# NSA considering an amnesty for Edward Snowden ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 15, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401 "2013-12-15T19:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/261 "2013-12-21T16:56:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The government isn’t some alien monster The government is _us_. We elect the people who write the laws and carry them out. If the government is “a bunch of greedy thieves”, then that only reflects on the voters, not the institution. This would be true if the voters knew what the hell the government was doing in their name. Without transparent government, democracy is impossible. > [@](#): > > On that note, is there _anything_ that you believe the government should be allowed to keep secret? Sure. Besides health records and the like, there’s troop locations, undercover operations, battle plans, etc. Specific details. They should only be kept secret for as long as necessary to prevent harming people, e.g., until the battle is over. Notice Snowden didn’t release names of CIA operatives or leak battle plans. Large scale policies, like “fight a cyberwar with Iran” or “read every American’s text messages without a warrant” should never be secret, because that is the information the American people need to make educated decisions at the voting booth. Otherwise, they’re not citizens, but subjects. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/262 "2013-12-21T19:37:34Z")
Smapti sure has a knack for making himself the centre of attention. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/263 "2014-01-07T17:50:58Z")
The idea is certainly [gaining traction](http://news.yahoo.com/new-york-times--guardian--urge-clemency-for-snowden-153422938.html)… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/264 "2014-01-07T17:55:14Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > The idea is certainly [gaining traction](http://news.yahoo.com/new-york-times--guardian--urge-clemency-for-snowden-153422938.html)… The administration has shot it down at every opportunity, though. And the NSA isn’t really considering it as far as we know. I’m wondering if they just threw the idea out there to make themselves look reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/265 "2014-01-07T17:55:18Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > The idea is certainly [gaining traction](http://news.yahoo.com/new-york-times--guardian--urge-clemency-for-snowden-153422938.html)… …With the NYT and The Guardian. I wouldn’t call that “traction” in any meaningful sense of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/266 "2014-01-07T19:14:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The administration has shot it down at every opportunity, though. And the NSA isn’t really considering it as far as we know. I’m wondering if they just threw the idea out there to make themselves look reasonable. I wonder, though, if this could be a campaign issue for the next election. If any candidate pledges support for Snowden I could imagine the others will feel similar pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/267 "2014-01-07T19:30:11Z")
By 2016? No, it’ll probably be ancient history by then. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/268 "2014-01-07T21:50:44Z")
I disagree that it’ll be history by then, especially if leaks from Snowden continue. Besides, the jostling for the primaries will begin this year. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/269 "2014-01-07T21:53:59Z")
The general election campaign is two to two and a half years away. NSA spying on the public will probably still being an issue, but by then Snowden is either going to get asylum from Brazil or somewhere else, get captured and locked up, or (just to cover my bases) get some kind of clemency. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/270 "2014-01-07T22:10:30Z")
We’ll see. In two years one of us will be able to come back to this thread and gloat. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/271 "2014-01-08T00:10:06Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I wonder, though, if this could be a campaign issue for the next election. If any candidate pledges support for Snowden I could imagine the others will feel similar pressure. I can only imagine a fringe candidate “supporting” Snowdon. Too much vulnerability to throwing your active support behind someone who is an admitted criminal. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401/272 "2014-01-08T00:13:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > …With the NYT and The Guardian. I wouldn’t call that “traction” in any meaningful sense of the word. Why not? I could quote any number of other publications, too. Over at _The New Yorker_, Amy Davidson weighed in against a recent conservative argument that Snowden isn’t comparable to the draft dodgers who **were** granted clemency. I agree with her that in fact he is; and indeed is arguably the more altruistic. At the most basic level, both broke the law, and both defended themselves with the claim of having done so in a larger national interest. Yet one could argue that draft dodgers had self-serving interests, too, whereas Snowden put himself in great personal jeopardy for no apparent gain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsa-considering-an-amnesty-for-edward-snowden/676401.md?page=13)