What Belarus did, while illegal, is not unprecedented. The dangerous tactic was pioneered by the same U.S. and E.U. officials now righteously condemning it.
The "liberal international order" in action. It is also worth pointing out that the "journalists" frantically clutching their pearls about the treatment of Protasevich have absolutely nothing to say about the persecution of Julian Assange who has been rotting away in a UK dungeon for years.
Forgive me for not having read this piece before commenting. However, I for some time wanted to express my appreciation for the service to our country Glenn performed in bringing the Snowden evidence to light.
I bought into the MSM spin on Snowden when the story first broke and had a dim view of Edward. However, after the events of the Russia Russia Russia hoax and the complicity of law enforcement/intel community/MSM at the highest level, my mind was opened. Then I listened to the Joe Rogan podcast with Glenn and heard Edwards's side of the story.
Thank you Glenn, but more than that, Thank you Mr. Snowden. You have done a great service to those of us who love our Rights and Freedoms.
My hypocrisy meter has been pinned since Obama droned Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen and was given a pass, meanwhile Bush II was figuratively keel hauled for denying habeas corpus to non US citizen prisoners .
I so remember the day Morales plane was forced down. I was outraged. I remain outraged that Edward Snowden, an exceptionally gifted US citizen deserving of a hero's welcome in this country, continues in exile. How, concerning the cruel treatment of whistleblowers like Snowden and Assange, is the US government less despotic than that of Belarus?
So much of GG's take on this is incomplete. Firstly, we don't know that the elections in Belarus were a "sham." It's possible, even likely, that a majority of Belarus' electorate voted to retain Luka. Westerners, and urban neoliberal lovers in Minsk think and claim majorities out of Minsk alone when claiming a majority; like the rest of the country doesn't matter. Russia too. United Russia and Vladimir Putin poll something like 45% and 48% in Moscow and St. Petersburg yet poll 65% and up in other metropolitan areas and across vast numbers of small town and rural oblasts. Who says that the elections were a sham, Glenn? The same Westernized opposition that gets funding from American funded NGO's? And Western MSM outlets? These same outlets say all kinds of things about you Glenn, and like the things they say about Russia, China and Belarus they make claims without evidence. Like you're unhinged. And so on.
Next, it's not just a matter of the Morales precedent, which you cover well. In the 1950's France diverted a civil aircraft in order to arrest the future President of Algeria. In 2016 Ukraine forced a Belarus airliner flying from Kiev to Minsk to return under threat of armed intercept so that Ukraine's special services could arrest an ethnic Russian Ukrainian dissident. It turns out he wasn't even onboard but in a case of mistaken identity an Armenian citizen spent the night in an interrogation room. The United States forced the diversion of a jetliner traveling between Mexico and France, bringing it down for a forced and unscheduled landing to effect an arrest. And so on. What Belarus did isn't actually illegal, on the face of it. They covered themselves with a bomb threat causing the crew to ask for diversion to Minsk, the fighter escort was an afterthought and probably directed at outside intervention.
Most importantly, you fail to describe the difference between Snowden and this person detained by Belarus. The individual is involved with Western intelligence agencies and NGO's trying to bring down the government of Belarus, including via civil strife that has injured and killed people. He also worked, in uniform, with the Azov battalion in Eastern Ukraine, a neo-nazi militant group in Ukraine involved in killing in Eastern Ukraine, including targeting civilians in areas outside government control, including Russians holding joint citizenship. Meaning Russian Federation citizens. It's not unlikely that the four men who also didn't rejoin the plane in Belarus when it flew on toward Baltic jurisdictions were Russian GRU agents, as passengers on the plane report them speaking Russian. There may even be a secret arrest warrant for this person in Russia, likely I'd say.
Lastly, there is a world of difference between third party EU states forcing down an aircraft in 2013 at the urging of an outside country and Belarus excersing sovereign authority over an aircraft flying in it's own airspace. Way different, two different things. No state, treaty or not, is going to allow some character, who has participated in civil strife that has claimed property and life, fly in a third party civil aircraft over the country of record where he or she is a wanted citizen, without taking action. This isn't a world made up of unicorns, endless rainbows and teletubbies. This guy isn't just a blogger or journalist, he's a conspiritor to the violent destabilization of his own country in collusion with foreign powers. He sir, is no Edward Snowden.
Uh Glenn, demanding an airplane flying over a sovereign nation land if it is believed to be carrying a criminal is NOT a criminal act. The only international airspace is over the oceans; airspace over sovereign countries belongs to that nation and flights transiting that airspace are only allowed to do so by permission. The odd thing about this incident is that the dissident, Protasevich, and his girlfriend booked seats on an airliner that would be traveling in Belarusian airspace. Minsk had every right to intercept that airplane and order it to land. By the way, nations don't send up fighters to notify a pilot there may be a bomb on board. They simply notify air traffic control and they notify the pilot. For that matter, military and civilian aircraft communicate on different frequencies. As a retired professional pilot, I see no comparison between this incident and the one with Bolivian officials.
I agree with Glenn that it was illegal. However he missed many other incidents :
In 2004, the United States forced the personal plane of the former First Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia, and later Senator A.P. Vavilov, on the route Moscow-Barbados-Aspen, to land at Palm Beach Airport. He was then interrogated for several hours.
In 2012, Turkey used fighter jets to down a Moscow-to-Damascus plane, then searched the aircraft and seized its cargo.
Belarusian airliners also became objects of forced landings. In 2016, the Belavia plane, which took off from the Kiev airport, 50 km before entering the Belarusian airspace, was forced, at the request of the Ukrainian dispatcher, who threatened to scramble, combat fighters, if it refused to return to the departure airport to remove the Anti-Maidan activist A. Martirosyan.
Focusing on the plusses and minuses of nations attempting to force planes out the air because someone they don't like is on board is not the issue. The more dissident voices we have the better. Snowden performed a public service at great risk to himself and he should be applauded for that; perhaps a Nobel prize. The machinations of the US to control free speech and to demonize and punish important whistle blowers is the issue. How about cutting out the tongues of people to silence them when they say stuff we don't like? Today the world is becoming more dangerous and fascistic--US included. It's getting scarier by the day.
"Just when you thought you couldn't possibly be more cynical about our government's behaviour, you find out that in reality, you haven't been cynical enough."
It's worse than Glenn describes, of course. By international law and treaty, passengers traveling from (e.g.) Auckland to London who landed at LAX for refueling were never officially on US soil nor under US jurisdiction. They were escorted from their aircraft to a holding lounge with toilet and snack facilities while the aircraft was cleaned, re-stocked and re-fueled.
The US unilaterally abrogated all these arrangements in their maniacal global war on tourism after 9/11, and fairly much every nation in the world has followed her idiotic example ever since.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 it was actually briefly worse than it is now, only because before all these arrangements had been formally re-arranged, the US government took it upon themselves to assault every transit passengers using their airports for transit and refueling purposes.
Why Obama allowed China Biden to supervise the anti-corruption movement in Ukraine while China Biden's son sat at the Board of a corrupted natural gas company?
Why Obama is so scared of Snowden?
Why Obama can pocket millions dollars of royalty from book sales when many experienced publishers commented that it does not make too much business sense for the UNBELIEVABLE HUGE royalty payment?
The answer is BARRACK OBAMA IS/WAS THE MOST CORRUPTED EX-PRESIDENT / PRESEIDENT IN AMERICA HISTORY. Barrack Obama is willing to do UGLY DEEDS for anyone if you pay him enough $$$$$$.
The "liberal international order" in action. It is also worth pointing out that the "journalists" frantically clutching their pearls about the treatment of Protasevich have absolutely nothing to say about the persecution of Julian Assange who has been rotting away in a UK dungeon for years.
Forgive me for not having read this piece before commenting. However, I for some time wanted to express my appreciation for the service to our country Glenn performed in bringing the Snowden evidence to light.
I bought into the MSM spin on Snowden when the story first broke and had a dim view of Edward. However, after the events of the Russia Russia Russia hoax and the complicity of law enforcement/intel community/MSM at the highest level, my mind was opened. Then I listened to the Joe Rogan podcast with Glenn and heard Edwards's side of the story.
Thank you Glenn, but more than that, Thank you Mr. Snowden. You have done a great service to those of us who love our Rights and Freedoms.
My hypocrisy meter has been pinned since Obama droned Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen and was given a pass, meanwhile Bush II was figuratively keel hauled for denying habeas corpus to non US citizen prisoners .
I so remember the day Morales plane was forced down. I was outraged. I remain outraged that Edward Snowden, an exceptionally gifted US citizen deserving of a hero's welcome in this country, continues in exile. How, concerning the cruel treatment of whistleblowers like Snowden and Assange, is the US government less despotic than that of Belarus?
So much of GG's take on this is incomplete. Firstly, we don't know that the elections in Belarus were a "sham." It's possible, even likely, that a majority of Belarus' electorate voted to retain Luka. Westerners, and urban neoliberal lovers in Minsk think and claim majorities out of Minsk alone when claiming a majority; like the rest of the country doesn't matter. Russia too. United Russia and Vladimir Putin poll something like 45% and 48% in Moscow and St. Petersburg yet poll 65% and up in other metropolitan areas and across vast numbers of small town and rural oblasts. Who says that the elections were a sham, Glenn? The same Westernized opposition that gets funding from American funded NGO's? And Western MSM outlets? These same outlets say all kinds of things about you Glenn, and like the things they say about Russia, China and Belarus they make claims without evidence. Like you're unhinged. And so on.
Next, it's not just a matter of the Morales precedent, which you cover well. In the 1950's France diverted a civil aircraft in order to arrest the future President of Algeria. In 2016 Ukraine forced a Belarus airliner flying from Kiev to Minsk to return under threat of armed intercept so that Ukraine's special services could arrest an ethnic Russian Ukrainian dissident. It turns out he wasn't even onboard but in a case of mistaken identity an Armenian citizen spent the night in an interrogation room. The United States forced the diversion of a jetliner traveling between Mexico and France, bringing it down for a forced and unscheduled landing to effect an arrest. And so on. What Belarus did isn't actually illegal, on the face of it. They covered themselves with a bomb threat causing the crew to ask for diversion to Minsk, the fighter escort was an afterthought and probably directed at outside intervention.
Most importantly, you fail to describe the difference between Snowden and this person detained by Belarus. The individual is involved with Western intelligence agencies and NGO's trying to bring down the government of Belarus, including via civil strife that has injured and killed people. He also worked, in uniform, with the Azov battalion in Eastern Ukraine, a neo-nazi militant group in Ukraine involved in killing in Eastern Ukraine, including targeting civilians in areas outside government control, including Russians holding joint citizenship. Meaning Russian Federation citizens. It's not unlikely that the four men who also didn't rejoin the plane in Belarus when it flew on toward Baltic jurisdictions were Russian GRU agents, as passengers on the plane report them speaking Russian. There may even be a secret arrest warrant for this person in Russia, likely I'd say.
Lastly, there is a world of difference between third party EU states forcing down an aircraft in 2013 at the urging of an outside country and Belarus excersing sovereign authority over an aircraft flying in it's own airspace. Way different, two different things. No state, treaty or not, is going to allow some character, who has participated in civil strife that has claimed property and life, fly in a third party civil aircraft over the country of record where he or she is a wanted citizen, without taking action. This isn't a world made up of unicorns, endless rainbows and teletubbies. This guy isn't just a blogger or journalist, he's a conspiritor to the violent destabilization of his own country in collusion with foreign powers. He sir, is no Edward Snowden.
Obama. What a piece of work.
Uh Glenn, demanding an airplane flying over a sovereign nation land if it is believed to be carrying a criminal is NOT a criminal act. The only international airspace is over the oceans; airspace over sovereign countries belongs to that nation and flights transiting that airspace are only allowed to do so by permission. The odd thing about this incident is that the dissident, Protasevich, and his girlfriend booked seats on an airliner that would be traveling in Belarusian airspace. Minsk had every right to intercept that airplane and order it to land. By the way, nations don't send up fighters to notify a pilot there may be a bomb on board. They simply notify air traffic control and they notify the pilot. For that matter, military and civilian aircraft communicate on different frequencies. As a retired professional pilot, I see no comparison between this incident and the one with Bolivian officials.
The hypocrisy is pretty glaring. It seems even the most blatant hypocrisy has been normalized at this point.
I agree with Glenn that it was illegal. However he missed many other incidents :
In 2004, the United States forced the personal plane of the former First Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia, and later Senator A.P. Vavilov, on the route Moscow-Barbados-Aspen, to land at Palm Beach Airport. He was then interrogated for several hours.
In 2012, Turkey used fighter jets to down a Moscow-to-Damascus plane, then searched the aircraft and seized its cargo.
Belarusian airliners also became objects of forced landings. In 2016, the Belavia plane, which took off from the Kiev airport, 50 km before entering the Belarusian airspace, was forced, at the request of the Ukrainian dispatcher, who threatened to scramble, combat fighters, if it refused to return to the departure airport to remove the Anti-Maidan activist A. Martirosyan.
Focusing on the plusses and minuses of nations attempting to force planes out the air because someone they don't like is on board is not the issue. The more dissident voices we have the better. Snowden performed a public service at great risk to himself and he should be applauded for that; perhaps a Nobel prize. The machinations of the US to control free speech and to demonize and punish important whistle blowers is the issue. How about cutting out the tongues of people to silence them when they say stuff we don't like? Today the world is becoming more dangerous and fascistic--US included. It's getting scarier by the day.
Psaki. What a hack. Good to point out that this kind of stuff happens and the hypocrisy of western nations whining. Stellar piece Glenn.
“How DARE others do what we, the US/West, do???” <insert sound of pearls being clutched>
The US government is now just as much a banana republic as Belarus so Blinken should STFU.
Great piece, Glenn. Learned alot I didn't know before. This is the stuff I look forward too. Current events with a critical lense and proper context.
"Just when you thought you couldn't possibly be more cynical about our government's behaviour, you find out that in reality, you haven't been cynical enough."
--I-don't-remember-who-said-it-it-wasn't-me-but-I-agree.
It's worse than Glenn describes, of course. By international law and treaty, passengers traveling from (e.g.) Auckland to London who landed at LAX for refueling were never officially on US soil nor under US jurisdiction. They were escorted from their aircraft to a holding lounge with toilet and snack facilities while the aircraft was cleaned, re-stocked and re-fueled.
The US unilaterally abrogated all these arrangements in their maniacal global war on tourism after 9/11, and fairly much every nation in the world has followed her idiotic example ever since.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 it was actually briefly worse than it is now, only because before all these arrangements had been formally re-arranged, the US government took it upon themselves to assault every transit passengers using their airports for transit and refueling purposes.
But hey - they're special, right?
Their mantra is as it has been for decades now;
"**It's not wrong when we do it!**"
I can only say, OBAMA IS A VERY CORRUPTED PERSON.
Why Obama allowed China Biden to supervise the anti-corruption movement in Ukraine while China Biden's son sat at the Board of a corrupted natural gas company?
Why Obama is so scared of Snowden?
Why Obama can pocket millions dollars of royalty from book sales when many experienced publishers commented that it does not make too much business sense for the UNBELIEVABLE HUGE royalty payment?
The answer is BARRACK OBAMA IS/WAS THE MOST CORRUPTED EX-PRESIDENT / PRESEIDENT IN AMERICA HISTORY. Barrack Obama is willing to do UGLY DEEDS for anyone if you pay him enough $$$$$$.
ASSHOLE BARRACK OBAMA !!!