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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOn Snowden, I agree with Gore
From the clip above: He clearly violated the law so you can't say OK what he did was alright, it's not.
Like Gore, many people people oppose NSA overreach and recognize the value of the debate, but also don't approve of Snowden's actions that go beyond sparking a debate about the NSA's domestic activities. Snowden's problem is that he knows damn well he screwed up with his actions overseas. This goes to his motives, and likely why he fled.
Jimmy Carter:
Carter: Snowden's leaks 'good for Americans to know'
Susan Page
NEW YORK -- Former president Jimmy Carter defended the disclosures by fugitive NSA contractor Edward Snowden on Monday, saying revelations that U.S. intelligence agencies were collecting meta-data of Americans' phone calls and e-mails have been "probably constructive in the long run."
<...>
Does he view Snowden, now granted asylum in Russia, as a hero or a traitor?
"There's no doubt that he broke the law and that he would be susceptible, in my opinion, to prosecution if he came back here under the law," he said. "But I think it's good for Americans to know the kinds of things that have been revealed by him and others -- and that is that since 9/11 we've gone too far in intrusion on the privacy that Americans ought to enjoy as a right of citizenship."
Carter cautioned that he didn't have information about whether some of the disclosures "may have hurt our security or individuals that work in security," adding, "If I knew that, then I may feel differently." And he said Snowden shouldn't be immune from prosecution for his actions.
"I think it's inevitable that he should be prosecuted and I think he would be prosecuted" if he returned to the United States, the former president said. "But I don't think he ought to be executed as a traitor or any kind of extreme punishment like that."
- more -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/24/usa-today-capital-download-jimmy-carter-edward-snowden-probably-constructive/6822425/
Susan Page
NEW YORK -- Former president Jimmy Carter defended the disclosures by fugitive NSA contractor Edward Snowden on Monday, saying revelations that U.S. intelligence agencies were collecting meta-data of Americans' phone calls and e-mails have been "probably constructive in the long run."
<...>
Does he view Snowden, now granted asylum in Russia, as a hero or a traitor?
"There's no doubt that he broke the law and that he would be susceptible, in my opinion, to prosecution if he came back here under the law," he said. "But I think it's good for Americans to know the kinds of things that have been revealed by him and others -- and that is that since 9/11 we've gone too far in intrusion on the privacy that Americans ought to enjoy as a right of citizenship."
Carter cautioned that he didn't have information about whether some of the disclosures "may have hurt our security or individuals that work in security," adding, "If I knew that, then I may feel differently." And he said Snowden shouldn't be immune from prosecution for his actions.
"I think it's inevitable that he should be prosecuted and I think he would be prosecuted" if he returned to the United States, the former president said. "But I don't think he ought to be executed as a traitor or any kind of extreme punishment like that."
- more -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/24/usa-today-capital-download-jimmy-carter-edward-snowden-probably-constructive/6822425/
Bernie Sanders:
<...>
BLITZER: What about Snowden? Do you think that he committed a crime or he was simply a well-intentioned whistle-blower?
SANDERS: Well, I think what you have to look at is -- I think there is no question that he committed a crime, obviously. He violated his oath and he leaked information.
On the other hand, what you have to weigh that against is the fact that he has gone a very long way in educating the people of our country and the people of the world about the power of private agency in terms of their surveillance over people of this country, over foreign leaders, and what they are doing.
So, I think you got to weigh the two. My own belief is that I think, I would hope that the United States government could kind of negotiate some plea bargain with him, some form of clemency. I think it wouldn't be a good idea or fair to him to have to spend his entire remaining life abroad, not being able to come back to his country.
So I would hope that there's a price that he has to pay, but I hope it is not a long prison sentence or exile from his country.
BLITZER: You wouldn't give him clemency, though, and let him off scot-free?
SANDERS: No. BLITZER: All right, Senator, thanks very much for joining us.
<...>
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1401/06/sitroom.02.html
BLITZER: What about Snowden? Do you think that he committed a crime or he was simply a well-intentioned whistle-blower?
SANDERS: Well, I think what you have to look at is -- I think there is no question that he committed a crime, obviously. He violated his oath and he leaked information.
On the other hand, what you have to weigh that against is the fact that he has gone a very long way in educating the people of our country and the people of the world about the power of private agency in terms of their surveillance over people of this country, over foreign leaders, and what they are doing.
So, I think you got to weigh the two. My own belief is that I think, I would hope that the United States government could kind of negotiate some plea bargain with him, some form of clemency. I think it wouldn't be a good idea or fair to him to have to spend his entire remaining life abroad, not being able to come back to his country.
So I would hope that there's a price that he has to pay, but I hope it is not a long prison sentence or exile from his country.
BLITZER: You wouldn't give him clemency, though, and let him off scot-free?
SANDERS: No. BLITZER: All right, Senator, thanks very much for joining us.
<...>
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1401/06/sitroom.02.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024292659
I stand with anyone who recognizes that one doesn't have defend Snowden, Putin's tool, to be on the "right side of history."
Senator Blumenthal: prosecute Snowden, overhaul FISA courts.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023425884
Rep. John Lewis: "NO PRAISE FOR SNOWDEN-Reports about my interview with The Guardian are misleading"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023427908
What Mr. Snowden did is treason, was high crimes, and there is nothing in what we say that justifies what he did, said Richard Clarke, a former White House counter-terrorism advisor and current ABC News contributor. Whether or not this panel would have been created anyway, I dont know, but I dont think anything that Ive learned justifies the treasonous acts of Mr. Snowden.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/white-house-nsa-panel-member-snowdens-leaks-treasonous/story?id=21277856
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/white-house-nsa-panel-member-snowdens-leaks-treasonous/story?id=21277856
From the beginning, it was clear that Snowden broke the law (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023439290). There was a point where even Snowden supporters accepted that he knew he broke the law. Snowden said it himself.
Fleeing the country and releasing state secrets did not help his case.
His actions since then have only made the situation worse.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023035550
Some of Snowden's fans are now attacking Kerry for stating the obvious, what many others have said, which is basically that Snowden is a fugitive from justice and he has the choice to return to the U.S. to be held accountable.
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On Snowden, I agree with Gore (Original Post)
ProSense
Jun 2014
OP
Whisp
(24,096 posts)1. I predict someone's bus will get gored. n/t
ProSense
(116,464 posts)2. Kick! n/t
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)3. so you agree
that what Snowden released were constitutional violations by the security agencies?
Well then, good. We are on the same side. Let's get thes unconstitutional operations shut down!!
ProSense
(116,464 posts)4. Another. n/t
mcar
(42,278 posts)5. Well stated
And linked
Schema Thing
(10,283 posts)6. I have very good reading comprehension, and you do not agree with Gore
wrt Snowden.
Uncle Joe
(58,300 posts)8. + All that exists, but this is a nice demonstration of "integrity". n/t
Cha
(296,893 posts)9. Oh yeah, "He clearly violated the law so you can't say OK what he did was alright, it's not." Gore
ProSense
(116,464 posts)10. Sure, I do. He's basically saying what Carter said.
I don't have to agree with him 100 percent, but I agree with his understanding that Snowden broke the law and what he did, to quote Gore, is not OK.
Like the others quoted in the OP, he's separating the "important service" from the law breaking.
I have good listening skills. Gore's opening remark in the clip is that he doesn't label Snowden a "hero" or a "traitor." When pressed, he stated he would lean more away from the "traitor" side.
sheshe2
(83,669 posts)7. KnR nt
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)11. Kick...it's time for Comrade Eddie to face the music. nt