Anthonyn Cordesman on Edward Snowden

In the meantime, how about paying attention to legitimate diplomatic effort and taking preemptive action when warranted and seriously kicking ass when needed! That Boston tragedy was just that and shouldn't have happened. What the hell kind of diplomacy is preventing the US Gov. from acting on tips and info it receives from friendly nations whether they're allies or not? Problem is there's too many free agents out there in positions to exercise their own agendas. Like it or not, we're now actually living in a 'global' community. It's now 'us' against them. Call me a theorist but I don't believe for one second that Britain and Germany are unaware of the US' clandestine operations. We need them as much as they need us.

Zen...., of course I agree with what you say in principle. 100%. Nevertheless, I believe the risk that a looney group getting its hands on a WMD and using it is NOT just the stuff of Hollywood B-movies. We have 9/11 to prove that. But of course, I hope you are right. I really do.

Dear Bifwynne,
Taking into consideration the handicaps of your occupation I will keep it simple and to the point.
I hope you have better support for your legal arguments than b-rate Cold War flick. Even the Russians wouldn't have driven around with hot warheads on the back of a pick-up truck.
Any threat requires an assessment to determine the real risk. The fact is we have lost a very small number of people to terrorism. We have lost considerably more in our reaction to this very small threat by going to war for 10 years. This has been a gross over reaction to a perceived threat. During that same 10 year period 6 million people have died from heart disease, 6 million from cancer, 1.5 million from respiratory disease, 1 million from accidents.
I haven't even addressed murders.
This "war on terror" can only be supported with a nice Hollywood production, because the facts sure don't add up.

If the U.S. Government wants to use undercover intelligence to cure heart disease or cancer or any of a hundred other things that are killing our citizens, I will let them put cameras and mikes throughout my home.

I do not want to give up ONE of our precious liberties that thousands of our people HAVE died for unless the threat is extraordinary and legitimate.
Factually speaking, your chances of dying at the hands of a terrorist are less than being hit by lightning.

We should all be vigilant protectors of every last liberty that our past generations defended with there lives.

Have a happy and safe Independence Day
God Bless America

Jond, Zenblaster and Onhwy61, you guys got it right.

Folks, as an attorney, I am somewhat familiar with the US Constitution, particularly the 4th Amendment. It pains me greatly that our country has found it necessary to resort to the intrusive actions that it has taken.

But, in times of war and national emergency, there is precedent for extreme actions. For example, Abraham Lincoln suspended many constitutional protections such as habeus corpus during the Civil War. I'm sure most recall some of the actions, and admittedly excesses, that occurred during WWII.

Now let's balance all of that with current events. Like it or not, our country is the target of fanatical religious anarchists who HAVE caused us great harm on a massive level. Do I have to remind anyone about 9/11 or the recent Boston bombings.

I suggest that you rent a somewhat dated movie called "The Peacemakers," starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. Watch the movie and please come back with comments about whether the government has exceeded reasonable bounds of intrusive activity.

G-d Bless America and Happy July 4th.

Regardless of the motives or character of Snowden he has done the public a great service. In order for the nation to function as a democracy the citizenship must be informed of what the government and other power centers are doing.

Traditionally law enforcement would only investigate someone if there was reasonable suspicion or knowledge that a person was engaged in illegal activity. That is no longer the case and it represents a fundamental change in law enforcement strategy. Now simply having your picture taken for a state issued drivers license puts you into a facial recognition searchable database used by law enforcement for whatever purpose they deem appropriate.

Technology and tactics have made it easier for law enforcement to detect criminal activity and that may well further the common defence and promote the general welfare, but in that same sentence the Constitution also
specifies that the role of government is to secure liberty to ourselves and our offspring. If you take away liberty are you really promoting the general welfare? It's a question well worth a public discussion.

Remember, a policeman's job is only easy in a police state.

Do you people that support the government illegally mining your private conversations and information remember J Edgar Hoover? McCarthy? What governments have done under the paradigm of "the greater good" has been pretty scary in the past.
Jingoism is a slippery slope.

Anthony Cordesman is a fine audio reviewer and a knowlegable foreign policy expert. Snowden has set us back so badly with his disclosures that it cannot be calculated. I consider myself to be a fairly liberal thinker and one who treasures the right of privacy that our justices have found in the Constitution. But I, like many, have no problem with our government obtaining massive amounts of meta data so that, when needed, it can be accessed to connect the dots of terrorist aspirants. I mean, isn't the defense of the country through use of available digital data a no brainer in modern society?
Snowden is a grandstanding joker who should be brought to justice and jailed.

Seems as if our 'hero' is having trouble finding a rock to ooze under.

And for all you shallow thinkers, remember this, people will die as a result of what he did.

Cheers

He's small potatoes. I can think of lots of people who've committed greater crimes and enjoy a celebrity status.

All the best,
Nonoise

He should be shot asap!!

Once again our eyes are off the ball. Snowden is a side story. He is one of several, recent whistleblowers that have come forward. As far back as the Viet Nam war, our RP-2E (a variant of the P-2 Neptune) scooped all electronic info, in country, in ONE pass. We also had an office in France that scooped all communications from Europe to America and this was over 50 years ago.

Despite our advances in cable, doesn't anyone here remember how implementation lagged behind the rest of the world because the NSA needed time to figure out how to spy on the network?

I have no qualms about what is done for our security. Look at what we allow of ourselves to be displayed on Facebook and other ridiculous sites. We are an open society that has yet to mature at the level that technology sets the pace.

Accountability is the issue here. Private, for profit companies don't have the inherent patriotism that government does and yet it's these private companies that have the highest clearances and lowest standards as the Snowden affair has demonstrated.

There is recourse when government messes up but next to none when private companies do. They'll simply reorganize and get another contract. Some of these companies have already been caught using our private info for non security purposes (marketing, selling of our info, etc.) and no one complains. In addition, they are soaking us (the taxpayers) by inflating the cost of their services compared to what the government charges.

Snowden admits to intentionally going to Booz Allen to get info he had no right to have access to, among other things. Structurally, we're screwed until better screening practices and standards of operations are put in place.

All the best,
Nonoise

Snowden is a hero.

Not sure how you can say that without weighing the degree to which privacy has been compromised against the number of innocent American lives that the surveillance programs he disclosed may have saved.

It seems reasonable to speculate that the programs prevented at least one attack that would have cost at least one American life. If saving that one life is not worth some degree of compromised privacy, how many would be? Ten, 100, 1000, 10000?

I don't see how Snowden can be declared to be a hero without that balance being drawn. And to me, the likelihood that at least one life was saved is sufficient justification for the programs, and Snowden is no hero.

This will be my only post in this thread.

Regards,
-- Al

I know Cordesman used Thiel 7.2 speakers at one time and I use them now, so much for shared audio history. If Snowden hadn't revealed the information then we continue living under the naive presumption of constitutional protection of our privacy. At least now a national debate can/might ensue. I have no idea if Cordesman is a neo-liberal hawk or an audiophile of a different stripe. Working for the CSSI makes me wonder though.

Government work, very well paying, has supported Anthony his entire life. I am sure it made him a better reviewer.

I'm reminded of Dr Johnson's remark that "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel," not to mention General Washington's: "I can hear the charming sound of bullets."

I really don't have an opinion one way or another regarding this guy since I'm not sure all the information he may have leaked is out there. So far as letting Americans know about what the government is doing with their phone records and high officials blatantly lying to Congress regarding that issue. Well all I can ask, is THAT ok?

I agree, this is not a political forum and if it was we still live under the constitutional right of innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, let the courts decide on what laws he may have broken. If he truly believes what he did was right in the interest of country and principle, he should come home and face the music. He so far is not demonstrating any "moral high ground" to me, hiding out with the likes of a despicable character like Putin who little doubt is putting the squeeze on him. This kid is in playing in a league WAY over his head.

There's an awful saying that Germans make great wars and great bear, only to lose wars and have beer bellies. As for their music, one only has to look at Quadro Nuevo to know that classically trained musicians make the best musicians.

All the best,
Nonoise

Politics have no place on here, unless saying the German lands have produced the greatest music of course.

I'll skip the politics! Cordesman put Adcom on the map with his poetic waxing. I always wondered if he was compensated by Adcom or couldn't hear above 5khz(lol)? To my ears David Hafler amps were the best sounding budget amps from that time period(mid-late 80's)NOT Adcom.

Thanks Zenblaster I was trying to avoid picking a fight, but your thoughts certainly echo my own.

The guy "should be shot" for exposing a government illegally eavesdropping on its citizens?

Snowden is a hero.

He also contributed to Stereophile during the 80's prior to Absolute Sound. His interest towards larger full range systems I would believe relates to his seeming interest in symphonic and large scale classical music. He always was a big proponent of Vandersteen and Thiel designs.

What is so freakin "political" about the comments?

HE SHOULD BE SHOT IN FRONT OF A FIRING SQUAD!

How's that?

He wrote for Audio magazine before they folded over 20 years ago. He was a big solid solid state (Class'a)and digital fan. He was the bigger is better type of guy!

Please can we knock off the political commenary? Especially the knee jerk, mouth-foaming, "patriotic" variety? Thanks.

A company named 'USIS' has a contract to do background investigations of people who have applied for jobs that require a top-secret security clearance. I believe that USIS performed the security investigation on Snowden. However, USIS itself has been under investigation for doing shoddy work, cutting corners, etc. So, Snowden slipped through the cracks -- he never should have been given a top-secret clearance.

Heads will roll. I would not want to be the CEO of USIS right now.

The CIA and our other intelligence agencies have budgets so large they are ashamed to make them public, yet that traitorous piece of filth still breathes.

I can remember when they could change governments around the world. Now they are impotent in the face of this foul creature. Given time, our foreign controlled media will make him a hero.

An 'audiophile' having a part in foreign policy is scary!!

Interesting times indeed!!

Cheers

I didn't know that about Anthony...

I've heard/seen Cordesman speak but never made the connection. Looks like audiophiles come from all walks of life (and why not!).

I think he may be right as this all seems to turn around the issue of Snowden and not the fact that all of this is outsourced to unaccountable private players with lousy screening levels, which is what we should be talking about. Not too long ago 3 private contractors with access to this kind of info conspired with the Chamber of Commerce to spy on Americans who didn't like the way business is being conducted.

The cat's been out of the bag for some time now. What interesting times we live in.

All the best,
Nonoise

Anthony Cordesman is an renowed expert on foreign policy issues that just so happens to be an audiophile. He was frequently seen on TV as an analyist during the "Desert Storm" operation.