Translated material
Snowden's paradox
Before American officials and experts did not have time to chew the interview with Edward Snowden NBC News, as a new sharp turn occurred in his business. Former FSB major Boris Karpichkov, now living in England, told one of the British tabloids that Russian intelligence lured Snowden to Moscow. According to Karpichkov, the foreign intelligence service of the Russian Federation drew attention to Snowden as a possible recruitment object seven years ago, when a young CIA specialist worked under a diplomatic cover in Geneva. They did not try to recruit him then, but since then they followed his career.
When Snowden ended up in Hong Kong last year and began to publish his revelations with the help of Guardian journalists, SVR employees, impersoning diplomats, convinced him that he could easily request refuge in any country from Moscow from Moscow. Snowden decided and took a ticket for Aeroflot flight. The SVR organized a leak in the Hong Kong press about this of his decision, and the American authorities canceled his passport at the moment when Snowden was in the air, thereby depriving the opportunity to leave somewhere from Moscow. This was the calculation. Currently, Snowden, Karpichkov continues, lives under the constant supervision of the FSB and meets the department at the department twice a week at a plentifully set table. To finally “get it out”, Russian counterintelligence will take another three years.
The personality of Boris Karpichkov does not inspire confidence. He has repeatedly informed British journalists sensational versions of high -profile espionage affairs, trying to interest them with his person. But these versions were not confirmed by anything. He became a defector back in 1998. The question is, where did he get information about Snowden? According to Karpichkov, he still maintains contacts with colleagues familiar with the Snowden case. All this sounds doubtful, but it does not contradict any known facts. Even before the publication of Karpichkova, the new director of the US National Security Agency, Admiral Michael Rogers, to the question of whether he was Snowden, working in this institution, an agent of Russian intelligence, replied: "Perhaps not." The admiral added that Snowden, of course, violated the law, but did it, because "he sincerely believed that he was doing the right thing." This point of view is radically different from the opinion of Rogers, General Keit Aleksander, who believes that Snowden “worked for Russians” and that his escape was apparently planned by Russian intelligence, which has rich experience in such operations. Another high -ranking official, the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said that the damage from Snowden's leaks "was not as great as before."
In an interview, NBC Snowden claimed that he had no contacts with Russian intelligence or counterintelligence, but few believe in it. The interview was held according to Snowden's rules: he received questions in advance, and the television company Brian Williams, it seems, has never deviated from the script. And the question of everyday conditions, about how he lives in Russia, snapped Snowden.
Many consider Snowden a hero, and now I will not argue with it. But there is objective harm that he did to all of us, not wanting it. Information that the NSA listened to the communications of foreign leaders, in particular Angels Merkel, forced these states, primarily Germany, to take the side of Russia in its attempts to put the Internet under international and national control - the United States is supposedly controlled today.
In 2012, in Dubai, at a conference of the specialized UN body, the International Union of Electro -Superior, Russia and its allies achieved significant success: 89 states voted to change the regulations of the Union. The United States and their like -minded people remained in the minority - they only had 54 votes. In October of this year, the next ITU conference will be held in Busan, which in Moscow and Washington will attach fundamental importance. Will the Internet remain free from the control of the authorities, or does it face "Balkanization", pulling out national apartments? Achieving confidentiality for users of mobile networks and the Internet, Snowden paradoxically achieved exactly the opposite effect.
Vladimir Abarinov - Washington Observer Radio Liberty
Opinions expressed under the heading "Law" may not reflect the point of view of the editorial office
When Snowden ended up in Hong Kong last year and began to publish his revelations with the help of Guardian journalists, SVR employees, impersoning diplomats, convinced him that he could easily request refuge in any country from Moscow from Moscow. Snowden decided and took a ticket for Aeroflot flight. The SVR organized a leak in the Hong Kong press about this of his decision, and the American authorities canceled his passport at the moment when Snowden was in the air, thereby depriving the opportunity to leave somewhere from Moscow. This was the calculation. Currently, Snowden, Karpichkov continues, lives under the constant supervision of the FSB and meets the department at the department twice a week at a plentifully set table. To finally “get it out”, Russian counterintelligence will take another three years.
The personality of Boris Karpichkov does not inspire confidence. He has repeatedly informed British journalists sensational versions of high -profile espionage affairs, trying to interest them with his person. But these versions were not confirmed by anything. He became a defector back in 1998. The question is, where did he get information about Snowden? According to Karpichkov, he still maintains contacts with colleagues familiar with the Snowden case. All this sounds doubtful, but it does not contradict any known facts. Even before the publication of Karpichkova, the new director of the US National Security Agency, Admiral Michael Rogers, to the question of whether he was Snowden, working in this institution, an agent of Russian intelligence, replied: "Perhaps not." The admiral added that Snowden, of course, violated the law, but did it, because "he sincerely believed that he was doing the right thing." This point of view is radically different from the opinion of Rogers, General Keit Aleksander, who believes that Snowden “worked for Russians” and that his escape was apparently planned by Russian intelligence, which has rich experience in such operations. Another high -ranking official, the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said that the damage from Snowden's leaks "was not as great as before."
The statements of Rogers and Clapper may mean that the lawyer Platon Kacheris hired by Snowen entered into negotiations with the charge of the US Department of Justice, and now the parties are looking for the opportunity to reduce the term of punishment. Qacheris is a famous and multi -permanent person. He specializes in the affairs of espionage and defended the largest agents of Russian intelligence of recent times - Oldrich Aims and Robert Hanssen. In both cases, he managed to achieve the replacement of the death penalty by life imprisonment in exchange for cooperation with the competent authorities.Many consider Snowden a hero, and now I will not argue with it. But there is objective harm that he did to all of us, not wanting it himself
In an interview, NBC Snowden claimed that he had no contacts with Russian intelligence or counterintelligence, but few believe in it. The interview was held according to Snowden's rules: he received questions in advance, and the television company Brian Williams, it seems, has never deviated from the script. And the question of everyday conditions, about how he lives in Russia, snapped Snowden.
Many consider Snowden a hero, and now I will not argue with it. But there is objective harm that he did to all of us, not wanting it. Information that the NSA listened to the communications of foreign leaders, in particular Angels Merkel, forced these states, primarily Germany, to take the side of Russia in its attempts to put the Internet under international and national control - the United States is supposedly controlled today.
In 2012, in Dubai, at a conference of the specialized UN body, the International Union of Electro -Superior, Russia and its allies achieved significant success: 89 states voted to change the regulations of the Union. The United States and their like -minded people remained in the minority - they only had 54 votes. In October of this year, the next ITU conference will be held in Busan, which in Moscow and Washington will attach fundamental importance. Will the Internet remain free from the control of the authorities, or does it face "Balkanization", pulling out national apartments? Achieving confidentiality for users of mobile networks and the Internet, Snowden paradoxically achieved exactly the opposite effect.
Vladimir Abarinov - Washington Observer Radio Liberty
Opinions expressed under the heading "Law" may not reflect the point of view of the editorial office