Friends,
The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore will do its annual Interdependence Day visit
to the National Security Agency. We will depart at 10:15 AM on July 4 for
Fort Meade, and then vigil at the NSA from 11 AM to noon. We will then
have a 6 PM potluck picnic. RSVP to me at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at
comcast.net. I will inform you as to where we are meeting to carpool to
the NSA and the site of the picnic. We will support Reality Winner and
call out for her immediate release, and the dismissal of all charges against
this courageous whistleblower. Join us to get to know better the government
agency which is keeping close attention to you.
Kagiso,
Max
Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore,
MD 21218
Email mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net or phone 410-323-1607.
July 3, 2017
Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers
Director, National Security Agency
Chief, Central Security Service
National Security Agency
Fort George G. Meade, MD 20755
Dear Admiral Rogers:
For
years, members of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore have expressed a grave
concern for the National Security Agency’s role in the invasions of Afghanistan
and Iraq, and the attacks on Libya, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen. The loss
of lives, the devastation wreaked on civilian populations, and the resulting
instability has only emboldened the terrorists to take advantage of the
disarray.
Your agency has a well-recognized history of illegal surveillance and other
activities which violate the constitution. The Trump Administration, like
Obama’s, is engaged in an assassination program through the use of unmanned
aerial vehicles. We believe this program using killer drone strikes is
immoral, illegal and unconstitutional. Even U.S. citizens have been
assassinated by drones without due process. Of course, your agency is
culpable by providing potential targets for the president's "kill
list."
Because
of these concerns, we would like to meet with you or your representative.
The Nuremberg Tribunals taught us that when a government is involved in war
crimes, citizens must speak out. As a government employee, you have a
responsibility to hear from the citizenry. We are willing to adjust our
schedules to be available at any time or day. We do plan to be at Fort
Meade for our annual Interdependence Day visit.
Fortunately,
there is a handful of courageous insiders who have stepped forward to blow the
whistle on the NSA. The most recent whistleblower is Reality Winner, a federal
contractor who faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on charges
she willfully retained and transmitted national defense information. If she did
transmit data, we argue that releasing the information was in the public
interest, especially considering the Trump Administration is trying to deny
Russian interference in the 2016 election. What has been written in the
media about the alleged leak suggests that she did not transmit “national
defense information.” What was allegedly leaked is information that the general
public should have seen.
Most
every day, journalists depend on leaks, which are a vital source of information
in a democracy. Considering the contempt the Trump Administration has for
a free press, we are grateful that individuals take a risk in sharing
information which belongs in the public realm.
NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake exposed the NSA’s unconstitutional behavior, and
suffered greatly. The whistleblowers who have probably suffered the most are
Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. Fortunately, Obama commuted
Manning’s sentence. Snowden and Assange are men without a country. Our
most immediate concern, however, is Reality Winner.
On the
Fourth of July, we will celebrate these whistleblowers who exposed government
malfeasance. We ask you to join the celebration: publicly acknowledge
that the above whistleblowers were right to speak out and that they should
never have been punished; state that they must be compensated for their
suffering; call out that all pending and future charges against Assange and
Snowden should be dismissed; and finally, inform the president that Ms. Winner
should not be prosecuted.
We hope
that you will take our concerns seriously, and meet with us. We need your
support for the dismissal of any charges against Winner. You exist in an
insular world, and could benefit from a meeting with peace and justice
activists. At this meeting we will urge the NSA to promote reconciliation and
diplomacy and renounce pernicious killer drone strikes and illegal surveillance
which violates the 4th Amendment. Following up on our demands will be a
positive step for the National Security Agency to rebuild its tarnished
reputation. We look forward to your response.
In peace,
Max Obuszewski
On behalf of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"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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