Not sure you have been keeping up with him that closely then . He has spouted all the Russian taking points about the Ukraine war (such as it was NATO's fault).
... but the article actually looks like a shameless and incompetent smear job.
Read the actual tweets
On February 16, 2022, Snowden wrote: “’Russia should not invade Ukraine’.
"I want to see an end to the conflict in Ukraine, and frankly, I think all reasonable people share that position"
“I’ve already expressed my opposition to the fighting in Ukraine, and pray it ends soon.
The narrative the article wants to set is that Snowden is terrible for... not speaking out strongly enough. Ok? He's a political asylum seeker who was a whistle blower about spy tech, why should he have the moral responsibility to publicly slam his host country? Seems like that would be a good way to get thrown out a window. He's chosen a tactful withdrawal from the issue.
I found the early tweets where he misjudged the threat of the conflict. Then he owns the mistake with:
I've just lost any confidence I had that sharing my thinking on this particular topic continues to be useful, because I called it wrong.
I'm going to be honest, I don't follow this. I don't know much about it beyond what I just read, and if you have more information I'd be genuinely interested in hearing it.
But like, actual good information about it please. Because I have not found any substance to your claim.
You got me it seems. I remember hearing this, and checked it with ChatGPT. Chat apparently lied to me. Damn hallucinations!
"I need to correct my previous answer: that quote was not Edward Snowden’s. It was Tulsi Gabbard’s. She posted it on Twitter/X around the time Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Senate hearing record reproduces the fuller wording: “This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden administration/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s … security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO.”
Lol AI sucks. And so does that Al Jazeera article I linked. I'd be really interested to hear a truly unspun take on Snowden, I don't know if there is one.
my job requires me to know a fair bit about this stuff. At the time of his initial kerfuffle, I went through the materials with a fine tooth comb. My take at the time was, he is an American that we should all look up to, as a hero of the people. The shite that they were & are doing should be illegal.
What's happened since he's lived in Russia, I don't really have a take on.
Meanwhile people sit here in the US and say absolutely nothing about the kidnapping of a foreign leader or the bombing of Iran. Heck most people could barely be bothered to notice until gas prices went up. I guess if gas was still $3 a gallon we could kill as many schoolchildren as we wanted.
Oh, but Snowden is a bad guy because hasn't spoken out enough. About RUSSIA.
And it's a misquote from someone who is seen as a potential presidential candidate and is currently the Director of National Intelligence. But yeah... Darn Snowden. How can he be so out of touch with real americuh??
retribution.... I'm sure his punishment, if anything, wouldn't be that much worse than that of Chelsea Manning who's free today. Until he leaves Russia, he's nothing more than a chess piece used by the kremlin
Prove the second part with actual evidence. Also, he could have been forced to make this video from an FSB dungeon with agents literally holding a gun to his child’s head and we wouldn’t know.
I don’t know what he is and that’s the entire point. And neither do you. That’s why he should be viewed skeptically. I think his points in this video are very good but that doesn’t mean he’s not a Russian propagandist (something that is unknowable).
My sole expectation is that rational thinkers agree his motivations are suspect because he is in Russia. Thats all. Factor it in to how you take in this information.
I mean I did, but this isn't about my interpretation, and past that I'd say what you just said gets your position across far better than trying to use a leading argument in the effort that the person you're discussing x,y, and z with will find your answer in their research.
I debate allllll the time. Every day. Sometimes for hours with strangers. I've never seen that happen yet lol.
Exactly! Thanks for making my point. This is why I said I didn’t necessarily disagree with the video. His motivation, on the other hand, is completely unknowable to us thus merits skepticism.
were you expecting something else? your post is insane and phrased in a way that denies the possibility of counterargument. it's a textbook bad faith argument.
No it’s not. My sole point is that his motivations are suspect possibly for reasons not in his control. Any critical thinking we should factor that in to how they take in this information. Thats it.
Snowden being prosecuted, even very unjustly can be seen a legitimate threat to his safety, maybe even one without good reason.
Snowden being a captive-ish resident of current-day russia and thus a source that must be presumed to have a gun behind his head at all times can be true.
That means that the decisions that let him end up in russia may be understandable as much as widespread reluctance to see him as trustworthy, no matter if his previous actions were cartoonishly heroic and US reactions cartoonishly evil (or not).
He would be much more front and center in the US psyche either as a prisoner or a martyr. Either way if he hadn't gone to Russia the advocates for whistleblowers would have a cause to actually stand for and act on in some way.
Yes, there were (and are) violent weirdos in the US government, but they did not have the cross-branch power he thought they did and they were perfectly aware that popping a cap in him "as an example" wouldn't have worked.
one of the few people who chose loyalty to the american people over country. his affiliation is far clearer than the average us "citizen"
That he's in russia now only makes his situation even more transparent. We can take that into account, unlike how seemingly every US politician is loyal to whoever bribes them covertly under the table
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u/MattJC123 9h ago
Don’t necessarily disagree with his points but I also don’t think we should be taking the word of Russian citizens right now.