via: NaturalNews
Saturday, August 04, 2012
By: Ethan A. Huff
[NaturalNews] Two former high-ranking officials at the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), a federal bureaucracy that collects data and intelligence on foreign communications for national security purposes, have come forward with allegations that the NSA actively monitors Americans as well. According to testimonies from both Thomas Drake, a former NSA senior official, and Kirk Wiebe, a former NSA senior analyst, the agency actively monitors and collects intelligence on every single American as part of a massive spying operation.
RT.com first broke the story after Drake and Wiebe, on two recent but separate occasions, disclosed inside information about the NSA’s spying activities to reporters. During a recent interview with Eliot Spitzer, host of Current TV’s ”Viewpoint” program, Drake explained how the 9/11 terrorist attacks were a catalyst for redefining America as a “foreign nation” in order to legitimize unwarranted surveillance of innocent Americans — and he says this backdoor spying program continues to this day.
“When you open up the Pandora’s Box of just getting access to incredible amounts of data, for people that have no reason to be put under suspicion, no reason to have done anything wrong, and just collect all that for potential future use or even current use, it opens up a real danger,” said Drake during the interview.
“And for what else could they use that data (other than for future prosecutions unrelated to terrorism or for blackmail purposes), particularly when it’s all being hidden behind the mantle of national security.”
Binney expressed similar sentiments during a recent interview with journalist Geoff Shively, according to RT.com, in which he disclosed that the federal government is basically collecting whatever data it possibly can on every single American. This is made even easier, of course, by social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Path, and many others that actively monitor and track people’s every action.
For tonight’s Conversations with Great Minds – I’m joined by NSA whistleblowers Thomas Drake and Kirk Wiebe. Both men were involved in exposing the NSA’s massive, illegal, domestic spying program known as the Trailblazer project initiated in 2000. Despite not leaking any classified information – and exhaustively going through all the protocols required for members of the intelligence community to blow the whistle on wrongdoing – both men faced serious retributions for going public with what they knew about the NSA’s surveillance program. In 2007 – after a reporter for the Baltimore Sun obtained information regarding waste, fraud, and abuse at the NSA – FBI agents raided the home Kirk Wiebe – confiscating computer hard drives and business records – and revoking security clearance that Wiebe – an NSA veteran – had held since 1964. Wiebe was not charged with any crime. However – Thomas Drake – whose home was also raided – was charged with multiple crimes including violation of the Espionage Act of 1917. Eventually those charges were dropped in 2011. Since then – Drake has gone on to win multiple awards for his courage in blowing the whistle on the NSA – including the Ridenour Prize for Truth Telling and the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence. And both he and Kirk Wiebe have done tremendous work to inform all of us on the growing American surveillance state. The National Security Agency is building a massive spy center in Utah. What for? And will Americans be the targets of the NSA’s prying eyes?
US security agencies have acquired even more powers under president Obama – that’s despite his pre-election pledges to make the government more open to ordinary citizens. Instead, his administration is spending record amounts to keep its secrets – and is cracking down on whistleblowers.
