Former U.S intelligence consultant Edward Snowden, on Sunday, laid out the cause of his silence over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
What Happened: Snowden said he has “lost confidence” that sharing his thinking on this particular topic continues to be useful because he “called it wrong.”
Snowden also took aim at people he described as “concern-trolling ghouls” in his tweet.
I’m not suspended from the ceiling above a barrel of acid by a rope that burns a little faster every time I tweet, you concern-trolling ghouls. I’ve just lost any confidence I had that sharing my thinking on this particular topic continues to be useful, because I called it wrong.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 27, 2022
Why It Matters: On Feb. 19, Snowden had tweeted that the possibility of an attack on Kyiv was difficult for him to contemplate. Snowden’s comments were made in response to President Joe Biden saying that an attack on the Ukrainian capital was days away.
At the time, he pointed out that Kyiv is bigger than Sarajevo, Grozny and Fallujah — all cities that have experienced war in the preceding years.
This possibility is frankly so terrible to me it is difficult to even contemplate. I still remember red scars on the streets of Sarajevo, the “Sarajevska ruža” remembering those killed by mortar fire.
Kyiv is bigger than Sarajevo. Than Grozny. Than Fallujah.
Just unthinkable. https://t.co/em5jKxZi3P
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 18, 2022
President Vladimir Putin of Russia announced a “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 23, shortly after which explosions were heard in Kyiv.
Some commentators on Twitter called out Snowden for misreading the situation but he receive word of support from the Libertarian Party of Tennessee.
how did you misread the situation so badly?
— Chris (@Chris_dds98) February 27, 2022
— EvanRVA (@EvanRva9) February 27, 2022
You wouldn’t have to tweet this from a different country if we had a government that followed the constitution.
— Libertarian Party of Tennessee (@LPTN1776) February 27, 2022
Despite the relative silence of some like Snowden on the Russia-Ukraine war, companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB), and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) have been responding to Russia’s aggression against its neighbor.
Several Russian-born personalities like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) co-creator Vitalik Buterin and Chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov have also voiced their opposition against the ongoing conflict.
Photo: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia
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