Great interview with NSA whistle blower William Binney. He was one of the senior management layer of NSA before blowing the whistle. He and Thomas Drake were the forerunners of Snowden and it seems pretty obvious that Snowden triangulated his actions on the reception given to Binney and Drake. One suspects “the next Snowden” will triangulate his protest based on how Snowden is treated.
The interview has a surprising section around 26/30 minutes which discusses why Snowden got away with it. In short, ironically, NSA analysts objected to internal audit and surveillance systems monitoring them.
Towards the end (46/50) Binney talks more broadly about politics and political morality. He puts Gerald Ford at the top of his unfavorites list. Ford’s pardon to Nixon he says institutionalized executive unaccountability. Binney mentions the various illegal domestic spying operations engaged in by various agencies during the Nixon period. He doesn’t mention Ford’s seemingly similar role on the Warren Commission.
UPDATE:
Two previous LRC Blogs related to this interview: Snowden and Greenwald: The Men Who Leaked the Secrets, and Thomas Andrews Drake, Whistle Blower and Patriot.
9:16 pm on January 11, 2014
