(More on the various potential elements of the Snowden affair can be found here under the #Spygate heading on my blog (top right hand side link). ) Although they watch spy movies and television shows, they don't believe, when push comes to shove, that intelligence operations have layers and false trails and cover stories and limited hangouts. They don't believe that deception can run that deep. They don't stop to realize that all spies are trained to lie. Lying convincingly is the number-one requisite for a spy. Lie to enemies, lie to friends, lie to the press, lie to other agencies of government. If a spy doesn't wake up every day thinking about what lies he'll tell from breakfast to dinner, he's a dud. A washout. A danger to himself and others. Spies live in a labyrinth of deceit. It takes a certain kind of personality to thrive in that atmosphere. Is Ed Snowden a spy? Here's a typical response to that question: "I don't care what he is. The NSA documents are now out there in full view.
What exactly was your job at NSA in Hawaii, Ed? " And that's just for starters. Once you open up that subject, who knows where it might lead? And how about this: "Okay, Ed, we've heard you took anywhere from 20, 000 to 1. 7 million NSA documents. What's the real number? I'm asking this, in part, because at the rate those documents are being released, by your press friends, we'll all be long dead before the full cache is made public. " And then: "Let's talk turkey here, Ed, about NSA internal security. This is the biggest, richest, most brilliant spy agency in the world. And yet we're supposed to believe they overlooked one little thing in their structure: they just forgot to secure their own data. Oops. They just forgot. All these years. Therefore, as you've said on several occasions, any employee of the Agency with ordinary access could stroll in and steal the farm. Really? Is that what you're selling? " "As a follow-up, how did you take all those documents? We've heard the magic secret was: you had a thumb drive; other employees gave you their passwords; you were 'special, ' so you had access to everything; you were doing systems checks.
It is not yet clear whether Mr. Williams will report only on breaking news stories or will be given a dedicated time slot during MSNBC's daytime hours. Whether MSNBC can make a transition from a left-leaning cable network to a newsier presentation during the daytime will be a challenge, which will most likely require a significant investment. Staff members at MSNBC had some sense that a big move for the network was imminent, including a shift to hard news, but they did not know that Mr. Williams would be assigned there, current and former employees said. There is also some sensitivity to having MSNBC viewed as a kind of dumping ground, these employees said, with the addition of a damaged news anchor re-emerging on their network on the heels of a monthslong scandal. They spoke anonymously to discuss private matters. Despite the diminished role and the pay cut, his supporters point out, Mr. Williams did manage to get a second chance at the network that he has long called home, and where he became a celebrity.
NBC News anchor Brian Williams' 2006 claims that he saw a dead body float past his hotel window during Hurricane Katrina is drawing fresh skepticism in the wake of his own admission on Wednesday that he lied about being aboard a helicopter that was hit by enemy fire during the Iraq war. Despite a swift apology on his Nightly News program, Williams is at the center of a media firestorm after it emerged that his old war story that he has retold numerous times over the past 12 years has become increasingly exaggerated. Williams was forced to apologize this week after claiming in a report on Friday that the chinook he was aboard in Iraq had been hit by enemy fire. On Wednesday Williams blamed his mistake on the 'fog of memory over 12 years', but evidence has emerged since that Williams has repeatedly mis-told the story including to late night host David Letterman in 2013. Amazing feats!
"It is clear that after work when I got out of that realm, I used a double standard. Something changed. I was sloppier. I was saying things that weren't true. " He went on to say that his actions were driven by his ego. "This clearly came from a bad place, a bad urge inside me. This was clearly ego driven to better my role in a story I was already in…I said things that were wrong. I told stories that were wrong. " Brian's interview with Matt comes on the heels of the announcement that Brian will return to NBC, after having stepped down back in February. He will not, however, be heading back to Nightly News, but rather, he has been relegated to MSNBC. Lester Holt, who has been filling in for Brian on his hiatus, will take over the post permanently. After the announcement, which was made on June 18, Brian released a statement expressing his gratitude for the decision. "I'm sorry. I said things that weren't true, " he said. "I let down my NBC colleagues and our viewers, and I'm determined to earn back their trust. "
So what was it? How did you pull it off? You took so many documents from different categories of stored data. The NSA had no compartmentalization? " "Early press reports cited your experience in Geneva working for the CIA as a crisis point in your odyssey. You learned that several CIA people there turned a Swiss banker. They got him drunk one night, encouraged him to drive home, he was arrested on the road, and these CIA guys rescued him from his problem. From that point on, they were able to get him to pass along confidential banking data to them. And this soured you on the CIA. This shocked you. Really? Are you serious? This upset you? You were working for the CIA. You knew what they do. The banker incident was nothing. This sounds like a made-up tale of an agent's disillusionment with his own people - a piece of a legend. " "Another thing that doesn't add up: your time in Hong Kong. According to press reports, and Greenwald's account, it was touch and go for you there. You're in a hotel, you're walking the streets, you're meeting with Greenwald and Poitras... but during those few weeks the entire spying and surveillance apparatus of the US government just can't find you.
That's good. What difference does it make who Snowden is? Now we can have a public debate about the Surveillance State. " Really? How is that "public debate" going? Have you seen any serious cutbacks in the power of the NSA? Has the limited-hangout discussion about whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor reined in the power of the NSA? You never know what's at the bottom of a story until you get there. There is always the chance you'll discover something far more crippling to the powers-that-be than what's on the surface, or what's in the middle. The surface of a desert might show you thousands of shards of pottery. Below that, you find a town. You keep going and you come to a lost city...
"I'm sorry. I said things that weren't true, " he said. "I let down my NBC colleagues and our viewers, and I'm determined to earn back their trust. I will greatly miss working with the team on 'Nightly News, ' but I know the broadcast will be in excellent hands with Lester Holt as anchor. I will support him 100 percent as he has always supported me. I am grateful for the chance to return to covering the news. My new role will allow me to focus on important issues and events in our country and around the world, and I look forward to it. " He will continue his public rehabilitation on Friday when he appears in an interview taped over the last two days with his colleague Matt Lauer, host of the "Today" show. The interview will be broadcast on "Today" Friday morning and on the "Nightly News" Friday evening. It is not clear whether the programs will broadcast distinct parts of the interviews or if they will overlap, according to one NBC News executive. Video transcript transcript How Brian Williams's Iraq Story Changed A compilation of Brian Williams's television appearances shows how his accounts of a 2003 episode on military helicopters in Iraq gradually became more perilous.