America’s treatment of whistleblowers and Americans in a police state
Posted on July 14th, 2013
Shenali D Waduge
America must be humoring us. Otherwise how is it possible for the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s human rights watch dog, crusader of peace, champion of democracy and the beacon of truth and reconciliation simply to jail and lock up all those who we are now told are ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-whistleblowersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ because they divulged the dirty tricks America had been up to and is upto? Interesting indeed.
So our latest whistleblower ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the entire world now knows who he is because for letting the world know that the nation committed to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-privacyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-confidentialityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ has been taping and snooping on the entire world, Edward Snowden has become the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s hero. Edward Snowden was not garlanded for letting us know that the American Government is eavesdropping on not only Americans but the entire world and Snowden has become such a fugitive that planes are forced landed because thereƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a bounty out for him and if caught heƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s likely to spend 30 years in prison. Hopefully he wonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t land up in Guanatanomo Bay or other rendition points since the US Government and its media cohorts are now experts at creating stories and versions to suit them.
If we recall John Kiriakou, who now remains in prison ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” his crime was to publicly acknowledge that torture was an official US policy. For divulging this bit of saucy news, Kiriakou was slapped with the accusation for violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA) and packed off to prison. From prison he now writes and his handwritten letter of advice to Snowden was ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-DO NOT, under any circumstances, cooperate with the FBI. FBI agents will lie, trick, and deceive you. They will twist your words and play on your patriotism to entrap you. They will pretend to be people they are not ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” supporters, well-wishers, and friends ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” all the while wearing wires to record your out-of-context statements to use against you. The FBI is the enemy; itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a part of the problem, not the solutionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. And what does US Ambassadors preach to us locals?
Then there is Bradley Manning ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” as a result of his case the Director of National intelligence and the Office of Personnel Management has been asked to establish standards to allow federal agencies the power to fire employees without appeal and ineligible to hold ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-noncritical sensitiveƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ jobs. This would make federal agencies bypass civil service law and to classify jobs as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-sensitiveƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ depending on their wishes. How is that for freedom and rights?
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In 2010, Franz Gayl who had been deployed in Iraq in 2006 claimed he was being punished for publicly disclosing that Pentagon bureaucrats had ignored battlefield requests for mine-resistant armoured vehicles since roadside bombs were killing and maiming soldiers. GaylƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s fate would be no better than other whistleblowers.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What is most amusing is that while the number of whistleblowers are increasing so too are the convictions against them. So many acts are now in place for the punishments ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Espionage Act was thrown at John Kiriakou for disclosing ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-classified informationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ on waterboarding. Obama administration has already charged 6 people under the Espionage Act (pre-Obama in the history of the US only 3 such cases existed). Thomas DrakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s crime was that he veiled that the National Security Agency spent $1.2billion for a data collection program called Trailblazer ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Drake lost his job.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis went public that senior leaders of the Department of Defense intentionally and consistently misled the American public and Congress on the conduct of the Afghan War.
What is more intriguing is that there are Acts in place to protect employees and whistleblowers. There is the Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation(NO FEAR) Act effective since 2003, there is also the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 signed by Obama himself so the question is why are these people being hounded and put in jail? If the EU won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 for the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in EuropeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ should it not be telling the US where it is going wrong?
With the type of real-time sensationalism that the US Government is capable of doing one may never know if these whistleblower showdowns are part of a larger drive to introduce stringent draconian laws that would ensure not just one or two whistleblowers but all Americans are kept in check. Voila ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” we now have the National Defense Authorization Act.
HereƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s the time we cant wait to hear what the peace doves and human rights activists global and local have to say when anyone, anywhere even if they are US citizens can be held WITHOUT charge or trial, based solely on SUSPICIONƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ or none at all. HowƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s that for human rights? NowƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s the time countries need to tell America to stop wasting time printing Annual HR reports on other nations!
US President will have virtual dictatorial powers to arrest, interrogate and indefinitely detain law-abiding citizens, if they pose a threat ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” but we are not told what ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-poseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is of what the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-threatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is even! Its for them to know and for us to find out ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” once in prison!
Constitutional, statute and international laws wont apply and martial law can even be applied. Is America moving towards becoming a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-police stateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in the light of intense domestic surveillance, restrictions on the movement of citizens and a standing political police? The signs are all there.
Verizon phone records are now being scrutinized, NSA agents are going through a British database of US telecommunications and email, Federal Governments say they can examine the contents of laptops of US citizens when they enter the US and over 60million Americans travel overseas annually. (this violates the 4th amendment to the Constitution though). We must also add that the US is proud to have the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s highest incarceration rate with over 2.2million inmates, 6million convicted felons cannot vote and have been disenfranchised! Police can take DNA samples of all arrestees and some 13million are arrested annually ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 1.6million on drug charges. There are US SWAT teams everywhere, they use drones, GPS tracking devices and military equipment. US Government is also visibly seen to criminalize public protests and a current bill will strive to make it a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-crimeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-trespassƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ security zones ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” so authorities are planning to restrict public protesters to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-protest zonesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ which will enable them to photo all those protesting! AmericaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s version of freedom!
If anyone reads the US Patriot Act they will realize that persons and companies are forbidden from revealing that the Government has secretly asked for surveillance records but Government agencies are allowed to issue ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-National Security LettersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ without any warrant demanding records from anyone on anything.
None of this is coming out into the open because the media is keeping tight lipped with only a handful of people writing to show AmericaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s hypocrisy. Moreover, the peace doves local and international all gearing to champion human rights in weaker and smaller nations are totally mum themselves so too are all the authors especially the local ones who are conspicuously silent about the human rights abuses the US or its allies does but love to ridicule their nations though compared to what the US has been doing and is doing these crimes pale into insignificance.
People need to wake up to the lies that prevail.
July 14th, 2013 at 8:08 pm
By way of deception thou shall win the war!
SL must copy.
Tap, record, etc. ALL phone, electronic communcation from TNA, NGO, UNP activists, Kasippu Joseph, etc.
Anything is kosher IF done in the name of national security in my book. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:02 pm
America is in deep trouble from the information of Snowden. He has set it up that if he is arrested and sent back to the us all the information he has will be released. to quote a local journalist: “Fugitive former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden controls dangerous information that could become the United States’ “worst nightmare” if revealed, a journalist familiar with the data said in a newspaper interview. Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who first published the documents Snowden leaked, said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday that the U.S. government should be careful in its pursuit of the former computer analyst. “Snowden has enough information to cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had,” Greenwald said in an interview in Rio de Janeiro with the Argentinian daily La Nacion. “The U.S. government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare.”
July 16th, 2013 at 9:40 am
With all the threats against the USA from aggrieved parties who had suffered under American actions, the USA is acting like a police state trying to protect itself from these hostile forces. The biggest victim of this US stance is freedom of speech, as USA seem to be prohibiting media from publishing anything detrimental to US interests. This could be why the US press is either silent about or even distort in favour of US, all international conflicts USA gets involved in.