General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Edward Snowden is a self-regarding idealist whose warnings of tyranny ring hollow [View all]karynnj
(59,466 posts)There have been NSA people saying that they mischaracterized many things they did say. However, there were things - things that have hurt the US that the government did not deny - such as Britain spying on the G8. Not to mention, he embarrassed the US right before the Obama meeting with China - and the effort by State (Kerry) and Treasury (Lew) to work on the issue of hacking and intellectual rights. Both of these were documents that he really did take and put out.
If Snowden is lying about ANYTHING, that compromises seeing him as a whistleblower or truth teller - because you can't trust him. That diminishes his possible positives - leaving JUST his negatives.
I said I disagreed with using contractors. However, contractors usually are more a part of where they work than the company that contracts them out. (My experience is dated - and was Bell Labs, not the federal government.) I really do not see this as a big conspiracy where the Carlyle Group is controlling these people and having them give the information to the CG itself. I DO think that security and control is better served if the federal government itself employed these people. Another possibility of why they don't is that Republicans preferred contracts to expanded federal departments.