Indonesian President Demands Australian Government Sign New Intelligence Accord

Given the betrayal, ASIS/NSA spying and Abbot's insults to President Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa the AU government would do well to consider itself getting off lightly

ABC AU
By George Roberts
11/27/2013

Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has responded to a letter from Prime Minister Tony Abbott about spying allegations by demanding the Australian Government sign a new intelligence accord.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

In calling for calm on the issue, Mr Yudhoyono says bilateral cooperation on things like people smuggling will not resume until Australia signs up to behavioural protocols and a code of ethics.

His comments come three days after receiving the letter from Mr Abbott, in which he says the Australian PM promised to never again hurt relations between the countries.

"[It's] the commitment of the Prime Minister of Australia that Australia will never do anything in the future that will bring disadvantage and disturb Indonesia," he said.

But Mr Yudhoyono says there are some things Mr Abbott has not completely clarified - although he did not go into detail.

Mr Yudhoyono made the announcement, flanked by his deputy, the country's security minister and the head of national intelligence.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa

"I have invited them to discuss the content of this letter, to determine the kind of next steps that are appropriate and that is necessary to be taken by Indonesia," he said.

He says the new codes will be negotiated between the Australian and Indonesian governments and signed by both leaders.

"I will assign the minister of foreign affairs or special envoy to further and seriously discuss sensitive issues, including the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia after the tapping," he said at the specially convened meeting last night.

"For me, a requirement and a stepping stone [is] the bilateral cooperation protocol that I suggested and [that] has been agreed on by the Prime Minister of Australia.

Tony Abbot

"[After] Indonesia has gained back its trust to Australia, and after those codes and protocol have been properly executed, then in my opinion the bilateral cooperation that clearly is mutually beneficial shall continue, including military and police cooperation."

Mr Yudhoyono says Mr Abbott has agreed to the idea of a code of ethics, but the president wants a public commitment.

"I will check the draft myself, whether it's been done properly and answered all the wishes of Indonesia, after the tapping that occurred," he said.

"After the protocols and ethical codes have been approved I would like to have the signing of the codes be done by the heads of states, I as the president and Prime Minister Abbott as Prime Minister."

Indonesia to summon Singapore, S Korea over spying claims

Australian ASIS with assistance from the U.S. CIA/NSA tapped the personal cellphones of President Yudhoyono and his wife, along with a long list of other Indonesian officials

In a surprise move, Mr Yudhoyono also said his foreign minister would summon the ambassadors of Singapore and South Korea over reports their governments had helped Australia with spying.

"The word is they helped Australia and the USA to tap other countries from under the ocean," he said. 

Transcripts of ASIS/CIA/NSA taps were read by Obama

"It's not specifically Indonesia, but Asia. On that I've instructed the foreign minister to seek explanations from the ambassadors of those countries."

Former Army chief Peter Leahy hand-delivered the letter from Mr Abbott on Saturday, a move the Government labelled a sign of respect, and a presidential spokesman earlier on Tuesday said the letter was "in accordance to our expectations".

The president's comments are likely to be welcomed by the Abbott Government, which has come under increasing criticism over its handling of the situation.

The diplomatic rift erupted following revelations that in 2009 Australian spies tapped Mr Yudhoyono's phone and the phones of those in his inner circle, including his wife's.

An angry Mr Yudhoyono last week said all military and intelligence cooperation with Australia was on hold until he received a proper explanation.

Scandal hurting trade relations 

The issue has also begun to impact on Australian commercial interests in the country.

Indonesia is a major importer of Australian wheat, live cattle and beef, while Australia is Indonesia's 10th largest export market.

On Tuesday Indonesia's trade minister Gita Wirjawan announced his country was considering cutting Australian beef imports in the wake of the revelations.

Last week he asked parliament to start looking at whether legislation can be adjusted to allow Indonesia to import beef from other countries instead of Australia.

Mr Wirjawan, who was relaxed and at times jovial as he spoke to reporters, says the spying issue is an unfortunate issue that has damaged trust.

Likening Australia and Indonesia to a married couple, Mr Wirjawan added that he is not speaking about divorce, and that the relationship can be restored.

Bishop says damage to relationship is obvious

Shortly before Mr Yudhoyono's address last night, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in Sydney the damage was obvious.

Al Jazeera CIA/ASIS/NSA spy Step Vaessen

"We're working very hard behind the scenes. We're doing a lot to ensure that the relationship will remain one of our most important priorities," she said.

"I'm not going go into detail about the negotiations, the discussions, the letter. I don't think that's helpful. I think quite enough damage has been done as a result of the Snowden leaks. So we are working hard."

Mr Yudhoyono's foreign affairs adviser says it could take a month or two to restart cooperation between the countries.

Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea's government has called in the Australian High Commissioner to ease concerns over the spying rift between Australia and Indonesia.

High Commissioner Deborah Stokes has attended two government meetings in Port Moresby in the past two weeks.

It is understood PNG foreign minister Rimbink Pato sought assurances that the regional spying row would not be detrimental to relations with PNG. 

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

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NSA Official : Snowden Amnesty "Worth Having A Conversation About"

This desperate move will not save the NSA/White House traitors, nor their "mainstream media" propagandist shills like CNN who were calling for Snowden's head only weeks ago

CNN
By Kevin Liptak
12/16/2013

WASHINGTON (CNN) --

The top NSA official tasked with assessing the damage from Edward Snowden's leaks says he would consider amnesty for the former contractor in exchange for a halt to the flow of top secret information about U.S. spying.

Snowden, currently in Moscow evading a U.S. warrant for his arrest on espionage charges, leaked information on widespread data collection that's spurred outcry and forced President Barack Obama to review the spy agency's powers. "My personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. I would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured, and my bar for those assurances would be very high.


It would be more than just an assertion on his part," Rick Ledgett said on "60 Minutes" on Sunday. He said the agency's assessment of Snowden's leaks has cost millions of dollars.

Obama listened to phone calls of fellow Nazi Angela Merkel

Gen. Keith Alexander, the NSA's director, said on the same program that he didn't support allowing Snowden to go unpunished, and the White House said Monday it hadn't changed its stance.

Obama's 2013: A very tough year



"Mr. Snowden is charged with a felony, and he should return home to face those charges, where he will be afforded all due process," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

Obama read call transcripts of Indonesian President Yudhoyono

On Friday, a review panel of outside officials delivered dozens of recommendations to Obama on ways the U.S. can balance necessary intelligence gathering with expectations of privacy among both Americans and foreign governments. Convened amid a series of leaks from Snowden, the review board operated in private, and its recommendations won't be made public until next month.



"We expect our overall internal review to be completed in January and the President thereafter to deliver remarks to outline the outcomes of our work," Hayden said Friday.

The review came as newspapers published story after story detailing the spying powers of the NSA and other federal agencies, including reports that the U.S. government tracked the cell phones of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders. The revelations prompted outcry from Americans and foreign governments, concerned the U.S. was overreaching in its efforts to thwart terrorist attacks.

Snowden has massive public support in U.S. and worldwide

Reports published in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times last week indicated the recommendations from the review group included transferring the command of the NSA from military to civilian leadership and handing over control of cell phone records to a third party.


Opinion: Big Brother spying is reaching scary levels

Some opponents of the NSA programs have called for the agency's spying and military cybercommand to be split into two; however, on Friday the White House said the dual NSA missions would remain under one chief to avoid duplicated work and foster cooperation.

Michael Hayden, a former NSA director, said on Sunday the agency's boss doesn't necessarily have to be a military commander.

"My view would be take the best American out there and put them in the job, don't make it a requirement that they'd be in (or) out of uniform," he said.

Obama has come under pressure from his liberal base to find ways of curbing the federal government's spying powers, including demands from lawmakers that more oversight be enacted to prevent abuses during the secretive legal process allowing spying to take place.


"Nothing short of stopping the mass, suspicionless surveillance of Americans is acceptable," Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said last week, as reports of the review panel's recommendation leaked.


"We look forward to evaluating the report's details and whether the reported 'stricter rules' for obtaining U.S. records are a meaningful and substantive improvement. In the end, however, Congress must pass legislation to end bulk collection of Americans' sensitive call records. Requiring third parties to store Americans' records for the government is not a solution."

Obama vowed at the beginning of December to find ways of reforming the NSA, though in making the pledge he also defended the agency's work.

"I'll be proposing some self-restraint on the NSA, and you know, to initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence," he told MSNBC on December 5. "But I want everybody to be clear: The people of the NSA generally are looking out for the safety of the American people."

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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President Obama's NSA Review Group Is Typical Administration Whitewash

Obama far surpasses Nixon as a liar, traitor to America and Americans

THE GUARDIAN
By Mary Wheeler
12/16/2013

In case you missed it, on Thursday night, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times published leaked details from the recommendations from the review group on intelligence and communications technologies, a panel President Obama set up in August to review the NSA's activities in response to the Edward Snowden leaks.

 

 

The stories described what they said were recommendations in the report as presented in draft form to White House advisors; the final report was due to the White House on Sunday. There were discrepancies in the reporting, which may have signaled the leaks were a public airing of disputes surrounding the review group (both articles noted the results were "still being finalized"). The biggest news item were reports about a recommendation that the director of the NSA (Dirnsa) and Cyber Command positions be split, with a civilian leading the former agency.

 

 

Before the final report was even delivered, the White House struck. On Friday, while insisting that the commission report was not yet final, national security council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden announced the White House had already decided the position would not be split. A dual-hatted general would continue to lead both.

 

 

By all appearances, the White House moved to pre-empt the results of its own review group to squelch any recommendation that the position be split. The Christian Science Monitor even reported that the final report now recommends that DIRNSA and CyberCom remain unified, suggesting either that the faction that supported that recommendation prevailed on the review, or the review changed its recommendations to accord with the president's decision, announced after receiving initial recommendations to split it.

Then there was the Sunday night CBS 60 Minutes interview with General Keith Alexander, a seeming sideshow to the real issues of NSA reform. 

 

 

Consider that by the end of the day Friday, NSA deputy director John "Chris" Inglis, who weeks earlier had been floated as the leader of a civilian-led NSA, retired. (His plan to do so had been reported earlier this year).

 

 

 

Two things are at issue with this jockeying. First, all the evidence about this review group suggested it was a typical Washington DC whitewash. Rather than appointing outsiders, as Obama had promised, the group members – made up of Cass Sunstein, Geoffrey Stone, Peter Swire, Richard Clarke, and led by former acting CIA director Michael Morrell – have close ties to the president and/or the national security community. And the group reported through director of national intelligence James Clapper, whose performance should have been reviewed. No pure technical experts were included on a panel that ought to be assessing technical alternatives. 

 

 

As the Guardian reported in September, experts who had advised the group came away with the impression that the team wouldn't consider substantive changes. All the evidence suggested this group was designed to stave off change, not recommend it.

 

 

Nevertheless, as soon as it did recommend changes, the White House moved quickly to shut down any discussion of that main recommendation. More important is the substance of the rejected recommendation, which will keep the NSA and CyberCommand under the same military general. One of the most alarming reports from the Snowden documents pertains to how NSA has weakened encryption to make both data collection and offensive cyberattacks easier. As the Guardian reported in September, the NSA has covertly worked to make encryption standards weaker. NSA's British partner GCHQ has been working to break the encryption of the top email programs. Ultimately, the NSA is trying to "insert vulnerabilities" into commercial encryption systems.

 

 

That means the NSA, to fulfill its data collection and cyber-offensive roles, has been creating holes that cyber-attackers – hackers, thieves, and other countries – can also exploit. Meanwhile, the NSA's domestic collection programs increasingly focus on preventing cyberattackers from exploiting those and other vulnerabilities. 

 

 

 

That's even one of the biggest successes it touts from the Fisa Amendments Act bulk collection program. The NSA is creating holes. Then it says it needs to collect more and more data domestically to prevent anyone from exploiting those holes.

A different independent review even suggested our cybersecurity continues to fail because our intelligence agencies are so busy building offensive weapons rather than building up our defenses. As a top intelligence venture figure told the New York Times last month:

"It is easier and more intellectually interesting to play offense than defense."
Whatever else the dual-hatted Dirnsa and CyberCom position does, it fosters this condition. Not only is the combined position incredibly powerful from a bureaucratic standpoint, but having the same person oversee information collection and cyberattacks puts a premium on those encryption holes that make both collection and attacks easier. As a result, no powerful entity champions cyberdefense, plugging the holes that makes us all less safe. 

 

 

 

The Wall Street Journal also reported the review group planned to recommend the NSA move the Information Assurance Group – the entity within NSA that makes code and plugs holes – out of the NSA. And that may improve things somewhat (though the most likely place to move it is Department of Homeland Security, not exactly the most effective bureaucratic agency). Yet that function would still be fighting the bureaucratic weight of a dual-hatted general.

The Obama administration revealed two things on Friday: first, even a whitewash review group proved too disruptive for the White House and the military figures who won in last week's pissing contest. Second, Obama has chosen to continue prioritizing attacks over keeping us safe.

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

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IBM Sued For Cooperating With NSA For Spy Program

Treasonous corporate communications giants will be the next to fall alongside their criminal White House masters

ZD NET
By Michael Lee
12/16/2013

IBM is being sued by one of its shareholders over its alleged failure to disclose its involvement in the US National Security Agency's (NSA) spy program and subsequent loss of business. 

 

 

According to Reuters, the Louisiana Sheriffs' Pension and Relief Fund is suing the technology giant's CEO Virginia Rometty and CFO Mark Loughridge for failing to reveal the risk of tying the company to the NSA.

In November, the Center for Strategic Studies in Washington noted that IBM, along with Cisco and Microsoft, appeared to be stonewalled by China in response to media reports that US companies were aiding the NSA.

 

IBM reported a 22 percent revenue loss from China in October, and a 4 percent drop in its Q3 profits. In September, Microsoft also noted that China is its weakest market.

In May this year, at the AusCERT conference and prior to the first reports of the NSA's spy program, retired US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Bill Hagestad made the remark that if the tensions between China and the US escalated, it would have profound consequences for a company like Cisco. 

 

 

"I predict that within five years, there's a little company in San Francisco Bay that will cease to exist because China, the biggest customer of Cisco, is going to pull it all out," he said at the time.

The NSA has been under fire for a number of controversial actions it has taken in the interests of collecting intelligence. These have included spying on the Mexican and German presidents, installing surveillance equipment at foreign embassies, creating malware that infected over 50,000 computers, breaking into Microsoft and Google's networks, and even infiltrating online multiplayer games.

Its operations have not been especially clean, either. Although it attempts to minimise spying on US persons, these rules are often ignored, or left to a foreign nation to check. Additionally, it has been found to be promising its allies that it won't spy on them, then behind closed doors, doing it anyway.

 

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

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Judge Rules NSA Program May Be Unconstitutional

"May Be?"

POLITICO
By Josh Gerstein
12/16/2013

A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency program which collects information on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States is likely unconstitutional.

 

 

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon found that the program appears to violate the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. He also said the Justice Department had failed to demonstrate that collecting the information had helped to head off terrorist attacks.

Acting on a lawsuit brought by conservative legal activist Larry Klayman, Leon issued a preliminary injunction barring the NSA from collecting so-called metadata pertaining to the Verizon accounts of Klayman and one of his clients. However, the judge stayed the order to allow for an appeal.

(Also on POLITICO: NSA probe: Snowden can still do damage)

“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval,” wrote Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush. 

 

 

NSA propagandist John R. Schindler

The preliminary injunction Leon granted Monday does not require him to make a definitive ruling on the constitutional questions in the case, but does take account of which side he believes is more likely to prevail.

Leon’s 68-page opinion is the first significant legal setback for the NSA’s surveillance program since it was disclosed in June in news stories based on leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. For seven years, the metadata program has been approved repeatedly by numerous judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and found constitutional by at least one judge sitting in a criminal case.

(WATCH: Boehner says Edward Snowden is a ‘traitor’)

The Justice Department persuaded those courts that the collection of information on the time and length of calls, as well as the numbers called, did not amount to a search under the Fourth Amendment because that information is routinely available to telephone companies for billing purposes and is shared with those firms voluntarily. 

 

 

Government lawyers and the judges who found the NSA program legal pointed to a 1979 Supreme Court ruling, Smith v. Maryland, which found no search warrant was needed by police to install a device which recorded the numbers dialed on a particular phone line.

 

 

But Leon said the three-decade-old precedent was not applicable to a program like the NSA’s because of its sophistication and because telephone use has become far more intense in recent years.

(Also on POLITICO: Military keeps cyber control at NSA)

“The ubiquity of phones has dramatically altered the quantity of information that is now available and, more importantly, what that information can tell the Government about people’s lives,” the judge wrote. “I cannot possibly navigate these uncharted Fourth Amendment waters using as my North Star a case that predates the rise of cell phones.” 

 

 

Lies on top of lies; Obama can't keep story straight

The judge went on to conclude that the searches involved in the NSA metadata program were likely not permissible under the Fourth Amendment in part because there was little evidence the program has actually prevented terrorism.

“I have significant doubts about the efficacy of the metadata collection program as a means of conducting time-sensitive investigations in cases involving imminent threats of terrorism,” Leon wrote. “The government does not cite a single instance in which analysis of the NSA’s bulk metadata collection actually stopped an imminent attack, or otherwise aided the Government in achieving any objective that was time-sensitive in nature.”

(Also on POLITICO: W.H. declines to split NSA, Cyber Command)

The judge’s ruling was issued just before White House press secretary Jay Carney took the podium for the daily press briefing. Carney said he was unaware of the decision and he referred inquiries to the Justice Department.

 

 

White House criminal has been smoking too much weed

“We are reviewing the court’s decision,” DOJ spokesman Andrew Ames said.

Similar lawsuits challenging the program are pending in at least three other federal courts around the country. In addition, criminal defendants are beginning to challenge the program after the Justice Department disclosed it had played a role in investigating their cases.

 

 

Critics of the NSA program leapt on Leon’s decision as evidence that the legal foundation of the surveillance effort is deeply flawed.

“The ruling underscores what I have argued for years: The bulk collection of Americans’ phone records conflicts with Americans’ privacy rights under the U.S. Constitution and has failed to make us safer,” Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said in a statement urging passage of legislation ending the so-called bulk collection program. “We can protect our national security without trampling our constitutional liberties,” he added.

 

 

American Hero Edward Snowden

At a hearing last month, Leon said he knew that his decision would be far from the last word on the issue, which is almost certain to wind up at the Supreme Court.

However, he added some flair to his opinion Monday, referring at one point to the Beatles and at another to Federalist Papers author James Madison, who later became president.

“Surely, such a program infringes on ‘that degree of privacy’ that the Founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment. Indeed, I have little doubt that the author of our Constitution, James Madison, who cautioned us to beware ‘the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power’ would be aghast,” the judge wrote.

 

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

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NSA Documentary On CBS Sparks Twitter Fury

Obama's NSA will not survive upcoming inquiries; and neither will Obama or CBS and their "mainstream media" propagandists

RT
12/16/2013

A CBS documentary on the inner workings of the NSA has prompted condemnation for its “one-sided” portrayal of the spy agency. Spy chiefs denied allegations they snooped on American citizens and claimed they only spied on foreigners.

During the program entitled ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent John Miller – a former NSA employee – explores the headquarters of the NSA in Fort Meade, Maryland, interviewing employees who have previously never spoken to the press. At the beginning of the show, Miller explains the NSA often stands for “never say anything”, but promises the agency has “broken with tradition” to dispel allegations the US is spying on its own citizens.



The new installment of ‘60 minutes’ triggered a flurry of criticism on social media following its airing on Sunday night. Internet commentators accused CBS of propagating a one-sided image of the national spy agency. In addition, journalist and whistleblower, Glen Greenwald, who was handed security leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, spoke out on Twitter, calling the show “way beyond self-parody”.

State TV RT @tnyCloseRead Quick pivot on @60minutes from Snowden character-trashing to how NSA will save us all from cyber attacks...

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 16, 2013

Miller refers to Edward Snowden during ‘60 Minutes’ as a “20-something-year old high school dropout contractor”. Snowden, who has been dubbed a whistleblower by some media outlets, divulged a trove of classified data which revealed the NSA’s massive international spy network.

The NSA’s spy chiefs denied allegations that the agency recorded telephone calls and claimed it only spies on foreign terror targets.

Hey, young people: Believe it or not, "60 Minutes" once stood for solid, deep, important journalism. I know, that sounds absurd now.

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) December 16, 2013

“The fact is, we're not collecting everybody's email, we're not collecting everybody's phone things, we're not listening to that. Our job is foreign intelligence and we're very good at that,” said General Keith Alexander, head of the spy agency. Alexander, however, did not address allegation that the NSA had lied to Congress about the extent of their spy programs.

He went on to condemn Edward Snowden’s security revelations as handing over the “keys to the kingdom” to America’s enemies.

This 60 Minutes report on NSA has gone from one-sided to misleading. No critics? No skeptics to question the cyber Armageddon claims?

— Shane Harris (@shaneharris) December 16, 2013

General Alexander also said he did not agree with the possibility of granting Snowden amnesty, maintaining he needed to be punished for his crimes. He likened the idea of amnesty to a hostage situation.

“This is analogous to a hostage taker, taking 50 people hostage, shooting ten and then saying: “if you give me full amnesty then I’ll let the other 40 go,” said Alexander. 

Continuing the tradition well tonight RT @GregMitch John Miller has been propagandist for FBI/police/CIA for years.

— Kevin Gosztola (@kgosztola) December 16, 2013

The US agency has described Snowden’s revelations as the biggest security breach in American history and says they will never know the full extent of the leaks. Snowden maintains he has handed over all the documents to various international news organizations and now has copies, something that NSA officials do not believe. Snowden is currently living in Russia where he has been granted temporary political asylum by the government. Washington wants the whistleblower extradited on charges of espionage.

Since the spy revelations emerged the US government has sought to improve the image of the NSA and maintain it is key in protecting America from terrorist threats.

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

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