Alternative view to Ed Snowden, NSA and EU

Why is European Union so "surprised" of NSA program, when just few years back, they required European telcos to record most of the same data, file it for years, and hand it over to intelligence agencies including NSA? For EU spokeswoman to express privacy worries - that is a joke of grandest scale. For years the whole of Europe has been wiretapped, recorded and monitored, with security cams hanging on every corner and roof top. What a joke to act surprised and worried suddenly of the privacy and integrity. And why direct that debate and attention to US, and apparent close-down of something everybody (with brains) has known for years?

What if Ed Snowden is acting on agenda? Perhaps of its own - trying to sell high value information to the highest bidders under the cover of "democratic concerns" and the haze this mess creates? Or something more well planned and orchestrated.

Ed had been just 3 months at BAH - 3 months (!!!) - and went straight to a top-security clearance, and targeted surveillance??? That is very, very hard to believe. Well, he was a security guard for NSA in his past - but clearance to that data - how on Earth? And only during these 3 months - when did he really get access to those files, and when did he start to thinking - and planning - to use them for something? Did he walk into a treasure trove on day one?

So, to me, this looks more intentional and purpose seeking, much more than just a civil liberties case. Surely the data he has passed forward pays that bill, but that is not necessarily the whole purpose of the mission here. Normally, when something like this odd happens, there needs to be more money, influence and power at stake.

BAH has grown to a major player in this field, with 5,6 Billion USD stake on that business. Somebody wants them out badly. Somebody wants that money. And somebody wants field cleared out, that including NSA. Could it be, some other, more subtle and substantially more shadowy intelligence service does not see money flowing to their direction, in such a scale as to these NSA's rather innocent looking facebook & blog diggins? An organisation, which surely after this mess, will see itself getting fully funded.

Since, one thing is sure: after the dust has cleared, NSA is so out of this business, and something else is so into it, and into much, much more.

What if the whole thing is just about getting a bad run ops shut down, create "victory for democracy", and then roll in the real guns? To move everything under wraps, and off the radars.

reply to post by deckdel
You bring up some provocative musings. I generally keep the TV in the OFF position, but I will listen to radio now and again. And even from the tidbits I was privy to, a big question mark formed over my head. I think the consensus is a good portion of the public and international theater have already been aware of this business.

What is curious (and mind you, I haven't even been watching any news), is how media goes into a frenzy regarding a particular topic. One piece I heard on NPR, was that Orwell's 1984 has shot to the top of the bestseller list (or something like that...anyway, it's suddenly more popular). I thought, "Gee. Wasn't this required reading in school?" It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. The media makes a big to-do about 1984. Then John Q Public is like, "Hmmm. I wonder why it's so popular again. I've read it, but hey. Maybe I should read it again?"

Is that an example of media pushing an agenda? Because these frenzies seem to alter consensus. Then again, it could be a mirage. What is real? What is not? Why is the media pouncing on this, when there has been already existing and freely available info for years? Why? And why isn't anyone in the media asking the media this question?

reply to post by deckdel

Alternative alternative - pretty edgy!
Snowden is saying all the right things imho and when the gubment runs these scripts they usually ring false. BUT What you bring up is really interesting. It could be another country manipulating this or a private contractor. I had the thought it could be a country, private enterprise or rogue agents who are holding out the possibility of leaking further info. We owe Germany, Japan and China big bucks don't we? It could also be Snowden acting on his own. He could not take all the data but he could have taken more significant data. He also could have planted things to go off like a virus. So he may hold more strategic cards than just being a whistleblower.

Still, it rankles me to see America's premier traitors (politicians) daring to call Snowden a traitor after what they've done over the years. They are proven traitors for allowing and funding these data depots.

reply to post by deckdel


The leaders of the EU were not "surprised" at all by this disclosure, although they behaved that way for the sake of public appearances. The leaders would have been quite aware of ECHELON although they would pretend not to know for plausible deniable reasons and as far as I can tell this is just another name for ECHELON that enables them to pretend it began after 9/11. Search ECHELON for more if your interested either here or elsewhere.

If Obama is involved in a "scandal"
The good people of ATS are incapable
of understanding the idea of a double cross .

An agenda to make the administration look bad?
Oh come on.. That could never happen .