Danny Schechter, the editor of mediachannel.org from New York city, has joined Press TV�s Debate program to share his opinions on the ongoing US� espionage scandal on its closest allies in Europe and the ensuing outrage and protests.
What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview,

Press TV:�Danny Schechter, let me start with you. The European response, the meeting in Brussels last week and the 9-member team sent to the US to seek answers; are they going to get it?

Schechter:�Well, you know, they are going to hear what our newspapers have been saying, which is namely that they do it, therefore what is the big deal? Why they are even complaining about this? Mr. Clapper went before Congress quoting from the movie Casablanca when a French official says: Oh! There is gambling going on here, as if it was a big surprise.

And so the American position here seems to be to minimize these concerns, to denigrate them, to make fun of them and to ridicule them and we will see what happens when they are confronted directly by officials from these countries.

I think that we are going to have more of a confrontation on this issue than Washington realizes.

Schechter:�Can I jump in here for a second?

Press TV:�Yes, go ahead.

Schechter:�Excuse me, you (Fredrik Peterson) are assuming that because the US government�s intelligence agencies say that what they are doing is in the national interest, therefore it is in the national interest.

They are defining the national interest here and they are abusing the rights of privacy and the rights of American citizens, not just people in Europe who are also upset, there were protests in Washington last Saturday and just this afternoon.

The Washington Post�has a big story about US collusion with Google and Yahoo and other various firms that are providing access to their data to these agencies after all the costumers of these companies have signed privacy agreements, assuming that their rights are going to be protected and in fact these companies are not protecting them.

So, it is not just about governments and leaders, this is about the rights of citizens.

(in response to Fredrik Peterson): How can we know that? How can we know that without investigation? How can we know that?

Press TV:�Go ahead Danny Schechter.

Schechter:�Well, when those intelligence agencies are intelligent, you could make that argument, but when they are abusing the rights of people and acting without oversight, I think that that is not very intelligent.

(in response to Fredrik Peterson): I am concerned about that, but when you hear a Congressman like John Conyers...
You know, it is very interesting how the German government or somebody high-up in the German government used the phrase, referring to the American embassy in Berlin, called it, a Nest of Spies; and the reason that it was interesting to me is because ... , I do not know if you saw the movie Argo or remember the crisis in Iran, but the Iranian people called the American embassy, then, a Nest of Spies, and they were right.

There was all this intelligence gathering information, including phone surveillance, going on in that embassy, which is one of the reasons why the people in Iran invaded it.
And it seems to me that, you know, we have to recognize, when I speak of oversight, I mean that the Congressional Committees do not have very effective oversight. It is interesting, is not it, that the defenders of these policies are coming from people like John Boehner who was part of a whole action to try to stop the government of the United States just a few weeks ago, now he is saying that the government has the duty to do all this. He wanted to shut the government down.

Press TV:�Danny Schechter go on.

Schechter:�(in response to Fredrik Peterson) Yes, but remember not that long ago we had a president by the name of Ronald Reagan, who claimed he never knew anything about the Iran-Contra story when he was totally implicated in it, and of course some people did go to jail in that case.

Here, Obama is using the same defense as Reagan, saying that he did not know anything about it until recently, but obviously he did know about it, but the problem is that the agencies of government in the Congress that are charged with investigating, being a check and balance on these operations, being in a position of oversight, are not being given access and are being given deceptive information and that seems to be the case.

That is why there is a new bill called, the American Freedom Act, that is being proposed to limit the power of the NSA because all of this is giving our country a black eye.

Press TV:�Go ahead Danny Schechter.

Schechter:�You can smear Barack Obama, you can make the case against Obama as much as you want, but you are not dealing with a very important question. Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this when it is so clear that it is a ridiculous practice?

Yes, it is not the truth, you know, you are taking two and two and getting six. Ok?

You want to smear Obama, that is your right, that is your right to do it but the problem here is not just Obama, there is a system here and it is interesting that the top Republican leaders, who have attacked Obama, are supporting him on this.

(in response to Fredrik Peterson): Let us talk about facts, here is the fact; here is�New York Times�today. Do what does it say? It says Mr. Clapper said top-level officials knew of it, but he does not blame the president per se.

You are implying that he does, I mean I have no ... , you know, if Clapper has been deceiving everybody including the American people, I am not supporting him at all, but you are turning this into a partisan, political, issue when it is a much deeper issue about the privacy and the rights of American citizens.

It is not a partisan issue to just bash Obama with. We have to figure out why is our government doing this and how can we get our government to stop doing it.

Do you really want to ask me anything? Because you say I am just spewing. If I am just spewing, why would you ask me anything?

I personally believe your facts and my facts might be different, Ok? But you insist that your facts are the true facts. Of course you do, every ideolog does that. They take the position that they know the truth and no one else has any right to say anything. When I say something, you say I am spewing when in fact I am offering an analysis of all of this. I am not part of any kind of defense ...

People like me? You are the one who accuses me of spewing but listen, I do not have any ideology here, I am saying that this is ...

Ok, let us take these true facts and talk about the role of the corporations here as well, of Google, of Yahoo and other data miners.

What are their responsibilities to protect their costumers? I am a costumer of Google. I signed a privacy agreement. Should not they honor it?

Yes, to whom (should I change my contractor)? I go from Google to Yahoo and Yahoo is doing the same thing. They are all doing it. That is the problem here. It is not ideological, it is really frightening.

This is frightening. It is not my own company, if you fund it I will start it, but it is not my business, I am journalist, I am not a lobbyist or a member of some sort of think-tank, a defense think-tank in Washington that has a point of view...

What is the ideology? Is it Islam? Is it Communism? Is it Terrorism? Is it the Tea Party? What is it? What is the ideology? I am talking about the privacy and the rights of American citizens ... , you know, you are throwing out all sorts of points that to divert the conversation and distract the conversation from the reality here. The peoples� rights are being invaded.

Press TV:�Danny Schechter, final question in 30 seconds, you say that it is going to damage the cooperation from Europe in terms of this war on terror or counterterrorism, how so?

Schechter:�I think when the Europeans are talking about sanctions against the United States. Ordinary Europeans are angry with the United States and it is having a political effect without question.

By Press TV

 

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