Greenwald writes: "In the neocon journal
Commentary, Max Boot today complains that the New York Times published an op-ed
by Edward Snowden. Boot's objection rests on his accusation that the NSA
whistleblower is actually a 'traitor.'"
Edward Snowden speaking at SXSW via video screen. (photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images/SXSW)
Did Max Boot and Commentary Magazine Lie About Edward
Snowden? You Decide.
By
Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
06 June 15
n the neocon journal Commentary, Max
Boot today complains that the New York Times published an op-ed by Edward Snowden.
Boot’s objection rests on his accusation that the NSA whistleblower
is actually a “traitor.” In objecting, Boot made these claims:
Oddly enough nowhere in his article — which is
datelined Moscow — does he mention the surveillance apparatus of his host,
Vladimir Putin, which far exceeds in scope anything created by any Western
country. . . .That would be the same FSB that has taken Snowden into its bosom
as it has previously done (in its earlier incarnation as the KGB) with previous
turncoats such as Kim Philby. . . .
But of course Ed Snowden is not courageous enough, or
stupid enough, to criticize the dictatorship that he has defected to. It’s much
easier and safer to criticize the country he betrayed from behind the
protection provided by the FSB’s thugs. The only mystery is why the Times is
giving this traitor a platform.
It is literally the supreme act of projection for Max
Boot to accuse anyone of lacking courage, as this particular think tank
warmonger is the living, breathing personification
of the unique strain of American neocon cowardice. Unlike Snowden —
who sacrificed his liberty and unraveled his life in pursuit of his beliefs —
the 45-year-old Boot has spent most of his adult life advocating for one war
after the next, but always wanting to send his fellow citizens of his
generation to die in them, while he hides in the comfort of Washington think tanks,
never fighting them himself.
All of that is just garden-variety neocon cowardice,
and it’s of course grotesque to watch someone like this call someone else a
coward. But it’s so much worse if he lies when doing so. Did he do so here? You
decide.
From Snowden’s NYT op-ed today:
Basic technical safeguards such as encryption — once
considered esoteric and unnecessary — are now enabled by default in the
products of pioneering companies like Apple, ensuring that even if your phone
is stolen, your private life remains private. Such structural technological
changes can ensure access to basic privacies beyond borders, insulating
ordinary citizens from the arbitrary passage of anti privacy laws, such as
those now descending upon Russia.
The meaning of that passage — criticisms of Russia’s
attack on privacy — is so clear and glaring that it caused even Time magazine to publish this today:
Web article from Time on Edward Snowden. (photo: The Intercept)
The first sentence of Time’s article: “Former CIA
officer and NSA contractor Ed Snowden has taken a surprising swing at his new
home, accusing Russia of ‘arbitrarily passing’ new anti-privacy laws.” In other
words, in the very op-ed to which Boot objects, Snowden did exactly that which
Boot accused him of lacking the courage to do: “criticize” the country that has
given him asylum.
This is far from the first time Snowden has done
exactly that which the Tough and Swaggering Think Tank Warrior proclaimed
Snowden would never do. In April, 2014, Snowden wrote an op-ed in The Guardian
under this headline:
Headline featuring Vladimir Putin by The Guardian. (photo: The Intercept)
With Max Boot’s above-printed accusations in mind,
just re-read that. Did Boot lie? To pose the question is to answer it. Here’s
part of what Snowden wrote in that op-ed:
On Thursday, I questioned Russia’s involvement in mass
surveillance on live television. . . . I went on to challenge whether,
even if such a mass surveillance program were effective and technically legal,
it could ever be morally justified. . . . In his response, Putin denied
the first part of the question and dodged on the latter. There are serious
inconsistencies in his denial.
In countless speeches, Snowden has said much the same
thing: that Russian spying is a serious problem that needs investigation and
reform, and that Putin’s denials are not credible. Boot simply lied about
Snowden.
It’s not surprising that someone whose
entire adult life is shaped by extreme cowardice would want to accuse
others of lacking courage, as it distracts attention away from oneself and
provides the comfort of company. Nor is it surprising that government-loyal
journalists spew outright falsehoods
to smear whistleblowers. But even neocon rags like Commentary
shouldn’t be able to get away with this level of blatant lying.
UPDATE: In
typical neocon fashion, Boot first replies by minimizing his own error to a mere
innocent oversight, and implying that only hysteria could cause anyone to
find what he did to be problematic. Even then, the facts negate his
self-justification. But then he says he was actually right all along and
his “point stands”:
© 2015 Reader Supported News
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"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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