Rolling Stone: Six Memorable Quotes from Edward Snowden

[grasswire]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/six-memorable-quotes-from-edward-snowdens-nbc-interview-20140529






Even before the full interview aired, one prominent U.S. official was criticizing Snowden. During a Wednesday morning interview on CBS News, Secretary of State John Kerry suggested Snowden "man-up and come back to the United States" to face punishment. Snowden has been charged with three felonies, including two under the 1917 Espionage Act.

Snowden's attorney, Ben Wizner, told the Guardian it was unlikely Snowden would surrender himself to the U.S. because "the laws under which Snowden is charged don't distinguish between sharing information with the press in the public interest, and selling secrets to a foreign enemy" – something the whistleblower also touched on during the interview.

Though Edward Snowden is one of the most scrutinized figures alive today, there was still much to be learned from the broadcast. Here are six of the most memorable moments, in his words.


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[Tarheel_Dem]

1. All rested up, I see. I thought you were gonna take your own advice. Welcome back.

[grasswire]

2. I wasn't tired. nt

[deurbano]

3. Thanks for sharing that.

[scarletwoman]

4. Rec'd. Thanks for posting this.

6. "What is right is not always the same as what is legal"

In the interview, Snowden showed a willingness to spend some time in prison, so long as the sentence wouldn't serve as a deterrent to future whistleblowers. "If you're volunteering yourself to be used as a negative example, if you're volunteering to spend a lifetime in prison, rather than spend a time in prison, a short period, where you'll come out, you'll advocate, you'll emerge stronger and inspire other people to resist these policies – are you doing good or are you doing bad?"

Snowden also described telling NSA colleagues about the programs he'd seen and become worried about. "Many of these individuals were shocked by the programs. They'd never seen them," he said.

But the warning they offered him was clear and unmistakable. "If you say something about this," Snowden recalled a co-worker saying, "they're going to destroy you."

[ProSense]

5. 1. "I have no relationship with the Russian government at all."

That's "memorable"?

2. "So many of the things we're told by the government simply aren't true."

As Snowden gained more access to the intelligence community, the longer he worked inside, the more disillusioned he became. This comment was the essential core of his decision to go public with the documents. Following 9/11, Snowden signed up for the military but was discharged after breaking both of his legs in special forces training.

"The Iraq war that I signed up for was launched on false premises. The American people were misled," Snowden said. "Now, whether that was due to bad faith or simply mistakes in intelligence, I can't say for sure. But I can say it shows the problem of putting too much faith in intelligence systems without debating them in public."

He signed up for the Iraq war in 2004, well into the debate about "false premises."

In the interview, Snowden showed a willingness to spend some time in prison, so long as the sentence wouldn't serve as a deterrent to future whistleblowers. "If you're volunteering yourself to be used as a negative example, if you're volunteering to spend a lifetime in prison, rather than spend a time in prison, a short period, where you'll come out, you'll advocate, you'll emerge stronger and inspire other people to resist these policies – are you doing good or are you doing bad?"

Does his lawyer know this?

[JDPriestly]

8. Probably. I would bet that his lawyer does know that. May have been his lawyer's idea.

[L0oniX]

6. K & R

[840high]

7. k/r