so the information gets released.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."