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In the handwritten note--published by FiredogLake Tuesday--Kiriakou declares his admiration for Snowden's leaking of documents detailing NSA spying programs.
"Thank you for your revelations of government wrong-doing over the past week. You have done the country a great public service," Kiriakou writes.
From one whistleblower to another, Kiriakou shares his own lessons in best practices when facing severe crackdown, which in Snowden's case has led to an international manhunt. Kiriakou explains, "I wanted to offer you the benefit of my own whistleblowing experience and aftermath so that you don't make the same mistakes that I made."
His 'most important' advice? Never, ever cooperate with the FBI. Kiriakou--who is a former FBI employee--instructs Snowden:
DO NOT, under any circumstances, cooperate with the FBI. FBI agents will lie, trick, and deceive you. They will twist your words and play on your patriotism to entrap you. They will pretend to be people they are not - supporters, well-wishers, and friends - all the while wearing wires to record your out-of-context statements to use against you. The FBI is the enemy; it's a part of the problem, not the solution.
He also urges Snowden to find good legal representation and build infrastructure for international support campaigns, including a website. Furthermore, Kiriakou suggests that Snowden seek the support of 'prominent' groups and individuals, including supporters in Congress, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Government Accountability Project.
Kiriakou, who worked for the CIA from 1990-2004, stepped forward in 2007 as the first CIA employee to acknowledge agency-wide practices of using torture, including waterboarding and other brutal tactics. He was sentenced for allegedly leaking the name of a CIA employee to a reporter, but Kiriakou and his supporters say he was really punished for blowing the whistle.
"In truth, [my prison sentence] is my punishment for blowing the whistle on the CIA's illegal torture program and for telling the public that torture was official U.S. government policy," he wrote in a previous letter from prison. "But that's a different story."
_____________________
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

In the handwritten note--published by FiredogLake Tuesday--Kiriakou declares his admiration for Snowden's leaking of documents detailing NSA spying programs.
"Thank you for your revelations of government wrong-doing over the past week. You have done the country a great public service," Kiriakou writes.
From one whistleblower to another, Kiriakou shares his own lessons in best practices when facing severe crackdown, which in Snowden's case has led to an international manhunt. Kiriakou explains, "I wanted to offer you the benefit of my own whistleblowing experience and aftermath so that you don't make the same mistakes that I made."
His 'most important' advice? Never, ever cooperate with the FBI. Kiriakou--who is a former FBI employee--instructs Snowden:
DO NOT, under any circumstances, cooperate with the FBI. FBI agents will lie, trick, and deceive you. They will twist your words and play on your patriotism to entrap you. They will pretend to be people they are not - supporters, well-wishers, and friends - all the while wearing wires to record your out-of-context statements to use against you. The FBI is the enemy; it's a part of the problem, not the solution.
He also urges Snowden to find good legal representation and build infrastructure for international support campaigns, including a website. Furthermore, Kiriakou suggests that Snowden seek the support of 'prominent' groups and individuals, including supporters in Congress, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Government Accountability Project.
Kiriakou, who worked for the CIA from 1990-2004, stepped forward in 2007 as the first CIA employee to acknowledge agency-wide practices of using torture, including waterboarding and other brutal tactics. He was sentenced for allegedly leaking the name of a CIA employee to a reporter, but Kiriakou and his supporters say he was really punished for blowing the whistle.
"In truth, [my prison sentence] is my punishment for blowing the whistle on the CIA's illegal torture program and for telling the public that torture was official U.S. government policy," he wrote in a previous letter from prison. "But that's a different story."
_____________________

In the handwritten note--published by FiredogLake Tuesday--Kiriakou declares his admiration for Snowden's leaking of documents detailing NSA spying programs.
"Thank you for your revelations of government wrong-doing over the past week. You have done the country a great public service," Kiriakou writes.
From one whistleblower to another, Kiriakou shares his own lessons in best practices when facing severe crackdown, which in Snowden's case has led to an international manhunt. Kiriakou explains, "I wanted to offer you the benefit of my own whistleblowing experience and aftermath so that you don't make the same mistakes that I made."
His 'most important' advice? Never, ever cooperate with the FBI. Kiriakou--who is a former FBI employee--instructs Snowden:
DO NOT, under any circumstances, cooperate with the FBI. FBI agents will lie, trick, and deceive you. They will twist your words and play on your patriotism to entrap you. They will pretend to be people they are not - supporters, well-wishers, and friends - all the while wearing wires to record your out-of-context statements to use against you. The FBI is the enemy; it's a part of the problem, not the solution.
He also urges Snowden to find good legal representation and build infrastructure for international support campaigns, including a website. Furthermore, Kiriakou suggests that Snowden seek the support of 'prominent' groups and individuals, including supporters in Congress, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Government Accountability Project.
Kiriakou, who worked for the CIA from 1990-2004, stepped forward in 2007 as the first CIA employee to acknowledge agency-wide practices of using torture, including waterboarding and other brutal tactics. He was sentenced for allegedly leaking the name of a CIA employee to a reporter, but Kiriakou and his supporters say he was really punished for blowing the whistle.
"In truth, [my prison sentence] is my punishment for blowing the whistle on the CIA's illegal torture program and for telling the public that torture was official U.S. government policy," he wrote in a previous letter from prison. "But that's a different story."
_____________________