Booz-Allen Where Snowden Worked for Less Three Months is Owned by Carlyle Group

With details emerging that make no sense, was Snowden working alone or was he connected to someone who was inside NSA who fed him the information?  

The reporter who broke the story for the British newspaper The Guardian said that he did not believe American authorities had been in touch with the contractor, Edward Snowden, 29.

“I don’t believe they know where he is or how to communicate with him,” the reporter, Glenn Greenwald, told TODAY from Hong Kong. 

If this reporter really believes that Americans through Hong Kong and China officials don't know where this guy is or how to communicate with him, then I will put put the reporter in the same category of Snowden who doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the pack.  He goes to Hong Kong who has an extradition treaty with the United States and unless the Chinese wasted their money on this fool, they would not stop him from being extradited.  Then he said he could go to Iceland and seek asylum BUT Iceland has a new Government trying to get in the United State's good graces so chances of Snowden being allowed into Iceland are slim to none.

How did Snowden who has less than three months with Booz-Allen even get access to this information?  Is he the only person involved is my first reaction?


Statement from Booz-Allen who is owned by the Carlyle Group on Snowden:

June 9, 2013
Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, has been an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.

Snowden worked for BA for less than three months which is not even time to get a high security clearance. As a security guard, you wouldn't need one.  Two plus two do not add up to four in this case.  The holes are big enough in all of this to drive a Mack truck them.  Whatever happened to ethics in Journalism?

This morning an editor-at-large for The Atlantic overhearing four guys talking at the airport was reported by various outlets including Huffington Post with this Headline:

'4 Intelligence Officials' Allegedly Joke Of 'Disappearing' NSA Leaker, Reporter (UPDATED) 

Leading foreign policy analyst Steve Clemons said he witnessed a rather disturbing conversation while waiting for a flight at the Dulles airport on Saturday. 

According to Clemons, four men sitting near him were discussing an intelligence conference they had just attended, and turned to the topic of the NSA leaks. One said that both the reporter and leaker should be "disappeared," a term used to describe secret murders and abductions carried out by authoritarian governments. Clemons said on Twitter the suggestion seemed to be "bravado" and a "disturbing joke." He said that the officials were talking loudly, "almost bragging." 

HuffPost asked Clemons via Twitter how he could be sure they were in the intelligence community and he noted that "one wore a white knit national counterterrorism center shirt." But more importantly, he said, the conversation led him to conclude that they were certainly in the community, especially given the conference they talked about attending. They discussed former Ambassador John Negroponte as having been in attendance.  

Clemons, who is editor at large at The Atlantic, said he did not know who the officials were or what agency they were with. He recorded part of the conversation and took some photos, which he plans to post online.

(snip) 

UPDATE: Clemons has learned that the men were in town attending an event hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, which lists dress code for the dinner as "black tie or mess dress."

Automatically The Huffington Post termed them "Intel Officers" leading posters to think they were CIA and then you find out at the bottom there was an UPDATE which was not in the healine at the time saying they were in town for an Intelligence and National Security Alliance Conference so who knows who they were. I bet the farm they are not in a position to order anyone to do anything in the Intel community because those types don't joke like that.  They blend in and are not loud and boistrous.  Reminder to CIA types - don't wear a white shirt with counterterrorism logo.

Media has gone over the edge on this as well as some posters on Huffington Post who didn't like my post - got called a Democrat from the hard right which today I consider a compliment rather then being part of the GOP hard right. These were my comments on Huffington about Snowden, Intel officers, and the media:

The man is not a hero - he broke his oath and every other regulation dealing with classified. Some of you think it is a movie from the comments. It is not and the media has been irresponsible in reporting the facts of the program. Listen to what President Obama said and you find that everything is anonymous unless a red flag goes off. Guess some of you would rather have another 9/11.

Media reporting has been horrible including this article with the sensationlist headline - turns out they were here for a conference. Guess you wouldn't likle my comment either to lock him up and throw away the key. Know how important classified is after years working for the Air Force. It is a need to know and all of us including the media with no ethics today has (no) right to know everything. I would rather be safe.

Maybe some of you should stop and think the GOP wanted this as another scandal and maybe that is why the bad info. Seems a lot of the media take the GOP talking points and report if it is against Obama. Seems a lot of so-called journalist forget the SPJ Code of Ethics in a rush to be first. Some need to go back to college and take a course in Ethics taught by the Journalism Colleges. 

If my comments are considered Democrat then I really am in the wrong party because the GOP today seems to stand for no rules or laws apply to anyone who goes after Obama.  All is fair in their hard right attacks on Obama and his Administration to bring the Government down.  Comments from hard right aimed at me reminded me of when I was on one of their sites years ago and why I left.  Got tired fighting them. Those unappeasables are now in charge of the Republican Party.  Want no part of them ever again.

NBC News had this to say today about Snowden:

The National Security Agency contractor who came forward claiming to be the source of leaks about vast government surveillance programs set off diplomatic intrigue Monday by holing up in Hong Kong and hinting at seeking protection in Iceland. 

The reporter who broke the story for the British newspaper The Guardian said that he did not believe American authorities had been in touch with the contractor, Edward Snowden, 29.
“I don’t believe they know where he is or how to communicate with him,” the reporter, Glenn Greenwald, told TODAY from Hong Kong. 

The Justice Department, without naming Snowden, said it was in the early stages of an investigation, and there were already calls from some members of Congress to prosecute him. 

As long as you have laws on the books, and we do, you’ve got to enforce the laws,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told CNBC. “This is somebody who — it appears, at least — leaked sensitive classified information, and I think he needs to be prosecuted.” 

The Guardian and The Washington Post, with Snowden’s consent, revealed him Sunday as the source for stories that disclosed two giant surveillance programs collecting data on Americans’ phone calls and foreigners’ Internet use. 

(snip) 

Hong Kong, a former British colony, is part of China but has considerable autonomy. It has an extradition treaty with the United States, but China can veto extradition requests when it believes its foreign interests would be affected. 

“The only thing I can do is sit here and hope the Hong Kong government does not deport me,” Snowden told The Guardian. 

Experts and Hong Kong lawmakers said it was unlikely China would defy such a U.S. request. One Hong Kong legislator told The Wall Street Journal that Snowden’s choice of location was based on “unfortunate ignorance.” 

Excerpt:  Read More NBC

Not here to pick NBC apart but how do you go from being a security guard to working on tech security to CIA communications expert without any education to speak.  Would say that NBC over blew the guy's resume.  Big difference between working on tech security and CIA communications expert.  My biggest question remains about his security clearance from Booz Allen to even be part of tech security when he was a security guard.

Background on Snowdon:
Snowden grew up in North Carolina and enlisted in the Army in 2003 in hopes of joining the Special Forces. But he broke both legs in a training accident and was discharged, he said. 

Edward Snowden, a defense contractor and former CIA communications expert, has revealed himself as the man behind the leaks detailing secret National Security Agency programs monitoring phone and Internet use. The Atlantic's Steve Clemons, Maria Teresa Kumar from Voto Latino, and Washington Post Columnist Jonathan Capehart join Karen Finney to break down Snowden's reasons for the leak and what this means for the debate over privacy and national security. 

He told the paper that he joined the armed forces in hopes of helping the Iraqi people escape from oppression, but was jarred that his commanders “seemed pumped up about killing Arabs.” 

After his injury, Snowden got a job as a security guard at a covert NSA facility at the University of Maryland before working on tech security for the CIA, The Guardian reported.

Bottom line is this is much to do about nothing.  Most of the information gathered is anonymous unless a red flag is raised that requires further investigation.  The funniest part to me are some of the Libertarians complaining about lack of privacy from these NSA programs like Rand Paul who was quick to get out front as he gears up to running for President in 2016 as a hard right, Tea Party, Libertarian Republican, are wanting data mining for the GOP to find donors and supporters.

For all of those upset - ever buy anything from Amazon or check out a website looking for an item only to have that item turn up in a web ad when you are a different site?  It is called data mining which is very popular today.  That means they know what you buy and what you are looking for which is more intrustion into my life in the NSA where I am anonymous.

Another scandal against President Obama by the GOP and the Media which has doubled back on them.