Greenwald-Scahill to Report on ‘NSA and US Assassinations’

WHISTLEBLOWING - SURVEILLANCE, 1 Oct 2013

Jenny Barchfield, Associated Press – Reader Supported News

Two American journalists known for their investigations of the United States’ government said Saturday [28 Sep 2013] they’ve teamed up to report on the National Security Agency’s role in what one called a “U.S. assassination program.”

Reporters Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill. (photo: AP)

The journalists provided no evidence of the purported U.S. program at the news conference, nor details of who it targeted.

Jeremy Scahill, a contributor to The Nation magazine and the New York Times best-selling author of “Dirty Wars,” said he will be working with Glenn Greenwald, the Rio-based journalist who has written stories about U.S. surveillance programs based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

“The connections between war and surveillance are clear. I don’t want to give too much away but Glenn and I are working on a project right now that has at its center how the National Security Agency plays a significant, central role in the U.S. assassination program,” said Scahill, speaking to moviegoers in Rio de Janeiro, where the documentary based on his book made its Latin American debut at the Rio Film Festival.

“There are so many stories that are yet to be published that we hope will produce ‘actionable intelligence,’ or information that ordinary citizens across the world can use to try to fight for change, to try to confront those in power,” said Scahill.

“Dirty Wars” the film, directed by Richard Rowley, traces Scahill’s investigations into the Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC. The movie, which won a prize for cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, follows Scahill as he hopscotches around the globe, from Afghanistan to Yemen to Somalia, talking to the families of people killed in the U.S. strikes.

Neither Scahill nor Greenwald, who also appeared at the film festival’s question and answer panel, provided many details about their joint project.

Greenwald has been making waves since the first in a series of stories on the NSA spying program appeared in Britain’s Guardian newspaper in June. Last week, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff postponed a scheduled state dinner with Obama after television reports to which Greenwald had contributed revealed that American spy programs had aggressively targeted the Brazilian government and private citizens.

Rousseff railed against the U.S. surveillance during her address to the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week.

Both Scahill and Greenwald applauded Rousseff’s reactions to the revelations, but they warned that U.S. spying could be replaced espionage by another government if care isn’t taken.

“The really important thing to realize is the desire for surveillance is not a uniquely American attribute,” said Greenwald. “America has just devoted way more money and way more resources than anyone else to spying on the world.

_____________________

Glenn Greenwald is a columnist on civil liberties and US national security issues for the Guardian. A former constitutional lawyer, he was until 2012 a contributing writer at Salon. He is the author of How Would a Patriot Act? (May 2006), a critique of the Bush administration’s use of executive power. He lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Jeremy Scahill is the national security correspondent for The Nation magazine and author of the international bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, which won the George Polk Book Award. His newest book is Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, published by Nation Books in April 2013. In Jan 2013 the documentary film of the same name was released. He is a Fellow at The Nation Institute and also a producer and writer of the film Dirty Wars, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Scahill started as a journalist on the daily news show Democracy NOW!. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Go to Original – readersupportednews.org

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Comments are closed.