Former NSA Officer: Wikileaks Is A Front For Russian Intelligence And Snowden's (Probably) A Spy

from the every-time-I-say-it-out-loud,-it-becomes-more-true dept

I used to think that those on the inside — those actually running the shadowy agencies of the world — were immune to conspiracy theories. After all, their hidden actions were usually the ignition point for conspiracy theories. Every tiny revelation gets exaggerated exponentially until someone from a Zionist cabal has used Barak Obama’s fake birth certificate to obtain a pilot’s license and fly a weather-controlling airliner onto the front lawn of the Pentagon in order to trigger a pre-wired explosion that takes down a chunk of the building from the inside.

But those on the inside see all the connections and know the players inside and out. Nothing’s surprising and nothing’s a conspiracy because there’s absolutely no mystery. But maybe it’s that lack of mystery that prompts some insiders to conjure up conspiracies linking their enemies du jour to something much bigger than their individual actions. Too much information is just as much of a curse as too little.

To operate effectively, agents must have a clearly-defined enemy. But the real world is often uncooperative and fails to provide irredeemable villains. Incidents like the recent high profile leaks of Manning and Snowden further cloud the issue. Sure, there’s the alleged “exceptionally grave damage” to national security, but much of what’s exposed hasn’t made the citizens being “defended” by the exposed entities any happier, or feel any less safe. So, when the enemies fail to hold the masses in thrall, what’s a former NSA agent to do? The usual narrative isn’t working and there’s no clear consensus that Snowden, Manning or their mutual associate, Julian Assange are villains. Faced with the untidiness of the current reality, former NSA officer John Schindler has built his own “reality,” and it’s as insane as it is ugly.

From nearly the outset I’ve stated that Snowden is very likely an agent of Russian intelligence; this was met with howls of indignation which have died down in recent weeks as it’s become apparent that Ed’s staying in Russia for some time, along with whatever classified materials he had on his person.

While the second part of Schindler’s statement is most likely true (Ed and documents in Russia indefinitely), his opening assertion is supposed to make us believe that a) something repeated often enough is true and b) the “howls of indignation” directed at that assertion have “died down.” The two latter assertions are decidedly less accurate.

Schindler has made some previous statements on the Snowden leaks, a majority of them insulting or dismissive. He even found Jeffrey Toobin’s hypocritical teardown of Snowden to be quite the thing.

“No Hero” Snowden “a grandiose narcissist who deserves to be in prison” – Jeff Toobin nails it lawyer-style w details

A early editorial of his, posted at Politico roughly three weeks after the first leak, compares Snowden to Phillip Agee, a self-proclaimed whistleblower who was later discovered to be a Soviet spy.

Is Ed Snowden a Phil Agee for the 21st century, with superior technology and more media coverage? We may know the answer soon, but every day he stays under the care of hostile intelligence services renders his resemblance to Agee stronger.

If Snowden is under the care of “hostile intelligence services,” it’s the US government’s own fault. Charging him with espionage leaves Snowden very few options if he wishes to avoid being imprisoned. The documents he obtained clearly point out that pretty much all of Europe has been compromised, with various national intelligence agencies working directly in tandem with the NSA. This leaves a very short list of countries that Snowden would be willing to go to and an even shorter list of countries that would be willing to host him.

So, in Schindler’s mind, Snowden is well on his way (if he isn’t already) to being a tool of Russian intelligence. That requires a logical leap others haven’t been ready to take, even if they disagree with Snowden’s actions. They may believe the Russians have gained access to Snowden’s stash of NSA files, but few are ready to state publicly that he’s part of the Russian intelligence machinery. Schindler points out that Snowden’s contact with the Russians preceded his arrival as if that were some sort of proof of his assertions, rather than an indication that Snowden was looking for options that wouldn’t immediately turn him over to the US government.

From this leap, Schindler travels to another claim that he backs up with nothing more than “I’ve been saying this for a long time.”

I’ve been stating for a while now that Wikileaks is functionally an extension of Russian intelligence; it’s become a minor meme as a few journalists have decided that such a scandalous viewpoint is worth considering.

Again, repetition does not make things true, and even Schindler hedges this a bit by adding the word “functionally.” If Wikileaks’ actions sometimes correspond with the aims of Russian intelligence (learn US secrets, perhaps?), then it’s “functionally” the same as working for the Russians, according to Schindler.

Of course, for anyone versed in the ways of Russian intelligence, the notion that Wikileaks is a Moscow front that’s involved in anti-US espionage is about as controversial as, say, the notion that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. Running false flags, creating fake activist groups, using Western journalists and activists for deception purposes – this sort of thing is in the DNA of Russian intelligence going back to the 19th century and is second nature to them. They call espionage tradecraft konspiratsiya (conspiracy) for a reason.

Now, we have a full-blown conspiracy theory. Being involved in “anti-US espionage” (his terminology for the leaks that made Wikileaks famous) is now an “proof” that Wikileaks is a Russian front. Yes, Russian intelligence has performed all the acts listed, but his assertion is based on what? The fact that Snowden leaked documents, Wikileaks aided him during his trip to Russia and Snowden seeking asylum there? This is adding 1+1+1 and getting 5, because 5 is the number you had in your head the whole time.

Schindler seems to desperately want Snowden to be a tool of the Russian intelligence agencies and feels he has collected enough dots to say that Snowden is definitely in Russia and another entity he doesn’t care for (Wikileaks) helped him out. Therefore, Wikileaks is a “fake activist group” created by the Russian government. But he willingly leaps across several logical gaps without presenting any supporting evidence other than “I’ve said this several times before.” In other words, “Source: Me.”

He then goes on for a few hundred more words, offering up explanations that actually undercut his argument. He details the efforts of a spy who sold thousands of sensitive Canadian intelligence documents to Russia, and adds this speculation to his collection of “evidence.”

Simply put, one must wonder, after nearly five years of Delisle selling the Russians all the Five Eyes TOP SECRET/ SCI data he could get his hands on, how much there really was about NSA, GCHQ, et al, that Moscow didn’t already know. Perhaps Snowden is, if not exactly a patsy, a none-too-clever fellow – Putin today called Ed “a strange guy” – whose main purpose is causing pain and suffering to Washington, DC. Which, let it be said, he has done rather well, thanks to the propaganda offensive waged by Greenwald, Poitras, and their helpers in several countries, with Ed’s purloined information, and who have masked their radical activism under the (thin) guise of post-modern journalism.

Why would Russia seek Snowden if it already had tons of classified info from other nations’ intelligence agencies? What possible purpose could he serve going forward? He no longer works for the NSA and the documents he took have already been distributed out to several news agencies. If Snowden serves any purpose to the Russian government, it’s to be pointed at as an evidence of the US government’s hypocrisy. Every time it demands the return of its “criminal,” Putin will be happy to point out that if the situation was reversed, the US wouldn’t be placing a Russian dissident with hard drives full of sensitive documents back in the hands of a government seeking to punish him.

The extraneous slams against Greenwald and others doesn’t do his argument any favors. If anything, it shows the desperation of this theory. Schindler needs this theory to be true because it justifies all the accusations and barely-veiled contempt he has for Snowden, Wikileaks and Greenwald. If Snowden is now a Russian spy, then these attacks are “deserved.”

It is possible that Snowden’s appearance on the radar of Russian intelligence – presumably late in 2012, almost certainly through Wikileaks – actually represents a cover mechanism of sorts for Moscow. Tasked now with an enormous damage assessment and trying to uncover if Snowden had any helpers inside NSA, it seems unlikely that IC counterintelligence experts will have the resources or manpower anytime soon to find the Russian moles who may be deeply embedded inside NSA and related U.S. intelligence agencies.

The theory goes deeper. Now Snowden’s not just an active threat, he’s also cover for those already on the inside. The more words Schindler expends, the more his post begins to resemble a cinematic thriller whose team of writers couldn’t decide on an ending. Instead of picking one (barely) plausible wrap-up, they’ve opted to use all of them. Schindler wraps it this up with a call for the government to do the right thing and buy into his narrative.

[I]t would be a step in the right direction for the U.S. and Allied governments to start treating Wikileaks like the front for hostile intelligence that it actually is. Right now, President Obama is contemplating bombing Syria and possibly starting a new war in the Middle East. Surely he can find the strength to call Wikileaks what it actually is, a far easier thing to achieve.

Well, good luck with that. I’m sure the administration has enough issues with credibility without publicly condemning a “known” Russian intelligence front like Wikileaks. Even if it were true, without demonstrable proof, the president would look like a raving paranoiac who should possibly be removed from office for the safety of the nation.

Schindler, on the other hand, has no such office or impetus to maintain credibility, which makes it much easier (and safer) to construct a megaconspiracy that caters to his perception of these entities’ motivations. If this were even remotely true, don’t you think one out of the thousands of pieces written about Snowden would have attempted to paint Wikileaks as a flack for Russian intelligence?

Filed Under: , , , , ,

Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “Former NSA Officer: Wikileaks Is A Front For Russian Intelligence And Snowden's (Probably) A Spy”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
43 Comments
Joe Dirt says:

Re: Re: Re:

Maybe better suited to MSNBC? like Rachel Maddow?

It amazes me how people can so easily see the offences of their opposition but fail to see the same hypocrisy and slanted ideology from those on their own side.

I listen to Fox, and NPR, and the Big 3, and CNN. I read political blogs and online news for both major ideologies and to tell you the truth, they all have a slant. You have to sift thru the chaff to find the wheat. I am willing and able, are you? Based on your quip above, I think not.

TasMot (profile) says:

Russian Intelligence

The part I have a hard time believing about his rant is that the Russian Intelligence “spooks” would want the US (or anybody for that matter) to know that they had the Snowden files. Intelligence agencies want to collect data on the other guys to use against them, not to publish to the world that “they got it”. If Snowden was truly working for Russian Intelligence (or any other agency for that matter) and he was able to get away with all of those files and most importantly, leave no trace, the Russians would have wanted him to stay in place and quietly send more, not “go public” and lose the source of the documents. That’s the whole problem with the “traitor” theory against Snowden (and others) is that a real traitor would stay hidden and pass off the documents in secret for as long as possible. Traitors and moles don’t ever go public. They stay hidden and collect up intelligence for as long as possible. Whistleblowers who feel that their government is betraying the public and breaking laws are the ones who go public and publish the government wrongdoing. It is the point that the allegations all seem to miss.

Rikuo (profile) says:

Re: Russian Intelligence

Exactly. Even if someone says “But that’s just what the Russians want you to think!”…it still doesn’t excuse the fact that if Snowden was an agent of Russia or whoever, he now no longer has access to classified material. If he had been a spy, and I was his handler, I would have ordered him to stay put. Keep grabbing documents, until you get something that, if released, would absolutely destroy Obama, no ifs ands or buts…then leave the country quietly.

DannyB (profile) says:

Re: Re:

Every tiny revelation gets exaggerated exponentially until someone from
a Zionist cabal has used Barak Obama’s fake birth certificate
to obtain a pilot’s license and fly a weather-controlling airliner
onto the front lawn of the Pentagon in order to trigger a pre-wired
explosion that takes down a chunk of the building from the inside.

Clearly Tim is in on the conspiracy. He deliberately omitted the following important connections, no doubt, to keep them hidden from the public:
* aliens
* Elvis
* JFK
* the Vatican
* . . . and several other important points that I cannot mention here . . .

I’ve got to go now, I’m not using a secure computer.

Anonymous Coward says:

It sounds like John Schindler has some form of the New York – Harvard disease. (Black is good; white is bad. North is good; south is bad. Female is good; mail is bad.)

But, more than like it is a form of the Pentagon disease. (Beat the hell out of everybody for the fun of it before they can think and respond.)

Or, possible even the more contagious and destructive White House version of the Code of the West disease. (Do unto others before they can do unto you.)

Anonymous Coward says:

I don’t know who Schindler is, I don’t know what Politico is. Isn’t this just noise somewhere down in the static?

The UK hands my private data in violation of the law to the US, who hand it to Israel, a country I view as a hostile actor that tries malicious influence on UK politics via it’s ‘Friends of Israel’ donations to party candidates.

My countries spying agency GCHQ, is more loyal to NSA and Mossad than to the people of its own country.

The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, pretends his actions are legal, that he’s doing ‘targetted surveillance’ by handing all our data over to the USA. I bet they promised to filter it, I bet they told him it was purely for terrorism, and they’d throw the rest away. Instead they keep it all, and hand it to Israel and use it for political and financial spying.

So Mossad now has a detailed file on every politicians and political candidate in the UK. All their secrets are Mossads. And UK companies have their business secrets spied on and handed over to their foreign competitors.

He’s a traitor.

And some talking heads trying to diss Snowden, as if attacking Snowdens character will somehow make them whiter than white? It’s just noise.

Tom A says:

Pretty pathetic when your fellow man finds that what you are doing is antithetical to your foundations of freedom and yet it is your enemies are the only ones interested in hearing them out. It would be as though the important rights you brainwashed your children to believe were vital, that you shouted proudly to the dictators as your redeeming features, were eroded in a quagmire of secrecy and villainy. Who would respect the politik apparatik of the USA as upholding the individual rights and freedoms of not only Americans but also the peoples of the world after that reveal?

Anonymous Coward says:

So much time and effort spent debunking everything this guys says. His answer is 5 but you have it as 1+1+1=2 because that is what you already have in your head. You are just as bad as Schindler, you are just on the other side of the fence.

Schindler, head of a government agency tasked with national security, says Snowden is a spy.

Tim, blogger, says Snowden is not a spy.

Who to believe??? Who should have more info? Who has info that the general public doesn’t have? Who has been trusted with the security of our nation? Who doesn’t have a real job and simply writes stories about government conspiracies?

Seems pretty clear to me.

Rikuo (profile) says:

Re: Re:

While you may have a point there, the real question is not who has been entrusted with the security of the nation…but who’s word is now more trustworthy.

Given the NSA’s actions, no-one working at the NSA or affiliated with them in any way can be trusted when they say something. Not when their head sat in front of Congress and lied, and to this day, has gotten off scot free.
To my knowledge, Tim has not lied, at least not to me. Until he’s been exposed as such, his word is worth infinitely more than what is now basically a rogue spy agency running amok.

FM Hilton (profile) says:

Wait, what?

So this guy believes that Snowden is a spy for the Russians, and that he was a mole as well.

Isn’t Russian Intelligence (not the KGB-the other guys) one of the best outfits in the world? Don’t they already have all this stuff?

Why would they want a low-level contractor with dated documents in their midst when they know full well what they were comprised of before he asked for asylum?

I mean, this is just plain stupid. The Russians would not be letting someone who was one of their own people hang out in the Moscow airport for weeks on end because they couldn’t figure out what to do with him: they would have been expecting him in the first place, if he were one of theirs!

Dave (profile) says:

What bothers me, a lot, is not that the Russians might get the whole cache of documents. As was stated above, they probably already had them before Snowden sent them out. And, I firmly believe Snowden in that he no longer has access to them.

No, what bothers me is his knowledge of the NSA system and it’s procedures. If our ex-KGB friends don’t already have that knowledge, Snowden could be an excellent source.
.

New Mexico Mark says:

Schlinder is spot on

However, he missed an obvious connection.

Remember, Putin and Snowden had to make it LOOK like Snowden had no choice but to stay in Russia. They did this by getting the U.S. to revoke Snowden’s passport. Then they got the U.S. to close other countries’ borders to Snowden. They went so far as to get the U.S. to divert air traffic and search the presidential plane of the president of Bolivia. Will these fiends stop at nothing?

And of course, this all ties in to how the Russkies have been polluting our precious bodily fluids…. oops… wait… different conspiracy.

Brian Weeden (profile) says:

The KGB does have a history of doing these sorts of things

I don’t think the claim is true, but I think it’s important to realize that the KGB (and to a lesser extent other intelligence services) have a history of doing EXACTLY what he’s claiming.

A quick perusal through this list of publicly-known list of historical KGB “Active Measures” shows several things pretty close to Wikileaks/Snowden:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_measures

joel novachich (user link) says:

barack spying from a mind reading satellite

my name is joel novachich i live in thornton colorado and i have created in theory a home
made nuclear bomb of mass destruction.i have shared it with alqaeda forces,taliban north
korea,iran iraq saudi arbi posted it to inspire magazine and others.now
with a bomb of mass destruction you would think that my instructions would be long and
hard to understand. all you need is two ideas for the final stage bake and spark.

bake
i have designed a long gated cyntrifical jet fueled blow torch to bake the (p) for a
required 16,000 degrees which inreturn will produce a heat of over 80,000 degrees.

spark
a (u) high power sniper round to acheive the volocity need to spark the (p) 5,000 mph.
these are the two things need for a nuclear bomb and world in theory a bomb of mass
destruction ios that easy.

obama is a crook and a lyer.

obama has been caught spying using american agencies cia and homeland security,pentagon
and norad and military. and i do admit on a conversation that the only way they will stop
if americans stop paying taxes or the philideaphia mint stops producing money to fund such
programs

read the rest of the next article. AMERICAN SPY

it is going on 2 years that the american goverment has been spying around the world using
mind reading technology.my name is joel novachich and i have been under investigation by
ever branch of goverment for receiving a stolen computer in aug of 2007 that came from
norad.today i am exposing the department of defenses nuclear defense satellite “GALLOWAYO”
and their latest and greatest “mind reading technology” things america doesn’t want the
world to know.

1st classified=homeland security director operating the satellite that can read minds
along with one’s vision,conducted from 30 eyes from the satellite.

place of bussiness NORTH PETERSON AFB in colorado springs colorado.

homeland security director chris hardin location latitude and longitude is
39.243037,-104.921724 wifes name danyette hardin daughter attends metro state college and
work is health and human services 4400 castleton way castlerock colorado.

job description is to use the technology to get control of the worlds longrange and
nuclear missles to stop war on american soil under direct order’s of president BARAK
OBAMA.

the hidden CIA under denver international airport is ran under CIA gross. this hidden CIA
was put in place to allow things to be secertly transported around the world. now this TOP
SECERT base for the CIA has tunnels to each terminal and to aerospace data facility and
buckley afb and has offices at north peterson afb.do they have the right to skip airport
security (TSA).once again they are secertly transporting classified everything on
commerical airlines around the world with a admiral jeremy boorda involved.

the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA have their biggest heavy hitters involved.a ton of agencies.
PENTAGON,NSA,AEROSPACE DEFENSE,NAVY,AIRFORCE,CIA,HOMELAND SECURITY,FBI.

names involved PRESIDENT BARAK OBAMA,FORMER PRESIDENT’S BUSH’S,HILLARY AND BILL
CLINTON,GENERAL OF NORAD JACOBY JR,PENTAGON CHUCK HAGEL,FORMER CIA PETRAEUS, UNITED STATES
SECERT SERVICE DARIN STAHL.

BOMING IN SYRIA

the bombing in syria i beleive came from the CIA killing 1,426 people to gain countries
military support to over throw syria’s leader.

DIRTY POLITICS

see america is broke and president BARAK OBAMA “DEMOCRACY UNDER THE PEOPLE””SECERT
POLICE”president BARAK OBAMA is using all of america’s resources on gaining WORLD POWER.
and what better to have the only “MIND READING TECHNOLOGY”satellite.

BEING USED IN

ISRAEL PEACE TALKS
THE VISIT FROM CHINA’S PRESIDENT
G-8 COMFERENCE
G-20 SUMMIT CONFERENCE

for two years this program is been up and operational. president BARAK OBAMA has taken it
to the extreme asking congress to fund a 100 million dallor program.”brain
intuative”maping the brain using american college’s to study and research. now president
BARAK OBAMA would love this technology to walk someone in front of a bus or to pull a side
arm and have someone commit suicide.a few weeks ago president BARAK OBAMA had a live press
conference and president BARAK OBAMA all but said it. a scale of law and courts if there
was technology.

during america’s investigation on me joel novachich i have taught myself how to make a
homemade nuclear bomb using a cyntrifical jet fueld blow tourch to bake the (p) for a
required 16,000 degrees need for a nuclear blast. to spark the nuclear bomb i chose a (u)
tip high power sniper round. also i designed what i call a forced agirithum were i could
duplicate any computers agirithum.which the UNITED STATES have all ready have working
computers.

we need to stand together(world)to stop colleges that the american goverment has gotten
involved in this brain intuative (maping the brain) and we need to stop this kind of
technology because with this in the sky it’s a national security breech for all the
countries except the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and we end it by declaring war on american
soil.

MILITARY STRAGITIES

white house

8 stories under the white is a fox hole with america’s codes for war. find the elavator
shaft that leadss down and put a small missle down to the bottom of that elavator shaft

NORAD

same thing find the air ventilation shaft supplying fress air and do the same thing put a
missle down to the bottom and norad goes away.

AMERICA IS WEEK

things to research for a nuclear strike

the valcano in yellowstone national park. one big nuclear missle will take out 5 states

saint andreas fault line in california. 2 maybe 3 big nuclear missles on the coast of
california between the saint andreas fault line and the pacific ocean could be enough to
slide the plates which would sink america back to the rocky mountains in colorado.

PLEASE TELL YOUR COUNTRIES LEADERS SENDING ALL COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.

joel novachich

democray under the people “secert police”

the united states is trying to kill leaders that could intially attack the united states.
please view web page http://www.surveillanceissues.com
their newest satellites contain mind reading technology that can read your mind along with
vision.
all agencies are involved and military.such people as (Navy)dempsey,(pentagon) chuck
hagel,(president)barak obama,(cia)gross,admiral jeremy boorda,(homeland security) chris
hardin,(norad) general jacoby,(microsoft) bill gates,(cia) dirwell,(former cia)david
petraes,(colorado govenor)john hickenlooper

Things i know

hidden cia under denver international airport.tunnels that run to terminals to buckley
airforce base and aerospace data facility and business conducted from north peterson
airforce base.

their new satellite that can read minds is called delta a new aviontics satellite that
will work on airplanes coming into america. remember 9/11/2001

obama has funded a 100 million dollar brain intuative for colleges to study (maping the
brain) obama would love to walk someone in front of a bus using this new technology he is
all for the secert police. look at egypt

i know that hillary clinton and barak obama visited 3 countries in asia before the
election preaching democray under the people try to sell them on this new technology.

homeland security director chris hardin is operating out of his home latitude and
longitude is 39.243037,-104,921724.

theirs a place in down town denver colorado that is a storge for all the data their
collecting.homeland security installed 80 new war sirins around the facility.

i beleive that the cia is the one’s responsable for the bombing in syria killing 1,426
people. dirty politics coming form obama and the cia.

any stallite launches that has technology coming from colorado will have this new mind
reading stuff on it.

technology is based on nueroscience

lead helemts beats the technology

special ops technology (voice box)telapathic transmitters are being used to put voices in
peoples head.

their using drug informants to run technology in the united states

this technology is a nation security breech for any countries that they use it on

the cia’s goal is to go after nuclear and longrange missles under barak obama’s orders

russian president putin your life is in danger, snowden your life is in danger,north
korea’s kim jong un your life is in danger

they can kill from this satellite. informants that are or could be killing for the cia
and homeland security are shawn r beardsley,beth stephens,rick stephens,lynette
hoschouer,lorin perin,troy smith,greg choudin,tony choudin,thersa kline,brandon lic plate
number 409-lcc,lic plate 050-rew currently all living in denver metro area in colorado.
the cia and homeland security say learn your technology and you’ll travel the world
making hits on political people.
joel novachich no emails or phone calls

Leave a Reply to Rikuo Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...