Exposing state crimes
EDITOR: As the European parliament's civil liberties committee concluded the National Security Agency and British intelligence's surveillance activities appear to be illegal, Edward Snowden no doubt deserves the clemency called for by rational journalists. Unlike columnist Doyle McManus ("Snowden in shades of gray," Thursday), the New York Times understands that invasion of privacy threatens not just the general public but especially the media which historically play a key role in holding overtly corrupt governments accountable for crimes against democracy, such as those made apparent by recent disclosures.
While the New York Times and Washington Post are still protected by the First Amendment in covering Snowden's leaks, the Guardian in London has been dragged into a parliamentary investigation over the criminal nature of exposing obvious criminal actions by both the U.S. and U.K. governments, due to the absence of freedom of the press across the Atlantic.
McManus clearly is blind to the global nature of the surveillance state, even with proponents constantly describing the world as a unified battlefield in the global war on terror. Until statist journalists and the public whose opinion they sway recognize this, current and future administrations will continue their witch hunts against any who act to expose crimes committed by the state.
CHRISTY LUBIN
Graton
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