(Politics) Edward Snowden: Snowden affair gone from Whistleblower to mystery

Edward Snowden, the EX-CIA whistleblower has now become the George Kaplan of international politics but the problem with Snowden is that he actually exists. While it is always an asset to be elusive especially when you are a fugitive of a superpower with the largest spy network on the planet (he should know being ex-CIA and all), it doesn’t lend well to the status he gained among liberals as a hero as the US government is doing its best to make Snowden look like a common criminal afraid to face justice for his “crimes”.

While US Secretary of  State John Kerry may label Snowden  a traitor despite there being no evidence of him selling America’s secrets to its enemies, he is definitely not doing himself any favours as while running makes  sense given what has happened to whistleblowers who have leaked information to the press in the past, making a round trip to Hong Kong then Russia ,who of late have been following a foreign policy of sticking a finger in the eye of American power whenever the chance presents itself , is not so easy to fathom.

While his trip to Hong Kong was strange, his trip to Russia was perplexing considering the fact that he criticised US officials for secretly keeping more of a closer eye on US citizens that he and many others are comfortable with yet leaves Hong Kong for a country that not only watches it’s citizens like a hawk but destroys the ones it doesn’t like.

The US, none too pleased about Hong Kong (after getting an OK by China) allowing Snowden to make his trip to Russia after sending and extradition request, have turned their attentions to Russia stressing that Snowden’s escape from Moscow would be a blow to their relations as if Russia’s decision to back the Syrian government wasn’t enough of a smack in the face.    

NSA director Keith Alexander may pretend that Snowden has “damage(d)” the US, it would be a solid wager to suggest that the news that the US security apparatus was spying extensively on its own citizens as well as other nations was not news to anybody.  

Any suggestion that Snowden is a criminal for exposing the further corrosion of the fourth amendment at the hands of the executive branch is ridiculous as he did not reveal the US’s bevvy to secret bases or out a CIA operative a la the Bush Administration. His only crime was not sticking around to suffer a fate much like Bradley Manning revealing the darker and gruesome dimension of American power.

In sum, Edward Snowden may have to live somewhere in South America for the rest of his life for revealing the extent of how American power is being used against its own citizens to the detriment of the fourth and potentially the first amendment and the George Kaplan of international for a while longer but what is the real problem is that he will never step foot in US soil without cuffs. 

(Politics) CIA: Agent Capture in Russia Tops off a Nightmare Few Weeks For Company

After letting the Boston Bombers "fall through the cracks" and have their secret bribes outed by it main recipients in Afghanistan, the CIA could have done without the embarrassing news of having probably the most incompetent spy in CIA history apprehended in Russia for trying to turn a Russian spy.

(Politics) Syria Gives Palestine the Green Light: Israel under Pressure

The tensions between Israel and Palestine over the past year have continually been heating up as disputes between borders have reached pinnacle marks –such as the controversy with the United Nations. Nevertheless, in recent months, with Syria and their constant threat of the use of dangerous chemical weapons, pressure in the Middle-East has been paramount. Although Syria –which is itself engaged in a civil war between the Assad regime and those loyal to his government vs. the Free Syrian Army and other confederate rebel groups –is a threat in and of itself, Bashar Al Assad has recently given the Palestinians the go ahead offering them his support given rising escalation.

Monday evening, two IDF mortar shells exploded in Israel in the Golan Heights area causing anxiety and much reaction out of the Israeli government. Although the two explosions have been written off as friendly fire spillover from the conflict in Syria, many others object to such a notion. Moreover, the Friday and Saturday previously, Israel sent air strikes over key target locations in order to try to diminish political pressure over Lebanon. Although the Israeli government has been pointed about staying out of Syrian air-space, the Syrian government has stated that it may increase the situation near Damascus, the capital of Syria.

Furthermore, notwithstanding all the aforesaid events, President Assad openly gave the Palestinians and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) a fair card to retaliate against Israel if new increasing circumstances arise. This is a dangerously bold move by Syria which is already internally imploding. Moreover, such an attack could trigger a chain of events given the fact that new alliances have been formed, and old ones reinstated, concerning North Korea and China. Notwithstanding Russia’s alliance with Syria, a full fledged Palestinian attack against Israel could draw in the United States as well.

For instance, the Kuwaiti newspaper entitled the Al Rai, quoting sources near to President Bashar Al Assad, stated that “[the] Syrian leader had used Russian backchannels to tell the Israelis that Damascus would react if Israel struck Syria again. [The] Syrian leader had used Russian backchannels to tell the Israelis that Damascus would react if Israel struck Syria again.” Such statements intensify the rising escalation of the Israel/Palestinian situation concerning Syria –and even Russia.

Other sources have claimed that since the event, Syrian authorities have deployed missile batteries in Damascus aimed at Israel. Any future Israeli provocation could result in a serious reaction from Damascus and quickly ignite the powder keg that is lying so dormant in the Middle-East currently. Israeli ground troops, moreover, were caught operating in the Golan Heights area as well. Regardless of the future events, it can be stated with certainty that tensions in the Middle-East are high as everyone is expected every other country to cooperate with each others demands. Such a scenario brings back the M.A.D. of the Cold War and instills a sense of looming fear and ominous anxiety throughout citizens in Israel, Syria, and Palestine. One can only hope that such a situation, perchance, can be averted in the near future.

The Carnage Report // http://thecarnagereport.blogspot.com // 2013

Brent McCulley on Twitter // http://twitter.com/brentthewalrus

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