

Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance - skwirl
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/exclusive-snowden-sought-booz-allen-job-gather-evidence-nsa?login=1

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jballanc
Forget, for a moment, what this does for Snowden's credibility. If this is
true, this is a _huge_ blow to the NSA!

In college I had a friend who wanted to intern with the NSA. He was extremely
smart, knew his way around a computer and then some, and was a model student.
He was one of the few classmates of mine who never smoked and only
occasionally drank, and even then only in moderation. He was exactly the sort
of person who you'd expect to get the job (well, internship) with the NSA.

Following some initial interviews, he went for a polygraph at a facility near
campus. Then, he was called to the DC area to undergo more interviews and
another polygraph. Finally, he was called back for a third polygraph...and
didn't get the job.

My impression at the time was that the NSA was doing such a thorough job
screening candidates that they were likely discarding a large number of false
positives from their screenings. This changes that impression completely...

What's worse than a government agency that has access to all of your secret
information? A government agency that has access to all of your secret
information and can't even determine if the people it's hiring and giving
access to that information are trustworthy.

Not good...

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jusben1369
I'm not sure if it says more about Snowden or the NSA that he could
successfully receive access to this information if he had such an intent.

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jusben1369
I think this hurts his credibility somewhat. It's a better story to think he
joined with no preconceived notions and the evidence turned him. Now it
appears he had a conclusion and went to prove his assumptions to be true.

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saalweachter
Scientific (style) inquiry doesn't require that one have no preconceived
notions, only that he be willing to be proven wrong about his preconceived
notions. It is unfortunately difficult for outsiders to judge whether Snowden
cherry-picked or is accurately representing what he found.

But why does this not increase Snowden's credibility? He went undercover to
gather evidence of malfeasance. How does that not turn him from a leaker into
an investigative journalist getting an inside scoop?

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jusben1369
I like your point on Scientific inquiry. The main difference is that a
scientist might have an intellectual rather than emotional predisposition to
what the outcome of the data might prove. Those that cross that line end
usually lose credibility and end up on the payroll of a like minded think
tank/group.

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ebrenes
I would be surprised if a definite case could be made that scientists are
completely unvested in their theories. I think it's a lofty ideal to strive
for, but it's often the case we'd like to have our intuitions and theories
proved correct.

Like the GP post said, the intentions or motivations (emotional or
intellectual) are of little concern as long as the scientist changes their
views/theories based on experimentation. I could be emotionally invested in
what I believe to be a life-saving cure for cancer, and I'll be emotionally
pre-disposed to see the medical trials prove that, but that won't mean I'll
fix the results to prove that.

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virtu
That explains surgical selection of the documents released so far, before it
looked almost too good orchestration for a one man band to pull off - at least
not without the perfect plan.

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Ihmahr
This is unfortunate for him, but it makes him an even greater hero. It also
shows what you might be able to do with great commitment.

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jusben1369
Why then do you think this is unfortunate for him?

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Ihmahr
Well, it won't exactly help his case. If he didn't stumble upon the
information but deliberately sought for it... that makes him a spy (perhaps
not legal definition).

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reeses
Intent counts for a great deal in the US court system.[1] The fact that he
'attacked' the NSA may generate additional charges (fraud, etc.) as well as
increase the sentences for any convictions. What might have been 2-10 years in
prison could be a life sentence by the time the dust settles.

[1] If you're a white male.

