President Obama Says He Learns What NSA Is Doing From The Press, Then Goes To NSA For Details
from the uh,-that's-not-how-it's-supposed-to-work dept
Ewan MacAskill calls out a rather astounding statement by President Obama during his most recent press conference in St. Petersburg at the G20 summit. The very last question, which I believe is asked by AFP reporter Tangi Quemener, asks President Obama to respond to some of the recent NSA leaks, in particular the spying on Brazilian and Mexican officials. The President gives the usual long and winding answer about doing what intelligence agencies do, and various costs and benefits, but then there's this:Now, just more specifically, then, on Brazil and Mexico. I said that I would look into the allegations. I mean, part of the problem here is we get these through the press and then I've got to go back and find out what’s going on with respect to these particular allegations -- I don’t subscribe to all these newspapers, although I think the NSA does -- now at least. (Laughter.)Leaving aside the "joke" at the end, the admission is rather startling. Here is the President of the US admitting two astounding things. First, it appears that he and the NSA really have no clue at all what information Ed Snowden walked away with, and second (and worse), it appears that the President is admitting that he doesn't know what the NSA is doing and is similarly learning these facts from the press. This comes from the same President who has repeatedly insisted that there is plenty of oversight over these programs. If that's true, then he shouldn't be taken by surprise when the press reveals what the NSA is doing, and shouldn't have to "go back and find out what's going on." He's more or less admitting that there's no oversight and the NSA is a rogue agency making its own rules, only checked on when the press reveals something.
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Filed Under: barack obama, nsa, nsa surveillance, oversight, surveillance
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I can certainly imagine that, for example, Obama would only be interested in hearing what the president of Brazil was planning on doing, with minimal interest as to the details how they're getting that information in that particular case.
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Classic "I'm a fool" statement, as only other choice is KNAVE.
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Re: Classic "I'm a fool" statement, as only other choice is KNAVE.
Mind you blue, this is actually pretty bad since Obama kept parroting the NSA's defensive words to the public....that was before he admitted seeing it in the press. That means when accusations flew at the administration about the NSA, he didn't ask a source conducive to the general opinion of the people about the NSA spying...which happens to be what the press is reporting..that we do not like being spied like that.
Two things are revealed about Obama.
1. As nice as he is, he is extremely manipulative. The first evidence of this was when he was a senator...he would always protest against a bill being passed through only to vote for its passing when it came time to vote.
2. He has no empathy...otherwise he would have counseled with the press rather than ordering all their phone records.
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Who is the Stooge?
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First time I've ever seen that.
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Having national security as a religion politicians follow doesn't seem fair. Nor is it balanced... Preferably politicians would educate themself more on this particular subject instead of relying on pure head under arm political religion since it is guaranteed to be 100 % one-sided lobbying for more funding given the secrecy and thereby lack of civil concerns getting heard. If they somehow got the monopoly lobbying out of Washington, it would remove the city completely from the map...
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And this is why...
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No meaningful oversight
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Look he's been carrying water for the NSA ever since this Snowden crap happened. He's been pushing for espionage charges for whistle blowers while not paying a bit of attention to the exposures they brought forth and punishing the real criminals. I'm afraid this doesn't cover his ass but makes it all the more vulnerable. Evidently, when it comes to the NSA everyone in charge of oversight is asleep at the wheel at best or is complicit in the cover up on purpose. Take your pick, neither speaks well of what the government is doing.
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Re: "allegations"
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Plausible deniability
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability
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I have known for a looooooooooooooooong time that no pencil pusher knows exactly what happens at the whole of the system, they know very narrow things about it all and this includes the president not only of the US but all other countries as well.
With that said, it is surprising to get the president of the US that is supposed to have dozens of people to look into those things say after the fact that he get more information from the press than he is able to get from the NSA.
Ok, I believe him, he is incompetent and can't keep a rogue agency in check.
Now the important part, can we do something?
Not really, unless people start getting serious about politics and start mapping the relationships that agencies have with each other and who is put in place, nothing will change,changing the president or even congress is not enough anymore, they don't get their facts from thin air it comes from somewhere and that place is where the real power is right now.
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Obama is learning what the NSA is doing from the press
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I guess that's possible, but if that's true, wouldn't a Constitutional law scholar's most natural reaction to news of the NSA spying on Americans be: "They're doing fucking what??" not something like "I dunno what's up with that, I'll look into it"?
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That's rich...
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