Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald announced a collaboration on a story into the involvement of the NSA in an assassination program run by the federal government. Scahill is a contributor to The Nation and is the best selling author of "Dirty Wars", while Greenwald shot to fame by revealing what was in documents stolen by Eric Snowden. The two did not produce any evidence and refused to answer questions at the press conference.
Scahill won an award at the Sundance Film Festival for cinematography, in the screening of "Dirty Wars", a film based on his travels around the globe from Afghanistan to Yemen to Somalia, interviewing the families of US drone attacks.
During the presser, Scahill said:
"The connections between war and surveillance are clear. I don't want to give too much away but Glenn and I are working on a project right now that has at its center how the National Security Agency plays a significant, central role in the U.S. assassination program."
"There are so many stories that are yet to be published that we hope will produce `actionable intelligence,' or information that ordinary citizens across the world can use to try to fight for change, to try to confront those in power."
Neither Scahill nor Greenwald appeared at the after screening question and answer period. Greenwald rose to fame by writing about the spying of the NSA through leaks provided by Eric Snowden.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff postponed a scheduled state dinner with Obama, after Greenwald revealed US spying against that country. Both Greenwald and Scahill applauded her decision. They warned that even if the US programs were ended tomorrow, another country could could easily step into the breech.
"The really important thing to realize is the desire for surveillance is not a uniquely American attribute. America has just devoted way more money and way more resources than anyone else to spying on the world," said Greenwald.
