he had lined. the victims of a devastating flash flood. killed over one hundred. thirty five quickly becoming the area's. international envoy kofi annan peace to the syrian leadership while damascus points fingers at what it calls america's devastating role in the civil conflict. go out to the western approach to the arab spring. democracy is aimed at maintaining influence.

we speak to a former national security agency executive in america who sacrificed his korea so blow the whistle on the n.s.a. . my guest today is thomas andrews drake he was a senior executive of america's biggest intelligence agency at the beginning of the two thousands he was an expert on elec tronic eavesdropping someone with a top secret security clearance then mr drake essentially secor feist his career to blow the whistle on his agency's wrongdoings as he saw them he was charged under the espionage act but only last year the charges were dropped is the drake thank you very much for coming thanks for having me tell me about the program that you challenge to working with the national security agency the surveillance program

what was its potential harm as you saw it there was the very large flagship program called trailblazer that was designed to catapult n.s.a. into the twenty first century to deal with the vast amounts of data being generated from the digital age given the massive fraud and abuse and it n.s.a. had created with the trial was a program as well as a super secret surveillance program they completely violated the constitution and the fourth amendment and in particular in particular the statute called the foreign intelligence surveillance act which was the first command at n.s.a. you did not violate americans privacy without a warrant under that statute in fact if you did there were criminal penalties for doing so and i found this out to my horror and and shock shortly after nine eleven . the n.s.a. had entered into a secret agreement with the white house in which n.s.a. would become the executive agent for this sort of secret surveillance program on

the front end was designed to deal with the threat of the terrorist threat and that was for understandable but what it did is that actually essentially turn the united states into just a collection platform so you know vast reams of data were increasingly being collected or through other entities be made available to n.s.a. for analysis there's a lot of debate about this proposed legislation i'm sure you heard about it the system in the name of national security would allow web service providers to funnel private information of their users to the authorities to government agencies aren't they already doing that i mean many argue that providers you know google facebook and other companies they they need legislation to protect themselves from being liable for what they're already doing and that's why those companies who lobby for the bill well that's i believe that's part of it the other part of it is the government just wants even more access to even more data and so i mean under the

patriot act and section two fifteen there is a secret executive interpretation of that which essentially grants the government pretty much unfettered access to subscriber information that's held by those companies. this is what we take out and there's other variants of that would take that to the next level you know under under the label or the rubric of you know cyber threats and to provide sort of cyber security the government wants even more invasive access almost persistent access to networks that are not normally available to the public and i understand the technology is so advanced now that it is probably so very tempting for intelligence agencies to siphon all that they get but what is the goal is it total thirty and i believe if you take what has been happening since in time there are post nine. eleven security world what you're seeing is the establishment of a sort of surveillance society years your senior stablish of a surveillance network and i keeps telling people people realize the extent to

which we're already surveilled in many many different ways the extent to which vast amounts of our own transactional data in all forms all i try forms and emails in your your tweets and bank records everything else are all subject or or sauce suspect ok in terms of terms of surveillance it raises the specter of kind of the rise of soft tyranny it raises the specter of you're automatically suspicious until you prove that you're not it raises the specter of a universal quality universal wiretap a persistent universal wiretap on every single person or if it not they can create one because then what happens if they don't like you what happens you speak ill will against a government what happens if you say something they consider disloyal i mean that's not the country that i took an oath to defend four times in my government career and you also have the fear element fear in itself is control and what people will

do when they're fearful is they were they will begin to censor themselves so much of what's happening now particular my case it sent it extraordinarily chilling message that anybody and i was a senior executive the government had a very high position and i say. it sends that extraordinarily chilling message that if you speak out if you speak up we're going to hammer you and we're going to hammer you hard because look what we did to mr drake nash security has effectively become the state religion you don't question it and if you question it then your loyalty is questioned i want to ask you about julian assange he's we can make cables exposed the u.s. complicity in torture and other crimes how angry you think washington is that julian assange which i think they're extremely angry the fact that there's apparently based on press reporting you know there's a secret grand jury there maybe even a secret indictment they want to get him. and they want to put him away i mean there are those in this country of very high levels to call for the death penalty.

and sweden does not promise they they can't make a guarantee that if they did bring him back to sweep for questioning he wouldn't be extradited to the united states and believe me if the united states got its hands on him they're going to do everything they could to put him away as long as they can or worse this is a very long reach and far as is similar to what i went through i mean they it was a multi-year multi-million dollar criminal and nasty investigation that i got caught up inside of and they spent several years several years in my own particular case trying to figure out how to bring an indictment against me speaking truth to power is very dangerous in today's world the power elites. those in charge they don't like dirty linen being aired they don't like the skeletons in the closet being seen. and they not only do they object to it they decide to turn it into criminal activity remember my will so blowing was criminalized by

my own government. i know i had no protection although ostensibly they couldn't reprise against me retaliate they did but i also find striking is that there is there's basically a smear campaign against journalists too for example a report on civilian deaths in u.s. drone strikes i read a number of articles where u.s. administration officials basically accuse them of helping terrorists and that label terrorist helper it seems that it's becoming a convenient tool to brush off investigative journalism isn't it what it is you go after the messenger and because the last you want to do is deal with the message you're talking about all the activities the secret surveillance the warrantless wiretapping torture rendition drone strikes and a whole host of other measures that i would assert are extra constitutional not to do they violate our own law also violate a number of international laws go after the messenger not the message because see

the bridge to actually discuss the message or to address the message becomes very uncomfortable. so essentially what's happened is that law which and we're a nation of laws the if we start to depart which we already have in a very significant moving away from that from being a nation of laws and simply leave it up to policy to substitute we're going down a very slippery slope and in the united states of america everybody's reporting on this feeling by race that the u.s. and its well allegedly developed to spy on iran and then there is the actual cyber weapon the stuxnet which created havoc in iran's nuclear facilities we hear u.s. officials condemn cyber attacks all the time but it turns out that the u.s. government itself is involved in cyber attacks how do you see it well based on what can only be authorized leaks which is an oxymoron coming from within the administration other senior officials they want people to know right i believe that's the case i think that something is has not been reported they actually

wanted people to know i think some people say oh it's just war makes makes the administration look good you know sort of you know sowing their oats and say hey we're we're the man here they want people to know they want to know what the united states is capable of doing it is a it is another form of warfare it is a you know it is a cyber weapon but it's a pandora's box because we're now in kind of uncharted territory as it's virtual war to say it that way it's a virtual conflict i mean the pentagon itself has been on record that if a nation conducts what is allegedly being conducted by this country against other countries using things like stocks and that that's an act of war but apparently it were doing it's not considered an act it's information operations or cyber operations so it goes it goes under a whole host of other labels to make it something different from what it really is . so where were the lines drawn i want to go back to you becoming a whistleblower you had a well paid job a top position in america's biggest intelligence agency you turned it all down you

went to work to an apple store i wonder how do you decide to go for something like that you can't put a price on freedom and i took an oath i mean my oath was to the constitution that took primacy over everything else so what do you do you're faced realising your horror that your own government is an abject violation of the very oath that you took the very constitution that you took an oath to defend support defend against all enemies foreign domestic faithfully executing that law and you're finding out in secret that your own government is in violation of it and then you know that was never necessary you knew that the best of american inventiveness and ingenuity could of not only provide superior intelligence like the thin thread program but would have done so in complete compliance with the fourth amendment and they tossed it overboard because they didn't want those controls they didn't want that

oversight most people don't stand up to power because power wields a lot of power and power can do you win or make life very difficult but i wasn't just standing up for myself i was standing up for you know the generations that follow me thank you thanks for having me. there hasn't been a thing get on t.v. . it is to get the maximum political impact. before source material is what helps keep journalism honest we. we want to present. something else.

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headlines on r t russia mourns the victims of a devastating flash flood in the krasnodar region it's killed over one hundred seventeen affected almost thirty five thousand quickly becoming the area's worst ever natural disaster. international envoy kofi annan sells peace to the syrian leadership while damascus points fingers at what it calls america's devastating role in the civil conflict in moscow adds criticism to the western approach to the arab spring saying promotion all but destroyed democracy is aimed only at maintaining influence. of the sports with dmitri.

hello sport an r.t. thanks for joining us this hour coming up in the program. on trial chelsea and england defender john terry plays in court charged with racially abusing a fellow player. golden boy starts life is the new world number one after equaling pete sampras is the record of seven wimbledon titles. and sand and world champions russia book a place at next year's. world cup. but first chelsea and england defender john terry has appeared in court charged with racially abusing furlow player prosecutors claim the chelsea captain admits using offensive language as quote. exclamation and quote while they also say terry was goaded by keeping our defendant

entente ferdinand came face to face in court as terry denied that racism. thirty one year old could become the first english premier league player to be convicted of racial abuse during a game and he could be fined up to four and a half thousand dollars. in english football you liverpool manager brendan rodgers says he plans to restore the club's former glory at the thirty nine year old took up their rights hot seat moving from swansea last month and he's already aiming high next season probably school the twenty five blue suit. concedes be strong in every single competition. the reality is we want to ensure that we we can improve on our league status as the reality in the last three seasons the club is finished through six seven a so we want to improve on that and build a bridge book. you're a player for liverpool football club the intention is to one. in the meantime the

british olympic football team have got together for their first training session ahead of the games which starts in just under three weeks' time but soon are to veteran ryan giggs will captain the side while manager pace reckons they have at least two teams to fit in the tournament nothing prettier than spine of the two favorites for this competition looking for the brazil squad you can see the magnitude of the players and how seriously they take the olympics is sixteen teams for him to try and achieve gold. will be a fantastic for any force and it will lead us noisily into the tournament and i think it will showcase to everyone in the tournament the standard of football in. turn is now after winning his seventh wimbledon title roger federer intends to claim gold at the olympic games ephedra becomes the new world number one today after beating and m.r.e.

in four sets in it's in the mets final it's came from it said down to equal pete sampras his record of seven wimbledon crowns brings federalists grand slam tell an upturn unprecedented seventy. four more hasn't waned after a brief family holiday he says he'll return to the club determined to capture gold something that's so far a little bit during these last three years i sit here to your mouth i find it hard to believe to really take in what happened today normally when i win wimbledon it's incredible it's magnificent it's emotional but this time i've got the feeling that it's even bigger than that so many little pieces have come together this one i have to take a little time to understand i'm happy now that i'm going on holiday with my family so i could be with mirka and the children and afterwards i'll come back to practice for the olympic games with a lot of desire confidence and of course the desire to play again it's truly magic

every time i play in a final of a grand slam here at wimbledon it's really quite incredible. that's for mary had to fire back the tears is still in the hunt for his first major title after losing all four of the grand slam final he's appeared in but he senses is still improving and what's happy with his performance. we give him points or. pretty good decisions for the most part. but. a film comes to. prove. meanwhile russia is also wondering when her first grand slam title will arrive she lost in the mixed doubles final wimbledon by bryant and raymond deciding against

heartland the pair had also for the last open general. over to formula one no wear red bull driver mark webber has described to his dramatic british grand prix victory as special ferrari's fernando alonso had started how and let most of the race but they spin it was overtaken by weather with just four legs to go this trail in eventually crossing the finish line with seconds to spare the victory lap the gap along the top of drivers' championship to just thirteen points to win streak so far this season after races red bull's reigning world champion sebastian vettel and how well another ferrari man philip macit was just behind him what by the sad determination had led him to victory. never gave up pushing out and didn't really work out by. the end which you know as you

are very close to him so we'll be capitalizing very special be true for the team just down the road a local team and guys i think got a bill for them. and also foreknow again another victory here in the u.k. so. it was also a thrilling racing moto g.p. as reigning world champion casey crashed out on the last lap of the john brown freek. they ring the wait for his. draw to play his first victory of the season. worst us second place. moves into the right lead in the overall standings fourteen points clear of to draw with dropping to six points the back of his older from a to the complete to the podium of the day. the new. is going to be for the last lap when. i had the good braking so i was confident for the last lap but anyway you know when i was sure i was pushing my best in finally get there when the

. meanwhile moscow has hosted the european qualify for the twenty thirteen bit soccer world cup there was next news for the current russia who managed to book their place in the finals but failed to win the home went with more about an out with the euro twenty twelve still a painful memory for russian football fans here is ill really the country's biggest soccer nation will team a current world cup holders and considers favorites at any event the european selection for the twenty thirteen world cup was held in the russian capital with only the top four out of twenty four teams privileged to represent the continent in tight in next year. russia fulfilled their task with confidence and made it to the final to take on spain however it was also important for the home side to win the event in front of the home crowd with spain feeling no pressure facing the world number one team it was the visitors who opened the scoring four minutes in skipper

i mean i'm really needing to make it one nil. over the russians who are quick to turn things upside down two goals by you and elul of putting the hosts ahead by the first intermission to one but it was far from decided in the second leg broke up for back with three goals in the room each one better than the next. you get a chance keep guest in one more goal for russia to show the hosts would not give it up that easy although it was spain who proved to be the strongest side of the day claiming victory with a final score of five three i think they are the best team of all. players some of them are my friends. i love i love them i like the way that they play the style the press the power play golf of points of their games. i can do something

for us and with evasion play against them obviously. always. felt some extra pressure playing in front of our fans maybe that's why we failed to show our best game of anybody we're not trying to find any excuses it was always packed many thanks to our supporters who would like to apologize to our son and welcome them to tahiti or the world cup finals. it was just a selection with no titles or stake and the main thing is that we have qualified for the world cup finals and you know what those who win qualifiers never succeed at the main events this is our beach soccer has it well one russian international. probably claimed the victory of his life after proposing marriage to his girlfriend in here yes he replied. r t moscow. and finally the basketball team have started their training camp for the olympics and they're confident they can repeat their gold medal success in beijing four

years ago the americans are preparing a las vegas at the moment a limb pick list was announced at the weekend and they start the bron james kobe bryant and anthony are on it they were also part of the team that eclipse everyone else to the last olympics so this plaintive experience although they will have to tweak their style as the games will be played. and not the rules. you know ten or twelve on this team have. won gold medals. in the picture two thousand maybe so we. are just a pretty you know we just had to keep in mind ourselves to try to take the ball of the room on the events of honor just you know don't go back to. the changes are much of a difference. but all the sports news for the moment i'll be back and toss time with more for you on our weather is next stay with us. a.

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