Edward Snowden may be America's persona most non grata in the entire world, but he has an insurance policy against "accidents": a treasure trove of supposedly damaging secrets about the US that will hit the public domain if something were to happen to the 30 year old whistleblower. A trove is so damaging that according to Glenn Greenwald, Snowden "poses more of a threat to the U.S. than anyone in the country’s history." Well, maybe a threat to the "government" which now only represents the interests of various corporations and Wall Street, but certainly not to what the US was supposed to be before it was hijacked by special interests, lobbies and the creature from Jekyll Island.
In an interview with Argentinian newspaper La Nacion, The Guardian's journalist who first broke the Snowden story, said that "Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the U.S. government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States.
Asked if he was afraid that Snowden might be killed, Greenwald said: “If something were to happen, those documents would be made public. This is your insurance policy," according to The Hill.
"The U.S. government should be on your knees every day praying that nothing happens to Snowden, because if something happens, all information will be revealed and that would be their worst nightmare," Greenwald added.
As noted earlier, it is Latin America, China and Russia that is the model "axis" for Greenwald, as only those countries are not afraid to stand up to US bullying and intimidation. That this bipolar distribution of world powers will likely define world events for the years to come is certainly something to keep in mind.
Greenwald said the asylum offers from Latin America showed that the U.S. was less intimidating to certain countries around the world.
“Only a few countries, including several in Latin America, China and Russia, have challenged the U.S., have realized that America is no longer in a position of strength as it did before with the rest of the world, and that the rest of the countries do not have to obey their demands as if it were an imperial order,” Greenwald said.
Of course, resolving the Snowden "situation" does not have to be terminal: the 30 year old would likely survive some 40-50 years in maximum security penitentiary if preserving his life was of tantamount importance: something the US legal system, responsible for such smash hits as Eric Holder, would have no problem with.
Still, the consistent critic of U.S. intelligence policies also said that Snowden’s position was dicey, and that the leaker needed to stay out of U.S. custody – given how “extremely vindictive” American officials have proven.
The American judicial system, Greenwald said, "cannot be trusted when it comes to people accused of endangering the national security. The judges do everything they can to secure convictions in these cases."
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The full interview with a rough English translation as recommended by Greenwald himself, is below:
"Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the U.S. government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States," said the NATION Greenwald, 46, and since these latitudes write regularly on international security issues have made him famous, winner of several distinguished awards.
Today, the New Yorker, a former lawyer, is in the eye of the storm. Lawmakers in Washington want to put him on trial, spies of various countries seek Snowden secret information shared with him last month in Hong Kong and he still sent from Moscow through an encrypted email system. He knows he's being watched and that their conversations are monitored. They even steal the laptop from her boyfriend Rio, of your own home.
Three men wait in the lobby of the hotel Royal Tulip with credentials of a congress of osteoporosis which the custodian has no idea. Are they really doctors or are following Greenwald? Appearances are deceptive.
- Does Snowden's decision to stay in Russia while achieving come to Latin America?
-Yes, the most important thing is not to end in U.S. custody, which proved extremely vindictive government to punish those who reveal uncomfortable truths, and in whose judicial system can not be trusted when it comes to people accused of endangering the national security, the judges do everything they can to secure convictions in these cases. It would be immediately put in prison to cover the debate that helped generate, and end the rest of his days behind bars.
- Russia gives security guarantees?
-Not many countries in the world that have the ability and willingness to defy U.S. demands. But Russia is one of those countries and it has been good so far.
- Beyond the revelations about the spying system performance in general, what extra information has Snowden?
-Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the U.S. government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States. But that's not his goal. Its objective is to expose software that people around the world use without knowing what they are exposing themselves without consciously agreeing to surrender their rights to privacy. It has a huge number of documents that would be very harmful to the U.S. government if they were made public.
- Are you afraid that someone will try to kill him?
It's a possibility, although I do not bring many benefits to anyone at this point. Already distributed thousands of documents and made sure that several people around the world have their entire file. If something were to happen, those documents would be made public. This is your insurance policy. The U.S. government should be on your knees every day praying that nothing happens to Snowden, because if something happens, all information will be revealed and that would be their worst nightmare.
- Can Latin America be a good shelter for Snowden?
-Only a few countries, including several in Latin America, China and Russia, have challenged the U.S., have realized that America is no longer in a position of strength as it did before with the rest of the world, and that the rest of the countries do not have to obey their demands as if it were an imperial order. In Latin America feels a natural sympathy for the United States, yet there is a great resentment for specific historical policies of Washington toward the region. What happened to the plane of Evo Morales in Europe caused a strong reaction, was treated as if Bolivia was a colony and not a sovereign state.
-From Snowden shared documents with you, there is much more information related to Latin America?
Yes For each country that has an advanced communications system, such as from Mexico to Argentina, there are documents that detail how the United States collects the traffic information, the programs that are used to capture the transmissions, the number of interceptions are performed per day, and more. One way to intercept communications is through a telephone corporation in the United States that has contracts with telecommunications companies in most Latin American countries. The important thing will be to see what the reaction of the various governments. I do not think that the governments of Mexico and Colombia do much about it. But maybe those of Argentina and Venezuela itself willing to take action.