Passenger from Gonolulu

Edward Snowden landed in Moscow

The US Ministry of Justice began a criminal investigation against the ex-CIA employee Edward Snowden, who drained data on the total surveillance of American special services for Internet users. On June 23, he flew out of Hong Kong, from where he contacted the press, to Moscow. The New Times analyzed the consequences of this scandal

On May 20, the 29-year-old system administrator of Booz Allen Hamilton, who worked in Hawaii, Edward Snowden took a vacation “due to illness” at work and rushed to the airport, where he sat on the Gonolulu-Kong flight. He grabbed four laptops with secret files with the most closed of all American special services - National Security Agency (ANB). In the evening of the same day, he registered in the Hong Kong Hotel Mira; He did not even think about any precautions of precaution: he signed up under his name at the hotel, paid the bills with his own credit cards. True, Snowden did not go out of the hotel anywhere - he even ordered food to the room. From there, he got in touch with the British newspaper The Guardian, who was living in Brazil, Glen Glenwald and freelancer Laura Porats, who at that time worked at The Washington Post. On June 1, both were already in Hong Kong. Before that, neither Greenwald nor Potrats knew what Snowden looks like - he only said: "You will recognize me by the Rubik's cube in his hands." The meeting was scheduled on the third floor of the hotel. In a agreed place, Greenwald had to loudly ask where the restaurant was located, after which Snowden had to go out of the corner and spend it in his room with a view of the Cowlon Park. On June 6, The Guardian and Washington Post appeared the first materials about the total surveillance of US intelligence services for Internet users around the world and their ability to control the largest Internet services, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, the contents of tough disks from Snowden laptops. And two days later, a lanky “Ochikarik with Rubik's Cube” decided to open to the public. The video shot by Laura Poratras, on which Greenwald asks Snowden, appeared on The Guardian on June 9. America, where the process of the former US Army Bradley Manning, who transferred Wikileaks to the WikiLeaks website, is still ongoing, received another “whistle” (Wistleblower) - how they managed to call those who “merge” the detectives.

Shut your eyes and get used to it

On June 13, FBI Director Robert Müller announced the beginning of a criminal investigation against Snowden and the intention of the authorities to seek his extradition from Hong Kong. On what specific legal grounds are still unclear. Snowden was neither a military nor even a state official: from 50% to 60% of his projects, the CIA gives to third -party contractors, one of whom was Booz Allen Hamilton, who earned $ 1.3 billion on state orders. But Snowden himself already stated: he can be persecuted at once - an act of espionage*adopted in 1917 after the US entry into the first World War, and the patriotic act ** adopted after the attack of September 11. But there is a third factor that may well affect the fate of Snowden, and it is called “public opinion”. In the United States, a serious polemic has unfolded: which is more important from the point of view of the fundamental values ​​of American society - freedom of print, “priest” or the interests of the country's security? The Republican Congressman Peter King publicly demanded to punish not only the Svistun himself, but also the journalists who published leaks. He is probably aware that most Americans support wiretaps when it comes to national security and the fight against terrorism. According to a survey conducted by the PEW research service by order of the Washington Post, 56% of the respondents did not mind wiretapping for the indicated purposes, and only 41% called it unacceptable. And 62% of the Americans agreed that it is more important for the country to deal with a terrorist threat than observing the right of citizens to inviolability of personal life.

“You know, there is such an American proverb: BE GOOD OR Be Careful ***,” Russian expert, head of the Geopolitical Research Group of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Sergei Kazyonnov makes it clear that there is nothing terrible in a conversation with the New Times. - Despite all the liberal values, technically we go in a completely different direction. There will be a complete control of everything and everything. This is one of the factors of globalization and common risks for many countries. So you have to click and get used to it. ”

But in the States itself, Kazenov has many opponents. It is no coincidence that in recent days in the United States, sales of George Orwell’s novel “1984” have increased 70 times, and the petition on the White House website in defense of Snowden collected more than 70 thousand signatures in five days. And not everyone will take the results of PEW polls on faith. In this regard, the leading expert of the Conservative Washington Foundation (Heritage Foundation), close to the Republicans, Ariel Cohen with skepticism evaluates the results of the PEW survey: “In any sociological study, the main thing is the formulation of the issue. If the question were formulated as follows: “Do you agree that the CIA employees have access to your personal Mail?” “The results would be completely different.”

All according to the law?

Snowden's exposure, it would seem, should directly hit the political positions of Barack Obama - especially if you take into account the just frank stories around the bureaucratic surveillance of telephone calls of the AP agency and the director of the Washington Bureau of the Fox News television channel James Rosen. However, according to the Gallup research service, the president’s rating fell by only 1% over the past week - from 49% to 48%. Even opponents of the current administration agree that the state in this case did not violate the law: back in 2007, with the submission of the NSA, amendments to the Constitution - Protect America Act of 2007 and FISA (Foreign INTELGENCE SURVEILANCE ACT), which significantly expanded the authority the field of control of the Internet and mobile connection. “Even those who sympathize with Edward Snowden will hardly be accused of monitoring the Internet users of Barack Obama-in this situation, the president seems to be a person who is responsible to the least degree,” said Fedor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russian Global Policy magazine in a conversation with The New Times. -Yes, and for the right camp, where they are inclined to solidarize with the special services, it is important that the democrat president (special services) supported this scandal. Moreover, the broad powers of the special services are not the Obama initiative, he inherited them. ”

Nevertheless, the Americans have a lot of questions to the special services themselves. For example, how could an employee of such a low rank gain access to documents with the Grand Secretary Grif and how could he be released from the country with a computer full of GOSTIIN?

On June 13, after 33 years of work in the CIA, the deputy director of the department Michael Morell resigned. The reasons for the departure were not officially informed, but the press immediately connected him with Snowden. “How could you step on the same rake after the case with manning? - Aryl Cohen asks the question. - After all, Snowden did not even graduate from college! There can be two options: either criminally negligent non -examination of the personnel department, or planned special operation against the United States, profitable, for example, to China. ”

Life in the Middle Kingdom

The Chinese reaction to the scandal is a strange slow. On June 11, two days after the appearance of Snowden on The Guardian, Moscow announced the issue of granting the issue of providing him to political asylum. The official Beijing was silent all this time, although the fugitive “whistle” was in the territory controlled by him.

However, the official attitude to the events around Snowden could be traced along blogs that the Middle Kingdom authorities are often used to manipulate public opinions. Chinese bloggers in every possible way discussed the fact that Snowden escaped to China from a country considering himself a stronghold of democracy, and where, it turns out, there are problems with freedom of speech.

And only on June 13 in the Hong Kong newspaper The South China Morning Post appeared an interview with Snowuden, from which everyone has learned that the United States has been monitoring Chinese computer systems and Internet users and organized 61 thousand hacker attacks around the world. And also Snowden confirmed that he intends to stay in Hong Kong.

The day after the publication of the American consulate in Hong Kong, demonstrations with the accusations of the United States of violation of human rights were held. The demonstrators held the portraits of “whistle” with the slogans “Hands off Snowden”. On the same day, June 14, headlines about the leak appeared in the first lanes of the central Chinese newspapers: “For several months now, Washington has been accusing China of information espionage. But it turned out that the United States themselves pose the greatest threat to the inviolability of private life and personal freedoms that are not protected from total control of the state, ”wrote one of the central English -language newspapers of China Daily.

However, if you figure it out, Hong Kong may not be at all as calm harbor as Edward Snowden represented. Since the transition of Hong Kong to the sovereignty of the PRC in 1997, the Chinese leadership is implementing the principle of “one country, two systems”, according to which the former British colony and really enjoys fairly wide freedoms. Nevertheless, administrative management in Hong Kong is tied to Beijing. “The PRC contains the Hong Kong Police,” Academician Academician Alexei Maslov explained to the magazine to the magazine, “there were many cases when Chinese businessmen who tried to hide from justice in Hong Kong were sent to their homeland in two days. As for Snowden's extradition in the United States, then the decision will also be made in Beijing - Hong Kong will never take such responsibility. ”

The Chinese, according to the academician, do not like different spies and drainers of information, because they are afraid of the same sabotage on their territory: “The conclusion: they either waited for Snowden according to some previously made agreements, or an American can become a hostage in their auction with the States.” What are you talking about? There are quite a lot of Chinese human rights activists annoying Beijing in America: “Even if there is no extradition, China can blackmail the states with a snowfield so that they, say, muffled the voice of the enemies of the PRC a little.”

Before giving an interview with The South China Morning Post, Snowden reported the possibility of relocation to Iceland, where WikiLeaks is already based on Julian Assange (he has been hiding at Ecuador Embassy in London). However, the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Iceland, Johans Tomonson, said that the petitioner’s personal statement is necessary to provide political asylum, and before that, they say, there is nothing to speculate on this topic. “The American intelligence services have been perfectly delivered to the collection of information,” said Academician Maslov. “It is impossible for those who are looking for the states in a third country without money and support.”

On June 23, according to The South China Morning Post, Edward Snowden flew to Moscow. His flight landed in Sheremetyevo at 17.14. According to the publication, Snowden will not linger in Russia and go to Ecuador or Iceland, where he had previously asked for political asylum. According to the Interfax agency, Snowden will follow Moscow in transit - to Cuba, and then to Venezuela. Earlier, on June 22, the US authorities demanded the urgent extradition of its citizen, the corresponding message was sent from the White House to Hong Kong in the morning.

At the Sheremetyevo Airport, a representative of the representative of the Ecuador embassy, ​​who met with Snowden, was seen. As the Ecuadorian edition of the know, Snowuden was examined by the doctor of the embassy