Acute U.S.
government
embarrassment
over NSA
whistle
blower
Edward
Snowden’s
timely
revelations
of rampant
institutionalized
global
spying
operations
on American
citizens as
well as
foreigners
and the
governments
of foreign
countries
has turned
him into a
political
football --
a potential
catalyst for
a serious
international
incident
with Russia,
which can
only harm
the
interests of
Americans at
the expense
of our
government’s
vanity.
Perennial
senatorial
blowhard and
war monger,
Lindsey
Graham,
R-S.C., is
advocating a
U.S.
boycott
of the
upcoming
Winter
Olympic
Games in
Russia if
President
Vladimir
Putin grants
Snowden the
temporary
asylum he
has
requested.
"I love the
Olympics,
but I hate
what the
Russian
government
is doing
throughout
the world,"
croaked
Graham.
"If they
give asylum
to a person
who I
believe has
committed
treason
against the
United
States,
that's
taking it to
a new
level."
Then Graham
compared the
situation
and Putin to
Adolph
Hitler and
the Berlin
Olympic
Games in
Nazi Germany
in 1936
before WWII.
"If you
could go
back in
time, would
you have
allowed
Adolf Hitler
to host the
Olympics in
Germany; to
have the
propaganda
coup of
inviting the
world into
Nazi Germany
and putting
on a false
front?… I'm
not saying
that Russia
is Nazi
Germany but
I am saying
that the
Russian
government
is
empowering
some of the
most evil,
hateful
people in
the world."
Graham said
that an
Olympic
boycott is
just one
possible
measure that
the U.S.
should
consider if
Russia
decides to
grant
Snowden
asylum. He’s
mad about
allowing the
Russians a
propaganda
platform to
promote
itself at a
time when
the Russians
are
responsible
for enabling
Iran's
nuclear
program,
threatening
Israel and
supporting
in Syria.
So he wants
to provoke
further
tensions
between the
governments
of Russia
and the U.S.
and deprive
Americans
and American
athletes
their
opportunity
to enjoy and
participate
in the
Olympic
Games.
Of course,
the Olympic
Games have
been a
political
tool in the
hands of
governments
for several
decades now.
It’s not so
much about
sportsmanship
and
international
good will
any longer
as it is
about
political
opportunities
of
parasitical
politicians
to draw
attention to
themselves.
They don’t
care if
their
subjects are
harmed in
the process.
"What I'm
trying to do
is let the
Russians
know enough
is enough.
How much
more are we
going to let
them get
away with
before we
make it real
to them?"
Graham
bellowed.
Well then,
maybe
Senator
Graham would
like to
start a war
with the
Russians,
perhaps
another cold
war in which
both sides
would wonder
once again
whether the
other was
about to
drop the
nuclear
bomb. That
would
certainly
get Putin’s
attention.
Or why
doesn’t
Graham
simply
advocate
pulling our
embassy out
of Russia
and cutting
off
diplomatic
relations
altogether?
Maybe that
would induce
Mr. Putin to
put Snowden
on a plane
to
Washington.
The U.S.
government
was
responsible
for enabling
Israel’s
nuclear
program; and
is currently
supporting
Syria’s
rebel forces
in their
efforts to
depose
Syrian
president
Assad. Putin
isn’t
threatening
our
government
with
boycotts and
diplomatic
sanctions
over the
fact that
the U.S.
chooses to
back
different
sides in
international
conflicts.
Russia isn’t
acting any
differently
than the
U.S.
The last
time Russia
hosted the
Moscow
Olympic
Games in
1980, the
U.S. led a
65-nation
boycott over
the 1979
Soviet
invasion of
Afghanistan.
President
Jimmy Carter
announced it
and both the
House and
the Senate
passed
resolutions
supporting
it. I don’t
recall
Russia
making a big
fuss when
the United
States
invaded
Afghanistan.
And I don’t
recall it
doing any
good for the
American
people
either.
If a Russian
intelligence
agent
revealed
secrets
against his
own
government
and then
came to the
U.S.
requesting
asylum
alleging the
probability
of
persecution
and torture
by the
Russian
authorities
if deported,
there is no
way that our
government
would comply
with
requests and
diplomatic
demands that
he be
returned.
Recently,
for example,
President
Obama said
he was
"deeply
disappointed
and
concerned"
by the
conviction
of Russian
opposition
leader
Alexei
Navalny, who
challenged
the Kremlin
with
exposures of
high-level
corruption
and mocked
the
leadership
with biting
satire.
Navalny was
sentenced to
five years
in prison in
a verdict
that fueled
street
protests
near Red
Square and
drew
condemnation
from the
West.
If that man
escaped and
fled to the
U.S., he
would never
be returned
to Russia no
matter how
much
President
Putin cried
and screamed
about it.
Clearly the
U.S. is
guilty of
advancing a
political
double
standard in
its handling
of the
Edward
Snowden
affair.
They’ve
turned the
poor man
into an
international
political
football.
© 2010 Timothy J Taylor.
http://authoritycon.blogspot.com/2013/07/edward-snowden-international-political.html
© 2010 Timothy J Taylor.
http://authoritycon.blogspot.com/2013/07/edward-snowden-international-political.html