U.S. and British Governments Tracking Travel of Average People
The governments of the United States and Great Britain are jointly tracking travelers around the globe, the White House has admitted.
It is through this tracking system that U.S. authorities, including those at the White House, were alerted
to the presence of David Miranda, Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald’s
partner, on a plane touching down at London’s Heathrow Airport. Miranda
was detained by British police as a terrorist for nine hours, and all of
his electronic devices were confiscated. Police apparently took the
action because Miranda lives with Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who has
been receiving information from Edward Snowden.White House Tracking Your Movements
The White House was apparently alerted to Miranda’s presence on the plane before Miranda arrived in Britain and was subsequently detained. Miranda was not charged with any crime, and police apparently did not have any sort of warrant to search him. Security officials detained Miranda because he reportedly helps Greenwald with his stories on Edward Snowden and the NSA. Miranda is not an employee of The Guardian, but he was coming back from Germany, where he had met with another one of Snowden’s associates.This action is outrageous for several reasons. The U.S. government many have pressured another nation’s government to violate an individual’s rights in defiance of its own laws. Worse, Miranda seems to be a citizen of a third country, Brazil.
It isn’t clear if the police who detained Miranda violated British law or not, but the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the London Metropolitan Police are investigating the detention.
Obama Attacks Freedom of the Press
The U.S. involvement in the detention was confirmed to reporters by Josh Earnest, a deputy White House Press Secretary. It seems fairly clear that President Obama was involved in this blatant attempt to interfere with the freedom of the press. Not only is this a violation of the First Amendment, but it is also interference with the press in another country.What’s even more troubling is that the White House was able to quickly determine that Miranda was on the manifest of the flight from Germany to Heathrow. That indicates intelligence agencies can now easily track the movements of citizens inside countries and between countries.
It looks as if the tools and techniques designed to “fight terrorism” are being used against those who criticize or embarrass President Obama. A full scale investigation of this incident is needed, and now.
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