HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019770.jpg
1.49 MB
Extraction Summary
4
People
3
Organizations
8
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
3
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book excerpt / government evidence file
File Size:
1.49 MB
Summary
This document is page 282 from the book 'How America Lost Its Secrets', stamped as evidence by the House Oversight Committee (file 019770). It details Edward Snowden's departure from Hong Kong to Moscow on June 23rd, following the unsealing of a U.S. criminal complaint. The text analyzes the geopolitical tensions involving the U.S., China, and Russia, noting that China likely allowed Snowden to leave to avoid complications during a scheduled meeting between Presidents Xi and Obama.
People (4)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Snowden | Subject / Whistle-blower |
Former NSA contractor who leaked classified information and fled to Moscow.
|
| Xi Jinping | Chinese President |
Scheduled to meet President Obama; Snowden's presence in HK was a complication.
|
| Barack Obama | U.S. President |
Scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi.
|
| Sherlock Holmes | Fictional Character |
Referenced metaphorically regarding the 'dog that did not bark'.
|
Organizations (3)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| NSA |
National Security Agency; Snowden serviced computer systems for them.
|
|
| The New York Times |
Cited a U.S. diplomat regarding China's stance on Snowden.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the footer stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019770'.
|
Timeline (2 events)
June 21
Locations (8)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Destination of Snowden's flight.
|
|
|
Departure location; where Snowden stayed for a month.
|
|
|
Location of the 'backwater NSA base' where Snowden worked.
|
|
|
Capital of China; potential defection point avoided by China.
|
|
|
Country of origin/prosecution.
|
|
|
Adversary of the U.S.; allowed Snowden to leave.
|
|
|
Adversary of the U.S.; Snowden's destination.
|
|
|
Region where Snowden did not obtain a visa.
|
Relationships (2)
Scheduled soon to meet President Obama.
Key Quotes (3)
"The final choice he made was to board a nonstop flight to Moscow on June 23."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019770.jpg
Quote #1
"China, as far as is known, did not offer him sanctuary."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019770.jpg
Quote #2
"Snowden's lack of any visas in his passport strongly suggests that he had not made plans to go anyplace but where he actually went: Moscow."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019770.jpg
Quote #3
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,183 characters)
282 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS
on-camera star of a twenty-hour-long reality show, edited first into a video and then a full-length documentary, transformed him in the public's mind into a hero.
It would be a mistake to assume that the central role he gave himself was simply an exercise in narcissism. After the video was released, he was no longer a near nonentity servicing a computer system at a backwater NSA base in Hawaii. He had emerged from the shadowy world of electronic intelligence to become one of the most famous whistle-blowers in modern history. It was a mantle that would allow him to also become a leading advocate of privacy and encryption rights, as well as the leading opponent of NSA spying. While this remarkable transformation might not have been his entire motive, it was certainly the result of the choice he made to go public.
It would be a mistake to assume that the central role he gave himself was simply an exercise in narcissism. After the video was released, he was no longer a near nonentity servicing a computer system at a backwater NSA base in Hawaii. He had emerged from the shadowy world of electronic intelligence to become one of the most famous whistle-blowers in modern history. It was a mantle that would allow him to also become a leading advocate of privacy and encryption rights, as well as the leading opponent of NSA spying. While this remarkable transformation might not have been his entire motive, it was certainly the result of the choice he made to go public.
The Fourth Decision
The final choice he made was to board a nonstop flight to Moscow on June 23. Once the U.S. criminal complaint was unsealed on June 21, he needed to leave Hong Kong; his continued presence would have been a complication for the Chinese president, Xi, scheduled soon to meet President Obama. His only route out of Hong Kong went through two adversaries of the United States: China and Russia. China, as far as is known, did not offer him sanctuary. According to one U.S. diplomat cited by The New York Times, China might have already obtained copies of Snowden's NSA files and did not want the problem of having Snowden defect to Beijing. In any case, if it had not already acquired the files, it could assume it would receive that intelligence data from its Russian ally in the intelligence war. Whatever its reason, China did not use its considerable power in Hong Kong to block Snowden's exit.
Nor did Snowden obtain a visa to any country in Latin America or elsewhere during his monthlong stay in Hong Kong. As in the oft-cited Sherlock Holmes clue of the dog that did not bark, Snowden's lack of any visas in his passport strongly suggests that he had not made plans to go anyplace but where he actually went: Moscow. His
Nor did Snowden obtain a visa to any country in Latin America or elsewhere during his monthlong stay in Hong Kong. As in the oft-cited Sherlock Holmes clue of the dog that did not bark, Snowden's lack of any visas in his passport strongly suggests that he had not made plans to go anyplace but where he actually went: Moscow. His
Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.indd 282
9/30/16 8:13 AM
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019770
9/30/16 8:13 AM
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019770
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