Daniel Ellsberg, of ‘Pentagon Papers’ fame, hopes Edward Snowden can find safe haven
“Pentagon Papers” leaker, Daniel Ellsberg, said in a Op-Ed Sunday in the Washington Post, that he doesn’t blame NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden for fleeing the US to seek asylum elsewhere after the publication in The Guardian one month ago where he disclosed to journalist, Glenn Greenwald that the National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon.
Ellsberg says concerning Snowden leaving to Hong Kong, “Many people compare Edward Snowden to me unfavorably for leaving the country and seeking asylum, rather than facing trial as I did. I don’t agree. The country I stayed in was a different America, a long time ago.”
He says then for two years while under indictment, he was “free to speak to the media and at rallies and public lectures” as part of the anti-war movement at the time.
Ellsbergs says, “There is no chance that experience could be reproduced today.
“I hope Snowden’s revelations will spark a movement to rescue our democracy, but he could not be part of that movement had he stayed here. There is zero chance that he would be allowed out on bail if he returned now and close to no chance that, had he not left the country, he would have been granted bail. Instead, he would be in a prison cell like Bradley Manning, incommunicado.”
The Pentagon Papers leaker said that nothing worthwhile would be served, in my opinion, by Snowden voluntarily surrendering to U.S. authorities given the current state of the law.
He hopes that Snowden can find safe haven somewhere, “as safe as possible from kidnapping or assassination by U.S. Special Operations forces, he says, preferably where he can speak freely.”
[…] me, knowing what I know now, and listening to advice of sage people like (Pentagon Papers leaker) Daniel Ellsberg … I would attempt to find a safe haven,” Snowden […]