It looks like we might be on to a new phase in the Edward Snowden saga: anonymous government officials going to compliant media outlets to complain that his revelations have made it easier for terrorists to evade capture.
A June 25 piece in the Washington Post included comments from several anonymous U.S. officials. One guaranteed that the Russians and Chinese have seen Snowden’s files. More ominously, though, was the message from another unnamed official, who told the paper’s Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller that Snowden’s leaks could be helping the terrorists:
A second senior intelligence official said there were concerns that disclosure of U.S. surveillance methods would make it easier for terrorist groups to avoid detection. “The more material that gets made public, the more capability we lose,” the official said.
Already, several terrorist groups in various regions of the world have begun to change their method of communication based on disclosures of surveillance programs in the media, the official said. He would not elaborate on the communication modes.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “Because if they find some other method to communicate, we go dark. And we miss dots. That’s not something we’re particularly excited about.”
That was exactly the same point that CNN Pentagon reporter Barbara Starr advanced in a piece headlined, “Terrorists Try Changes After Snowden Leaks, Official Says” (6/25/13). She reported:
“We can confirm we are seeing indications that several terrorist groups are in fact attempting to change their communications behaviors based specifically on what they are reading about our surveillance programs in the media,” a U.S. intelligence official told CNN.
But the Associated Press‘s Kimberly Dozier (6/26/13) had an even more alarmist take. Under the headline, “Al-Qaeda Said to Be Changing Its Ways After Leaks,” the report dramatically claims that “U.S. intelligence agencies are scrambling to salvage their surveillance of Al-Qaeda and other terrorists.” Relying on more sources who cannot be named, the AP reports that “members of virtually every terrorist group, including core Al-Qaeda members, are attempting to change how they communicate, based on what they are reading in the media.”
Now, if this was really happening, you would hope government officials would say so on the record. Instead, we have secret official sources telling us about how well their secret program was working until a whistleblower’s revelations tipped off terrorists that their communications might be being monitored.
A little more skepticism is in order.
Doug Latimer
Doesn’t it manifestly demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between the gummint and the corpress that AP regurgitates this horseshit even after it’s been revealed that they’ve been Big Brothered their own selves?
“Whip me
Beat me
Make me write bad checks
And worse lies.”
David G
Also, to echo a point Kevin Gosztola made, aren’t these sources leaking the fact that our intelligence has picked up the fact that the Terrorists are altering their communications because of the earlier leaks? Aren’t these new leaks another tip off to the Terrorists about the U.S.’s intelligence capabilities and methods? So when will the Espionage Act investigation begin into the sources of these leaks to the WashPost and CNN?
Joseph A. Mungai
99% SIGNATURE STRIKE: http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8161
Dear President Obama: The metadata you collected before Edward Snowden blew the whistle on what we already knew about the NSA spying on us could have been used to protect innocent civilians from terrorist attacks around the world. It wasn’t, and that is Egregious and Outrageous Neglect. DON’T blame Mr. Snowden for the severe inadequacies of your administration. Allow President Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado to protect his 4th & 5th Amendment rights and universal Human Rights.
Joseph A. Mungai
Since republicans and obamacans in Congress have allowed NSA spying on the world for years, how many times did either of these entities warn innocent civilians of specific terrorist attacks? (Allies or not) If the NSA didn’t warn the public of terrorist attacks with the metadata they posses, is the NSA and congress equally responsible for the slaughter? Egregious and outrageous neglect?
gloriana casey
What is a “second senior intelligence official?” Is that someone who has worked at Booz Allen for 4 months as opposed to 3?
That’s so silly, saying that terrorists are changing their ways… and how long ago did Osama Ben Laden go off the grid? Duh? Who are these “intelligence ” people, because they seem to lack that specific quality?
This can’t be all that serious, because after Mr. Cheney and Scooter outted the CIA, nothing really bad happened, or did the news people forget to report that?
James
The USG already used that propaganda back in 2011. See: http://www.armytimes.com/article/20110416/NEWS/104160306/Al-Qaida-Yemen-adapts-evade-U-S-
New material please.
Michael
Maybe the CIA should just stop funding terrorists and call it a day.
I doubt there are any so called terrorists that know who I called on the phone yesterday. They can end the war on terror anytime and it would be fine with me. I think it is planned to last forever. No need to keep changing boogy men anymore.
I blame Bush and Chaney and the whole fake war on terror. We could have done an investigation on 911 instead of a cover up. Why would a good government take people’s cameras near the pentagon on 911? The owning class eats, but is never filled.
Geral Sosbee
Snowden is a universal hero in his efforts to stop USA’s murderous madness . http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/460988/index.php
Padremellyrn
What always strikes me as hilarious about all this ‘aiding the enemy’ non-sense is that it like saying “The criminals are changing their ways, now that they know the police will arrest them for committing crimes”.
Do these morons in the media actually believe the terrorists didn’t already suspect they were being ‘listened in on’. If not, then why the old “cell organization” where the one person only knows a handful of others? So that when they are discovered, they don’t reveal the whole network. Is this the modus operandi of people didn’t know they are being ‘Survailed or spyed upon”
michael e
I too am confused how this all would work to give terrorists specific intel as to our methodology.So far I have not read anything that specific.Of course we still don’t know who he has shared “specific” intel with.Im pretty sure that at this point any Russian intelligence officer could simply say “give me that computer on your lap or I will break every bone in your body….twice” So the information is at this point compromised is my guess.And that cant be good
Ahmed Sakkal
you got it right
most people would not think beyond what the headline is saying
mlnw
This argument that Snowden’s disclosures have “aided terrorists” is baloney and has already been refuted. What we are hearing from the mainstream media is government propaganda without critical analysis.
michael e
MLNW Gotta ask the question.Refuted by whom?The press?They don’t know anything.This info is classified.The only people who can make that determination are those who know what is in the material.As of now the press only knows about 2% of what he stole