I never said the abuses of the system were the purpose of the system.
I said the abuses of the system fell within the types of actions that were the purpose of the system. Presumably there are also non-abusive ways to destroy people who are threats to national security, and those are included in their toolbox too.
The national security apparatus’s purpose is to destroy people (and organizations) which are a threat to ‘the nation’.
The national security apparatus itself is considered part of the nation, and somewhat plausibly important for national security, so a threat to it is a threat to national security eh?
Hence any threat to the national security apparatus is a threat to national security, and fair game to be destroyed by it.
Just because you or I consider that abusive doesn’t mean they do, and they’re the ones with the tools - and the apparent ability to- to get away with it.
Them using the same tools for stuff like LOVEINT is abusive to others of course, and outside their remit as those people were (usually) not plausibly threats to national security, but anyone who noticed they were doing it all the sudden became fair game because they were a threat to the system eh?
After all, taking away those tools would remove their ability to do the same thing to someone like a FSB agent who had dirt on someone at the Company, or who was trying to get close to someone at the NSA by dating them.
And the people acting on that have seen no consequences for doing so, eh?
Is it fucked up and corrupt? Yes. Is it self perpetuating? Yes. Is it inherent to the nature of the system and what they are doing? Yes.
I said the abuses of the system fell within the types of actions that were the purpose of the system. Presumably there are also non-abusive ways to destroy people who are threats to national security, and those are included in their toolbox too.
The national security apparatus’s purpose is to destroy people (and organizations) which are a threat to ‘the nation’.
The national security apparatus itself is considered part of the nation, and somewhat plausibly important for national security, so a threat to it is a threat to national security eh?
Hence any threat to the national security apparatus is a threat to national security, and fair game to be destroyed by it.
Just because you or I consider that abusive doesn’t mean they do, and they’re the ones with the tools - and the apparent ability to- to get away with it.
Them using the same tools for stuff like LOVEINT is abusive to others of course, and outside their remit as those people were (usually) not plausibly threats to national security, but anyone who noticed they were doing it all the sudden became fair game because they were a threat to the system eh?
After all, taking away those tools would remove their ability to do the same thing to someone like a FSB agent who had dirt on someone at the Company, or who was trying to get close to someone at the NSA by dating them.
And the people acting on that have seen no consequences for doing so, eh?
Is it fucked up and corrupt? Yes. Is it self perpetuating? Yes. Is it inherent to the nature of the system and what they are doing? Yes.