'US politicians ignore illegal NSA data mining'

Iran's Press TV, 6/30/13:

An American political analyst says Washington is focusing on the arrest of National Security Agency’s whistleblower Edward Snowden to divert public opinions over “the illegal activities of the NSA”.

Linh Dinh said American politicians both Republicans and Democrats ignore crimes committed by the U.S. government and focus on the arrest of Snowden with the assistance of U.S. media.

"American politicians, both Republican and Demoractic, have not expressed outrage over the illegal activities of the NSA, as revealed by Edward Snowden, but at Snowden himself, and at China and Russia, for not turning him over, and at Ecuador, for possibly harboring him. So the American politicians, with the assistance of the American media, have steered the conversation away from the crimes of the United States government, towards the whistleblower, and they have also demonized him and his allies. They are not asking, What should we do about the illegal activities of the NSA, but how when we catch this quote, unquote criminal Snowden. The American media are branding Julian Assange a publicity hound for assissting Snowden, and they are ridiculing Ecuador as a leftist government indulging in rhetorics, but President Correa has actually said, 'Ecuador doesn’t accept pressure or threats from anyone and doesn’t barter its principles and sovereignty or submit to mercantile interests.' Ecuador has voluntarily given up its trade benefits with the United States over the Snowden incident, so it is actually willing to suffer economic losses to protect its integrity and independence. That’s not rhetorics but a principled and dignified stance, so it is acting morally, something the US itself is no longer capable of. Having been caught peeping on its citizens and the rest the world, the US doesn’t apologize but is screaming at these other countries for not helping it catch Snowden, who is not a criminal but a hero, an American hero. If you read online comments, you'll realize that many Americans already know this, but unfortunately, too many people are indifferent about this, or they're siding with the goverment, so it is baffling their passivity, that they are not outraged over the crimes of their government, but they are actually cheering for the capture of Snowden."



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