Find Two Hours To Watch Glenn Greenwald Debate Michael Hayden

from the watch-it dept

If you have (a little less than) 2 hours this weekend, find a way to sit down and watch the mother of all debates about the NSA surveillance program, in which former CIA and NSA boss Michael Hayden and reporter Glenn Greenwald debate each other. Hayden had (in)famous law professor Alan Dershowitz on his side, and Greenwald had Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian on his side, and they both had their interesting moments, but this debate was all about Greenwald v. Hayden and they did not disappoint. Greenwald knocked it out of the park. Hayden came off as condescending and evasive, while Greenwald had facts readily at hand. Hayden said he wanted to debate on the actual facts, and Greenwald brought a bunch, which Hayden didn't respond to. Dershowitz kept insisting that it was all okay because the people at the NSA had proper motives (I don't recall where in the 4th Amendment there's an exception for motives). Meanwhile, Ohanian highlighted how the NSA is actually making us all less secure and massively harming the economy. The video of the debate is below, but you have to skip ahead to 29 minutes. It might not surprise folks to find that I found Greenwald convincing, but I was not the only one:

Filed Under: alan dershowitz, alexis ohanian, glenn greenwald, michael hayden, munk debates, nsa, surveillance