The news in this CNN clip is not Edward Snowden’s Pope Francis-like pathetic Xmas message on privacy broadcast by British Channel 4 or Glenn Greenwald’s endorsement of it or Dana Bash’s stupid accusation of releasing Snowden’s leaks for “maximum damage” but rather that Harvard University’s Felix Frankfurter chair, notorious Alan Dershowitz seized the opportunity to smear Greenwald after his segment was over. One would have liked to hear Greenwald’s response.

“As far as Greenwald is concerned, he’s an ideologue. I don’t think he would have revealed this information if it had been critical of Venezuela or Cuba or the Palestinian Authority. You know, he doesn’t like America. He doesn’t like Western democracies. He’s never met a terrorist he didn’t like. So he’s a very hard-left ideologue that uses this to serve his political agenda not simply to reveal information in a neutral way. That makes him very different from WikiLeaks, I think.”

Greenwald and Dershowitz had had an argument over a BDS event at Brookly College in February this year. From the beginning of Snowden’s leaks which were mainly published by Greenwald and the Guardian, Dershowitz had claimed that “he [Greenwald] did this because he hates America.” Now, he doesn’t like Western democracies either, but seem to like terrorists, even worse than WikiLeaks.

Dershowitz has previously destroyed the academic career of his strongest critic, Norman Finkelstein, in 2007, some years after a remarkable exchange of blows at Democracy Now! (when Dershowitz’ counterstrikes were more than dull). Maybe Dershowitz shuns a direct confontation with Greenwald for a reason. Once bitten, twice shy.

26 December 2013 @ 8:46 pm.

Last modified December 26, 2013.