I was sorry to see Sen. John McCain step into this one, just like he stepped into the Pravda incident -- and of course, not without help from John Hudson, who thought it was a great prank to pull on a disliked political figure.
Does McCain have people on his staff who get it about Russia and its water-bearers like Holger Stark at Der Spiegel, champion of Edward Snowden? Surely he must.
So here the senator is giving an interview to Holger Stark, this WikiLeaks supporter, Chaos Computer Club regular, and wily underminer of American power who has made a career of anti-American hatred and venomous opposition. Didn't he know?
The purpose of this interview isn't really "to interview a news-maker" or "to get the views of an important figure even if we don't agree with him."
No, the purpose was to put Sen. McCain in a frame where he would be prompted to say something that validated Stark's machinations around the Snowden story, and then box it and wrap it to help maintain his own narrative through exploitation of a credible figure.
So, sure enough, by speaking of th Merkel debacle as if it was a known fact that she really was bugged by the NSA, Stark got McCain to fall into line.
Hence:
SPIEGEL: Senator McCain, do you still use your cell phone?SPIEGEL: Can you understand why German Chancellor Angela Merkel was so upset by the revelation that her cell phone had been monitored?
McCain: Yes, absolutely. A certain amount of eavesdropping goes on amongst friends. We all know that. But it happens to be my personal opinion that the German chancellor's personal cell phone is not something that should be eavesdropped.
SPIEGEL: What did the National Security Agency hope to learn through their eavesdropping on Merkel's cell phone? There are experts that say the US would naturally be interested in information regarding national security, for example where Chancellor Merkel stands on troop withdrawal in Afghanistan or stricter economic sanctions against Iran.
McCain: I think we could find that out in many other ways, especially amongst friends. You don't have to invade someone's privacy in that fashion in order to obtain that information.
SPIEGEL: Why did the NSA do it then?
McCain: The reason I think they did it is because they could do it. In other words, there were people with enhanced capabilities that have been developed over the last decade or so, and they were sitting around and said we can do this, and so they did it.
Um, but wait just a minute.
The answer to have given there was this:
Are you certain that in fact the NSA did bug her phone, and do you have proof, Holger Stark? Because a CNN interview of you established that you don't know for a fact and don't have proof. And so I'd emphasize that as we look at this story. Maybe Merkel was only in a list -- a potential, not an actual, in case things really went back in Germany (as they in fact have been doing as German political parties have turned against the US and openly agitated against the US, even to the point of accepting a defector from the NSA who fled to Russia on their soil.)
That's an important frame to establish -- that Holger Stark and his hacker friends who already campaigned against the NSA long before Snowden -- do not have the goods on this, and the entire thing may be misleading or fabricated.
Only after establishing this, should you then move to stating policies around it, i.e. that it's not a good idea to bug allies, and that it actually isn't good tradecraft, as we should have many other channels of trusted face-to-face communication with our allies.
Now, McCain has his views, being around the libertarian right, about this matter which I certainly don't share:
SPIEGEL: Who must be held accountable?
McCain: The head of the NSA, the president of the United States, the Congressional Intelligence Committees, all of these contractors we pay that were responsible for performing the background checks. There should be a wholesale housecleaning.
SPIEGEL: Should Keith Alexander, head of the NSA, resign?
McCain: Of course, they should resign or be fired. We no longer hold anybody accountable in Washington. The Commandant of the Marine Corps fired a couple of generals because of failure of security at a base in Afghanistan. Tell me who has been fired for anything that's gone bad in this town.
This is kind of low, since Alexander is scheduled to step down anyway, and was before the Snowden affair.
Here's what I wish McCain had said.
First and foremost, we must seek accountability from Edward Snowden himself, as he has knowingly broken the law, violated his oath, and harmed his country severely for no good reason. He's a clear-cut case, and that's what the President of the United States has to articulate very clearly (and hasn't done so): that he is a wanted felon, that the US will continue to insist that he be returned, that he was not forced to flee to Russia but had other options including returning home to face justice if he thought he was such a whistleblower. His grand-standing, setting of deadlines to the Washington Post, release of loads of information that has nothing to do with privacy rights at home or even abroad, but everything to do with harming relations with allies, his release of IP addresses to the Chinese, his cooperation with the Russians -- all of this means that he is an enemy of America, not a hero.
Second, we have to concede that none of the materials provided actually show cases that should alarm us, but instead show only capacities and processes that in fact have a lot of oversight -- and McCain could have mentioned that, as well.
And then there's this: Reform that is coerced isn't reform, but a coup.
Now that Congress is forced to assess the NSA at the behest of the Snowden/Guardian/Washpo junta, the guidelines should not be whatever sensation with half-truths that Greenwald is releasing, reacting to whatever perceived scandal there is, but should instead start with the basics of what security our country needs, given the enemies we have, and take it from there.
This interview isn't without its good moments -- here's the "when pigs fly" quote which we'll all have to keep repeating:
SPIEGEL: What would be the consequences for Snowden if he were to return to the United States?
McCain: He'd go on trial, but he's not coming back.
SPIEGEL: Even next year when his asylum in Russia expires?
McCain: Never. President Vladimir Putin will grant him asylum indefinitely. The Russians know if they send him back that that's a lesson to other people who might defect. I'm sure that Mr. Snowden has told them everything that he possibly knows.
SPIEGEL: He denies that and says that he did not take the NSA documents to Russia.
McCain: If you believe that Mr. Snowden didn't give the Russians information that he has, then you believe that pigs can fly.
SPIEGEL: Granting Snowden asylum has helped Putin portray himself as an important player on the world stage. This comes after his clever intervention in the Syria conflict.
McCain: It's one of the most shameful chapters of American history. First, the president of the United States says he is going to attack a country which is in violation of a red line that he himself had drawn. Then the president decides to go to Congress. Finally, his secretary of state gives an offhand remark that chemical weapons have to be eliminated and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the wily old fox, recognizes the opportunity and takes over. Now we are treated to the most incredibly bizarre scene where Russians are helping to categorize and eliminate chemical weapons, while at the same time flying in plane loads of conventional weapons, which are used to kill Syrians.
All in all, however, Der Spiegel is not a frame the senator should have entered. If he couldn't insist on first challenging Stark's reporting and his world view solidly, he shouldn't have entered into this frame.
Recent Comments