By By Justin King Jan 17, 2014 in World Washington - Members of the U.S. intelligence community were quoted this week wishing death on Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who blew the whistle on the domestic spying program operated by the agency. A former Special Forces officer now at the Pentagon said he would love to put a bullet in Snowden’s head, and then I do not take pleasure in taking another human beings life, having to do it in uniform, but he is single handedly the greatest traitor in American history. Classifying Snowden as a traitor may be the easy way out, but it doesn’t seem very accurate. He did not betray his oath. After all, these men didn’t take an oath pledging to defend the government or a specific agency. Their oath was not designed to allow them to conduct an intelligence war against their own citizens. In fact the oath they took is very clear, and perhaps they need to be reminded of it. The United States Uniformed Services Oath of Office I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. Nov. 11, 2008 Soldiers take the oath of enlistment during the 3rd ESCs Operation Sustainer Strong reenlistment ceremony and Veterans Day observance. www.Army.mil/ US Army The oath calls for them to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Those currently calling for Snowden’s death might do well to remember that they are serving the entities that are trampling the Constitution in the name of a failed program. It would be hard to label the man that brought the massive surveillance program to the attention of the people of the United States, a traitor. He lived up to the principles of the nation. The same cannot be said for those that participated in the program or who were aware of the program and did nothing. Those men and women that actively participated in the NSA’s domestic spying program acted as the domestic enemies Americans have long feared, and those that were aware and did nothing engaged in a silent betrayal of this nation’s people. One of the NSA analysts said In a world where I would not be restricted from killing an American, I personally would go and kill him myself, The problem with the analyst’s statement is that in reality the U.S. government is observing no such prohibition against killing Americans. Attorney General Eric Holder has As the politicians in Washington are prone to do anytime there is a scandal, they attempt to find a scapegoat. In this case, the obvious course of action is to shoot the messenger and Snowden is being vilified by those elected to represent the interests of the people of the United States. Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger said that America’s enemies have been “changing their methods because of the leaks.” This is highly unlikely since terrorists have no reason to change tactics to defeat a massive surveillance system that has Of course, Ruppersberger might have an ulterior motive in attacking Snowden for blowing the whistle on the NSA’s spying program. The very fact that this program exists is a slap in the face to those that were supposed to be maintaining watch over the intelligence community. It should come as no surprise that the ranking Democratic member of the The National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland, as seen from the air, January 29, 2010 Saul Loeb, AFP/File To counter the suggestion of those that would take Snowden’s life, perhaps it is time for those with murder on their minds to look into the mirror and determine who has truly betrayed the nation. It would be hard to believe that after any soul searching a rational person would conclude that the man that demonstrated to the American people that their government has become a police state, complete with total surveillance and extrajudicial killings, is the traitor. A series of anonymous statements made to Buzzfeed left little doubt that those in America’s secretive intelligence apparatus want Snowden to pay the ultimate price for his actions. This response is surprising considering it was revealed that the NSA spying program did not stop a single terrorist attack. If the Orwellian program had been effective at stopping attacks, perhaps their anger could be a little better understood.A former Special Forces officer now at the Pentagon said he would love to put a bullet in Snowden’s head, and then said Classifying Snowden as a traitor may be the easy way out, but it doesn’t seem very accurate. He did not betray his oath. After all, these men didn’t take an oath pledging to defend the government or a specific agency. Their oath was not designed to allow them to conduct an intelligence war against their own citizens. In fact the oath they took is very clear, and perhaps they need to be reminded of it. The United States Uniformed Services Oath of Office reads The oath calls for them to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Those currently calling for Snowden’s death might do well to remember that they are serving the entities that are trampling the Constitution in the name of a failed program. It would be hard to label the man that brought the massive surveillance program to the attention of the people of the United States, a traitor. He lived up to the principles of the nation. The same cannot be said for those that participated in the program or who were aware of the program and did nothing. Those men and women that actively participated in the NSA’s domestic spying program acted as the domestic enemies Americans have long feared, and those that were aware and did nothing engaged in a silent betrayal of this nation’s people.One of the NSA analysts saidThe problem with the analyst’s statement is that in reality the U.S. government is observing no such prohibition against killing Americans. Attorney General Eric Holder has admitted that at least one American was specifically targeted for summary execution by a drone without a trial or due process.As the politicians in Washington are prone to do anytime there is a scandal, they attempt to find a scapegoat. In this case, the obvious course of action is to shoot the messenger and Snowden is being vilified by those elected to represent the interests of the people of the United States. Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger said that America’s enemies have been “changing their methods because of the leaks.”This is highly unlikely since terrorists have no reason to change tactics to defeat a massive surveillance system that has failed to stop a single attack.Of course, Ruppersberger might have an ulterior motive in attacking Snowden for blowing the whistle on the NSA’s spying program. The very fact that this program exists is a slap in the face to those that were supposed to be maintaining watch over the intelligence community. It should come as no surprise that the ranking Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee , the committee tasked with overseeing the nation’s spy programs, is Dutch Ruppersberger.To counter the suggestion of those that would take Snowden’s life, perhaps it is time for those with murder on their minds to look into the mirror and determine who has truly betrayed the nation. It would be hard to believe that after any soul searching a rational person would conclude that the man that demonstrated to the American people that their government has become a police state, complete with total surveillance and extrajudicial killings, is the traitor. This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com More about Nsa, snowden, Assassination, National security agency, Dutch Ruppersberger Nsa snowden Assassination National security ag... 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