Anthonyn Cordesman on Edward Snowden

Zen...., of course I agree with what you say in principle. 100%. Nevertheless, I believe the risk that a looney group getting its hands on a WMD and using it is NOT just the stuff of Hollywood B-movies. We have 9/11 to prove that. But of course, I hope you are right. I really do.

In the meantime, how about paying attention to legitimate diplomatic effort and taking preemptive action when warranted and seriously kicking ass when needed! That Boston tragedy was just that and shouldn't have happened. What the hell kind of diplomacy is preventing the US Gov. from acting on tips and info it receives from friendly nations whether they're allies or not? Problem is there's too many free agents out there in positions to exercise their own agendas. Like it or not, we're now actually living in a 'global' community. It's now 'us' against them. Call me a theorist but I don't believe for one second that Britain and Germany are unaware of the US' clandestine operations. We need them as much as they need us.

Our envious foreign policy has led us to most hated nation on the planet status. The only countries that tolerate the U.S. are on the payroll. It's like the Yankees finishing last every year. Do you think it might be time for a change in direction?
100 years of exploiting the planet through sheer tyranny. The billions of dollars we send in aid gets stuffed in some Saudi kings vault or a straw presidents pocket. Very little gets to the streets. Make no mistake people around the world hate us. Just look at Egypt, we have never been more reviled there.

Zenblaster - It is common knowledge that everyone else hates us because they hate our freedom. Or that's the meme conveyed by the corporate press. I'm more inclined to agree with you in your assertion that they hate us for meddling in their politics and stealing their natural resources.
Edward Snowden looks to me like a man of conscience and conviction who risked his life to alert us all of what was coming ---- sort of like Paul Revere. Now the corporate press is focusing on him and glossing over the crimes he revealed..... talk about shooting the messenger.

Mr. Cordesman is a diplomat to his core. Even his audio reviews were remarkably diplomatic. Unlike me, he has gone very far in life knowing what not to say.

To much of the world, the U.S. is the schoolyard bully who steals their lunch money and makes them live in fear.

So I'm not condemning my country but just expressing disappointment about learning that we aren't what schoolroom lessons told us we are.

Check mark Macrojack.

99% of the people on this planet that want us and our next 10 generations to die a long and painful death would not even know we exist if it wasn't for our expansionist, meddling foreign policies.
Because we opened our shore to all oppressed people of the world which IS the greatest humanitarian effort in history, that doesn't give us the right to rape, rob, pillage and then set up a straw government (for future r, r, & p) anywhere we please. The politicians might tolerate you, the masses will .., well it's pretty obvious how the People will view us.
I apologize for bringing my observations that have nothing to do with the advancement of our hobby to this site. I will try not to let it happen again.