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Former CIA/NSA Head: NSA Is "Infinitely" Weaker As a Result of Snowden's Leaks
An anonymous reader writes "The Huffington Post reports, 'Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency, said Sunday that he used to describe leaker Edward Snowden as a "defector," ... "I think there's an English word that describes selling American secrets to another government, and I do think it's treason," Hayden said ... Some members of Congress have also ... accused him of an act of treason. Hayden said his view of Snowden has grown harsher in recent weeks after reports that Snowden is seeking asylum in Germany and Brazil in exchange for assisting their investigations into NSA programs. Hayden said the NSA is "infinitely" weaker as a result of Snowden's leaks. "This is the most serious hemorrhaging of American secrets in the history of American espionage," he said. "What Snowden is revealing ... is the plumbing," he added later. "He's revealing how we acquire this information. It will take years, if not decades, for us to return to the position that we had prior to his disclosures."' — More in the Face the Nation video and transcript, including discussion of the recent legal decisions, and segments with whistleblower Thomas Drake, Snowden legal adviser Jesselyn Radack, and Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman who recently interviewed Snowden."
I know. I can't believe Snowden lied about everything :(
Not for "our" benefit, unless we're Russians or Chinese. Personally I'm American, and consider Snowden a traitor.
It's not 'flamebait' just because you disagree with it. This man drinks the kool-aid that the Obama administration is serving, that if the press releases any information that could theoretically be used by our enemies, then they're traitors. When smart people read about Snowden's leaks, they realize there's nothing specific about the leaks that could possibly help any enemy, unless they were stupid enough to think the U.S. wasn't capable of doing these things. Despite what some corrupt judge says, this a clear violation of the 4th amendment and has been used to spy on the press, and, who knows, probably political opponents as well. If the NSA is 'infinitely weaker', then it's only politically, not on the basis that they can't protect the U.S. effectively, if they ever cared about that anyway. If Snowden's leaks cause political damage to the NSA and the Obama Administration then that's almost proof that, by the very nature of a democracy, the leaks were justified. If Snowden has to leak to Russia or China (which there's no evidence of) to continue to survive, then that's the result of the U.S's ridiculous policy toward leakers.