Buzzfeed, Sirota Resurrect ‘Obama Might Whack Snowden’ Conspiracy Theory

One of the more Alex Jones’y topics from last Summer at the height of the Edward Snowden NSA story was that President Obama would somehow try to assassinate Snowden. Ron Paul mentioned the use of a drone for such a plot, while others, like Glenn Greenwald and Snowden himself, were more ambiguous about methods, but they definitely weren’t shy about painting Snowden as some sort of pre-martyred martyr.

This is one of many tricks by which the pro-Snowden clique has added a layer of audience-gripping drama to the story — drama which helped to propel it into the national conversation. Snowden could be killed any day now, and Obama will pull the trigger! Engage rending of garments.

Well, guess what? It’s back.

Yesterday, Buzzfeed’s Benny Johnson posted an article in which he quotes a handful of anonymous government officials who told Johnson how and why they’d love to kill Snowden.

“In a world where I would not be restricted from killing an American, I personally would go and kill him myself,” a current NSA analyst told BuzzFeed. “A lot of people share this sentiment.”

“I would love to put a bullet in his head,” one Pentagon official, a former special forces officer, said bluntly. “I do not take pleasure in taking another human beings life, having to do it in uniform, but he is single-handedly the greatest traitor in American history.” […]

One Army intelligence officer even offered BuzzFeed a chillingly detailed fantasy.

“I think if we had the chance, we would end it very quickly,” he said. “Just casually walking on the streets of Moscow, coming back from buying his groceries. Going back to his flat and he is casually poked by a passerby. He thinks nothing of it at the time starts to feel a little woozy and thinks it’s a parasite from the local water. He goes home very innocently and next thing you know he dies in the shower.”

If these quotes are indeed legitimate, the stupidity and the recklessness of these officials is nearly impossible to describe. Kneejerk murder fantasies aside, however, if you’re pissed off at Snowden for whatever reason, the absolute last thing you want to do is to toss red meat to his supporters who are desperate to manufacture a sacrificial lamb frame around Snowden — to add to the pre-martyrdom sanctimony. That’s precisely what these morbid blowhards in the Buzzfeed article have done: they’ve helped to burnish the gilded “Snowden the Martyr” statue.

And, right on cue, you can guess what happened next… [CONTINUE READING]

By: Bob Cesca

Bob Cesca is the managing editor at The Daily Banter (www.thedailybanter.com) and a Huffington Post contributor since 2005. He's worked in journalism since 1988 as a print writer/editor, a radio news anchor, a digital media columnist/editor, a book author and blogger. He's the co-host of the Bubble Genius Bob & Chez Show podcast and a Thursday regular on the syndicated Stephanie Miller Show. He's appeared on numerous other radio shows including the John Phillips Show and Geraldo Rivera Show in Los Angeles. Bob has been a commentator/analyst on the BBC (TV and radio), MSNBC, Current TV, CNN and Sky News. Following him on Twitter: @bobcesca_go