The #OpNSA Manifesto - In Progress

NOTE: This is - and for a long time to come will continue to be - a work in progress.  Suggestions for additions are always welcome.

The Anonymous #OpNSA Manifesto

Abstract: We are Anonymous.  We are also #OpNSA.  Since it is arrogant for any one operation within the Anonymous Collective to speak for every member of the Hive, when this document uses the words "we" or "us", it is referring only to Operation National Security Agency, or #OpNSA, and specifically within that, to the "Work Group" or "Work Collective" that strategizes, plans, and carries out the day-to-day duties associated with this operation, not to Anonymous as a whole, or even to those within #OpNSA that offer their thoughts and support, but do not get directly involved with the work that #OpNSA produces. We are stating this equivocally here in order to prevent confusion on the part of the reader, and offense on the part of any Anon who may feel that this document does not reflect their principles, ideals, or priorities.  Thank you for your kind attention.

    1.     Declaration of Rules and Principles

    A. Violence: It is the "Prime Directive" of Anonymous #OpNSA that we categorically denounce and reject all forms of violent action, including violent protest.  Our operation is a peaceful, pacifistic one, in the spirit of Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior, and Mahatma Gandhi.  As such, despite the fact that both the terrorists that the United States seeks to stop, and the United States Federal Government both use violent action as a primary means of achieving their ends, all members of the "Work Group" or "Work Collective" of #OpNSA believe that violence solves nothing, and as such believe that violence in all forms is to be avoided.  Under no circumstances will we use violence to achieve our goals or use violence in response to any action taken by the Federal Government of the United States of America.  We in no way advocate the violent overthrow of the Federal Government of the United States of America, or in fact the overthrow of the Federal Government of the United States of America at all.  Simply put, we are pacifist patriots who love our country, and only seek to improve and protect it.

    B. Criminal Activity (i.e. Crimes and Misdemeanors): As a part of this "Prime Directive", we also categorically reject the intentional use of any illegal activities to achieve our ends.  While we believe that the Federal Government is using unconstitutional (and therefore illegal) means to spy on the American People and others, we do not believe that it is necessary, desirable, or even tolerable to resort to any form of criminal action to achieve our goals.  As such, we denounce any form of criminal activity, no matter how small, in the pursuit of said goals, and will not knowingly commit any illegal activities in the pursuit of our objectives.

    C: What We DO Stand For: Finally, as part of our "Prime Directive", as of Phase II of Operation NSA, our campaign is informational in nature. Our primary goals are to educate the general public, as well as the media, as to the constitutional and legal issues in the recently-exposed PRISM program and other aspects of domestic spying by the Federal Government.  At present, this is largely limited to revealing the conflicts of interest inherent in those with legislative and executive oversight in the intelligence community accepting campaign contributions from defense contractors and affiliates of the PRISM program while refusing to defend the rights of American citizens as clearly spelled out in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States of America.  The more the American people learn of the details of these programs and the types of data being collected, as well as the historically dangerous implications of such activities, the more they will want to become involved in stopping it. It is our desire to affect change within the Federal Government through elections and applying political pressure on those responsible until we have reversed this alarming trend within the intelligence community, and guaranteed the safety of the first, fourth, and fifth amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America.