Blowing the whistle on Obama's America

Dandelion Salad

Image by Bebopsmile via Flickr

Jun 9, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

Four years ago, on the campaign trail, candidate Barack Obama shared his views on whistleblowers. He said: “Often the best source of information about waste, fraud and abuse in government is a government employee committed to public integrity, willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism … should be encouraged rather than stifled.”

As president, the reality has been very different. On his watch, six whistleblowers have been charged under the Espionage Act for allegedly mishandling classified information. That is twice as many as all past presidents combined.

The threat facing whistleblowers has implications in many areas, including defence, intelligence and national security. And then there is the impact it is having on the US media – as the sources dry up, so too do the stories and the American people are left knowing less and less about what their government is doing.

In the first half of this full edition special, we blow the whistle on President Obama’s America.

In the second half of the show, Jesselyn Radack, a lawyer who worked as an ethics adviser for the US Department of Justice, talks to us about the impact whistleblowing has had on US journalism and what news organisations are doing about it.

Listening Post – Blowing the whistle on Obama’s America

see

Sibel Edmonds: War on Whistleblowers: Manning and Assange just the test case

UK Supreme Court backs Julian Assange extradition + Assange loses extradition court battle, step closer to Sweden

You are all suspects now. What are you going to do about it? by John Pilger

Sibel Edmonds: Obama administration charges a record number for espionage + White House Hypocrisy On ‘Aggressive Journalism’

Coleen Rowley on How Top Secret America Misfires

James Bamford: Inside the NSA’s Largest and Most Expansive Secret Domestic Spy Center + Thomas Drake Prevails in Unprecedented Obama Admin Crackdown

Recognizing Heroes: The Whistleblowers by Ralph Nader + The Ninth Annual Ridenhour Prizes, April 25, 2012 (must-see)

US Cables Leaked from WikiLeaks

About these ads