Greenwald, Scahill vow to unmask NSA’s ‘US assassination program’
American investigative journalists Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald say they have teamed up to prepare a report on the National Security Agency's role in what one of them described as the "US assassination program."
“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 US
assassination program,” Scahill said in Rio de Janeiro, as
cited by Associated Press.
Speaking to moviegoers at the Rio Film Festival, where an
award-winning documentary based on his book was shown, Scahill
said he will be working on the project with another journalist -
Glenn Greenwald, who broke the story on the NSA leaker Edward
Snowden in June.
The journalists – who were both present at the festival’s Q&A
panel – were short on details for their new project and gave no
evidence of the alleged US program.
“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,
a contributor to The Nation magazine and the author of the
bestseller 'Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield'.
Speaking in Rio, both journalists welcomed Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff scolding speech at the United Nations General
Assembly, where she slammed the US surveillance program, calling
it a “breach of international law.” Earlier in September,
she postponed a state visit to Washington in response to the US
spying on her communications with top aides. Her decision
followed a TV report to which Greenwald had contributed.
The journalists noted that American spying could be replaced by
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.”
