除了向媒体泄密，斯诺登也许别无选择

据《卫报》报道，2004-2013年担任美国国防部高级调查员的约翰•克兰在报告中指出，一位重要检举人曾向国防部监察长曝光政府十几年前的不当行为，却没有得到妥善保护。报道发表后，斯诺登本可通过政府渠道来曝光国安局监听项目的说法不攻自破。

克兰称，国安局前高官托马斯•德雷克披露国安局不当行为及违法行为的时间比斯诺登早好几年，但保护措施反而害他落入“陷阱”。随后，德雷克只能跟国防部监察长合作。但据克兰介绍，国安局将德雷克的身份透露给了刑事检察官，还销毁了本可为德雷克辩护的证据。高昂的诉讼费用让德雷克彻底破产，尽管更严厉指控于2011年撤销。

2013年，斯诺登将国安局数据透露给了《卫报》。另外几家媒体随后也得到了相关文件。此举招致大量批评。总统巴拉克•奥巴马表示，泄密事件导致对美国怀有敌意的人现在也能接触到敏感信息。国安局监察长乔治•埃拉德2014年曾说：“斯诺登原本可以找我举报的。”

据政治资讯网站Politico报道，埃拉德曾说：“我们处理矛盾一向效果非常好。”

回应克兰的报告时，斯诺登呼吁为政府内部检举人提供更有力的保护。

斯诺登对《卫报》表示：“要为检举人提供钢铁一般有力又方便执行的保护措施，而且要公开成功案例。务必保护向国会监督机构检举揭发的人，如果他们的努力推动了政策改善，就应该大方承认。如今勇敢的人奋起反对有悖法律的政府部门，却得不到任何鼓励，必须改变这种现状。”（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

According to reports from John Crane, a senior Pentagon investigator from 2004 to 2013, a prominent whistleblower who went to the inspector general hoping to expose wrongdoing within the government more than a decade ago was inadequately protected, the Guardian reported. The report undermined arguments that Snowden could’ve gone through government channels to expose the NSA’s surveillance program.

Crane alleged that the protections set up for whistleblowers became a “trap” for Thomas Drake, a former senior NSA executive who disclosed wrongdoing and allegedly illegal activity in the office years before Snowden. Drake then began working with the Pentagon’s inspector general, but according to Crane, the office leaked Drake’s name to criminal prosecutors, and also destroyed evidence that would’ve acted as defense for Drake. Drake became financially ruined because of the legal fees, though the more serious accusations against him dropped in 2011.

Snowden leaked data from the NSA in 2013 to the Guardian, before several other media outlets also got hold of the documents. The move was heavily criticized, with President Barack Obama noting that sensitive information could now also be accessed by enemies to the U.S., while the NSA’s Inspector General, George Ellard, said “Snowden could have come to me,” in 2014.

“We have surprising success in resolving the complaints that are brought to us,” Ellard said, according to Politico.

In response to Crane’s account, Snowden called for stronger protections for whistleblowers within the government.

“We need iron-clad, enforceable protections for whistleblowers, and we need a public record of success stories,” Snowden told the Guardian. “Protect the people who go to members of Congress with oversight roles, and if their efforts lead to a positive change in policy – recognize them for their efforts. There are no incentives for people to stand up against an agency on the wrong side of the law today, and that’s got to change.”