Should publicly exposing illegal activity be a criminal offence?

@Burnley123: Yes, because of course the government will release info on the deaths of their undercover agents.

@BlueDiver: they could always whistle blow the info😂

@BlueDiver: But obviously they are still alive as of now and the leaks haven't killed them. Having things de-classified after fifty years does not stop things happening in the now.

And yet, every country that plays on the international stage uses spies. If we have a treaty with xyz country that says we're not allowed to use spies, but we know that they use spies on us, and that they know that we use spies on them - if everyone fully recognizes that everyone uses spies on everyone - then should we just withdraw all our spies because a piece of paper says that they're not supposed to be there (even though both sides recognize that the reality on the ground is completely different than what's written on the paper)?

@BlueDiver: I guess my perspective is that of a left-libertarian internationalist. I don't like the idea of spies and I think that power should always be accountable.

I am not going to agree with you but I respect your well informed opinion. All the best.

I don't like the idea of spies much either, I just think that the reality of the world doesn't allow us the option to not use them. Fair enough - all the best to you too.

@Invisible: [quote](CIA funded) media[/quote]

Conspiacy theory.

[quote]Talking to Russia about sanctions isn't exactly some crazy, treasonous act when you put it into the context of Obama tossing out Russian sanctions in his last two months as liberally as he does bombs in Yemen.
[/quote]

I also completely disagree with the bombing in Yemen. Its part of the pro-war international policies that both US parties have supporrted for a long time. Discussing lifting sactions with a foreign country prior to election shows conflict of interests, and quite possibly vested interests.

[quote]4. Clapper is the one who said that quote I provided about the government not collecting data. He was shown to be lying mere months later by Snowden's leaks. Even though he is now a leaker himself, putting him in the same league as Snowden is laughable.[/quote]

I completely agree and if it is him then he is a hypocrite of the highest order. Though with this he has exposed corruption.

[quote](CIA funded) media

Conspiacy theory. [/quote]

Are you kidding me? So Jeff Bezos gets a $600M contract within months of purchasing the Washington Post, which has since released information from "anonymous CIA sources" countless times, and you think there's no foul play? I really hope you're not that naive.

@Invisible: Fair point. I did not know.

http://www.worldtribune.com/bezos-internet-cloud-deal-with-the-cia-worth-twice-what-he-paid-for-the-washington-post/

D constitution trumps that

What are you talking about?

But what if the classified information concerns illegal activity?

Some things are classified for the right reasons but some for the wrong reasons.

If it's illegal we need to know, if it's not than it should stay secret to protect our operations